Ray Henson began day five of the main event of the World Series of Poker with 1.1m chips. He slowly chipped up to around the 3.5m mark before nearly doubling up with a set of jacks (read story). This 6.5m pot was the largest of the tournament, yet it’s another hand that better defines Ray’s climb up the leaderboard.
“Scotty Nguyen had been opening a lot of pots. He raised in middle position and I called with 6
5,” Ray’s eyes got bigger and bigger as he described the former main event champion. “We actually have some history together at two final tables. I played pretty tight both times, and I know he remembers that. I called because I know if I hit a flop I can get him to bluff off a lot of chips to me.
"The flop was 763 with two spades and one heart. He checks to me and I check behind because I want to get through it as cheaply as possible. The turn card is the 2
, a great card for my hand and he checks again. I bet 200,000 and he raises 400 more. At this point I’m 90% sure I have the best hand, but then he starts talking.”
Ray has returned to the zone he entered during the hand; he stares straight ahead, unmovable, remembering every detail. “Scotty says, ‘I know you didn’t call with any of that,’ which usually means he wants me to call. So I do call the extra 400,000. The river is another 7 and now he bets 800,000.”
Ray’s eyes narrow, his lips become tighter. “I’ve been going with my reads the whole tournament. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have a set there. I know he wouldn’t check an overpair twice. So I make the call and he had ace-high with no draw.” As he finishes the story, he relaxes and a childlike grin spreads across his face.
There’s a number of pros who have come to sweat Ray. Among them have been Ed Moncada, Shawn Buchanon, Jessie Martin, Kyle Wilson, Justin Bonomo, and…wait for it…wait for it…Greg Mueller (hey what’s the world series without a little Muellerwire?) FBT stated that it’s been Ray’s ability to not only read players but act accordingly that has brought him to this point: “Rockin’ Ray is playing phenomenal. He’s making sick value bets and great calls. Ray has told us that what he used to do in the past was know that a guy was making a move or know just where he was at, but fold anyways because he couldn’t just pull the trigger. Now he’s making the plays—like that hand with Scotty.”
Entering Day 6 with 8.25m chips in third place, Ray attributes a lot of his success to these top flight professionals. Although he played coy when asked which one of them he thought was the best of the bunch, he did seem to hold JC Tran in high regard. “He’s one of my best friends and we’ve talked a lot of strategy together. He calls me on every break and we go over everything.”
But it’s another, less famous professional who appeared late last night that told me everything I needed to know about Ray Henson's character. Ron Stanley has a number of WSOP final tables, including a bracelet waaay back in 1991. Ron had no “piece” of Ray, no swapped “percentage.” He was merely there—at 2 AM—to support someone he described as “one of the nicest guys you could hope to meet.”
Two summers ago, Ray was rooming with Ed Moncada and Greg Mueller when Ed won his bracelet. Ray was there sweating every decision Ed made, and now Ed's back to return the favor. I'm sure the old roomate is hoping for a similar result.
