Poker After Dark's Nets vs. Vets Cash Game

by Bodog Poker | Feb 25 2009

Season 5 of Poker After Dark has been airing since Dec. 29, 2008. Last week’s game that aired from Feb 16-21 was themed Nets vs. Vets, and showcased three of the best young online cash game players - Taylor Caby, Cole South, and David Benefield - seated with three of the most experienced cash live game cash players in the world in Doyle Brunson, Eli Elezra, and Gabe Kaplan. This was the second year for the themed table, with last year’s edition featuring Brian Townsend, Tom Dwan, and Andrew Robl sitting with Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, and Huck Seed.

Taylor Caby “Green Plastic” is a 25-year-old native of Chicago who has graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in finance. He is also a founding member and a lead instructor for CardRunners.com. His story of only losing $50 online before turning his next $35 buy-in into six figures has become online folklore.

Cole South goes by “CTS” online and is even younger than Caby. South is only 21-years-old and he’s only been playing poker for three years. He’s already a staple in the biggest NLHE and PL Omaha online cash games against the likes of Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey, and David Benyamine. He’s known for his hyper-aggressive style and purchasing a $200,000 Bentley with a small portion of his bankroll.

David Benefield is known as “Raptor” online. He hails from Fort Worth, TX and has been playing since 2004. He’s known for an unpredictable style that has won him a lot of money. David made a good run at the 2008 WSOP Main Event, finishing 77th after being the chip leader at one point on Day 5.

The game was tight in the beginning without a lot of cash changing hands. Once the players started throwing in straddles and a 7-2 bounty rule was added the action began to heat up. The 7-2 bounty rule played into the game quite a bit after appearing in four out of five hands.

The biggest hand of the game came when Gabe Kaplan tried to make a move on David Benefield. Benefield made a couple of big calls with K-Q when Kaplan made three big bets into him with second pair. Benefield would not be scared off his top pair, and ended up taking down a $130,000 plus hand. The hand put Benefield up around $100K on the game. But not long after he made an odd fold against Doyle Brunson when he somehow talked himself into laying down his hand when he was holding trip sixes.

The Vets, especially Doyle Brunson, praised the young internet player’s abilities in a director’s cut of the game that you can go and view at the following site: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/29281246#29281389. The show gives in-depth interviews where the players explain their reasoning for certain play in the hands they were involved in.

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