David "Viffer" Peat Poker Strategy

Matt VIP• 16,453 Views • on 21/3/17

David "Viffer" Peat is an extremely entertaining player and in this article, we'll take a look at what makes his game tick.

David "Viffer" Peat is a very unusual poker player, to say the least. His list of achievements doesn't really look that impressive to the average poker enthusiast who cares mostly about EPT/WPT titles, WSOP bracelets, and lifetime tournament winnings.

Viffer is not really a tournament shark, he's an infamous live cash game player, a professional gambler with access to the biggest games including the ones organized by Hollywood movie stars like Tobey Maguire or Ben Affleck. This means that while his 'official' results aren't especially impressive the one's that aren't really tracked by websites like Thehendonmob.com are, presumably, a lot more impressive (which Viffers numerous appearances in televised cash game shows seem to confirm).

David Peat is known for his great poker skill and very unusual behavior in and outside of the poker table. He's an extremely entertaining player and in this article, we'll take a look at what makes his game tick.

Master of the Needle

If there's one hand that can perfectly showcase both Viffer’s ability and personality at the table it's certainly this one. David is a very loose and very talkative player not afraid to make a questionable play against a mark (the role of which was so brilliantly played by the one and only "Poker Brat" Phill Hellmuth Jr.) in order to maximize his implied odds, and not afraid to employ some speech play to try to affect his bottom line.

Like we've already established Viffers preflop call with K9o is obviously somewhat loose, even in a live cash game context and especially given the fact that while his opponent wasn't exactly the toughest cash game player in the world he's also on the tight side of the force especially when 3betting pre.

The flop decision was fairly trivial but the pump-fake fold added to the confusion Peat was already causing with his seemingly never ending stream of words. What came next was one of the funniest and the most memorable moments in televised cash game poker history. The perfectly timed "9 ball, corner pocket" needle tells us a lot about Viffer's approach to poker.

While in this particular case Phil Hellmuth left the game after the hand and so the needle failed to add anything to David's EV (it might have subtracted some if anything and that's the risk players using speech play have to accept), Peat managed to turn the entire table against "The Poker Brat" and the ability to do that can be tremendously lucrative, albeit slightly controversial.

Confusing Phil Ivey

It takes a special kind of player and a special kind of line to get a value rivercheck/raise paid off by Phil Ivey. Viffer's preflop call, was fairly standard, especially given the added dead money in the pot caused by the straddle.

The flop was a very standard float with the second pair. The turn seems somewhat unorthodox given how bet would've made a perfect sense from Viffers perspective. That being said, Ivey is not just your average opponent and there's a high chance Viffer had a very specific reason to let the hand play out on the river - which he ultimately got rewarded for.

It's also important to point out that David Peat is perfectly capable of staying calm and silent during the hand when playing against someone who wouldn't get phased by his usual table antics.

Fast Playing Big Draws

Viffer is known for his tendency to fast play big draws. In this famous hand from the last season of High Stakes Poker, he did exactly that against a millionaire recreational player. The conventional wisdom would dictate that while there can be a lot of value in big semi-bluffs because of the tremendous amount of fold equity they are able to generate, but there's also the argument for a more conservative line of play especially against a potentially loose-passive opponent.

The fact that David Peat is quick to fast play his holdings in similar situations tells us a lot about his approach to the game and - potentially - something about the depth of his bankroll.

It takes a bit of madness and a lot of money to flip in a 319k pot and it's safe to say that Viffer has plenty of both.

Relentless Aggression

Another famous hand from the last season of High Stakes Poker and again a very unorthodox play against a recreational player. The preflop isolation with 92o is the least controversial part of this hand. Flop float against the lead of recreational player is a bit harder to swallow, and what happened on turn and river is just pure madness.

Again, many players would refrain from taking a similar line against a recreational player, but it's hard not to admire the courage and tenacity necessary to make such a crazy play. Also, to be fair, the board doesn't really hit the range of a preflop limper and most recreational would release hands much stronger than K3o on this board.

The fact that Phil Ruffin has this hand in his river calling range makes the expectation of Viffers line absolutely terrible in the long run, but this is just a price aggressive players are sometimes forced to pay.

David "Viffer" Peat Poker Strategy

Master of the Needle

Confusing Phil Ivey

Fast Playing Big Draws

Relentless Aggression

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