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Ask any group of poker players how you played your hand and they’ll come up with dozens of different opinions. That’s just the nature of the game.
Each week, Card Player will select a hand from the high-stakes, big buy-in poker world, break it down and show that there’s more than one way to get the job done.
The Scenario
You are approaching the final table bubble in a live tournament with a whopping 84 big blinds. As it currently stands, you are in decent shape to make the final table with 14 players remaining.
An aggressive opponent raises to 65,000, just over a min-raise, from under the gun and you make the call in the cutoff with K
Q. The big blind, another aggressive player, calls as well.
The flop comes down K
Q J
and the original raiser bets 100,000. You call, as does the player in the big blind.
The turn is the 6. The big blind checks, the original raiser bets 300,000 and you call. The big blind folds and the river is the 2.
Your opponent then moves all in for his last 1,190,000. You have 2,072,000 remaining in your stack.
The Questions
Do you call or fold? What hands could your opponent be holding? Is your opponent betting as a bluff, or is he betting for value? What value hands can you beat?
The Argument For Calling
Why call on the turn, only to fold the river? If you thought you had the best hand when the third diamond hit, then what’s stopping you now? You have top two pair and your opponent could be moving all in with any number of two pair combinations which you have beat, along with pocket aces, A-K and a slew of busted draws turned bluffs. Furthermore, even if you call and lose, you’ll still be left with a very manageable 29 big blinds.
The Argument For Folding
This is a crucial spot in the tournament, so it’s important to evaluate your opponent objectively. He raised from under the gun and then bet all three streets on a very wet board. There are a number of hands that beat you, specifically five different sets, two straight combinations and all turned diamonds. By calling the turn, you were hoping for a cheap showdown that’s not going to happen. You have 69 big blinds left in your stack, so fold and start putting them to use.
What Actually Happened
In the EPT Barcelona main event, Aku Joentausta moved all in with a board reading K Q J 6 2. Ole Schemion went into the tank for about five minutes before eventually deciding to call with his K Q.
Joentausta couldn’t beat it, showing A
4 for a bluff. He finished in 14th place, earning €40,400. Schemion took the massive pot, chipping up to 4,200,000. He failed to make the final table, however, busting on the bubble in ninth place for €55,100.
What would you have done and why? Let us know in the comments section below and try not to be results oriented. The best answer will receive a six-month Card Player magazine digital subscription.
