Poker Hand Matchup: Tom Marchese vs. Justin Bonomo

Outcome

With the blinds at 10,000 and 20,000 and a 3,000 ante, Bonomo raised to 40,000, Marchese reraised to 100,000 from the small blind, Bonomo called. On the Flop, Marchese bet 80,000, Bonomo called. On the Turn, Marchese bet 135,000, Bonomo called. On the River, Marchese went all-in, Bonomo called.

Analysis

Marchese's preflop reraise was a little light, it was optimistic to expect his opponent with a 3:2 chip lead would go away preflop while receiving 3:1 pot odds in position. Bonomo would very likely call the additional 60,000 so Marchese is only building a larger pot while out of position which isn't always the best plan with a hand like K-10. Again there's a problem with Marchese's bet sizing on the flop. It fails to put any pressure on his opponent and Marchese is getting no definition on his opponent's holding. Marchese feigned a hand on the turn with another lead out, hoping to shut down a float from his opponent but once again Bonomo was delighted to call with his flopped Quads. Marchese might have been done with the hand until the fourth diamond on board inspired him to mount a heroic bluff on the river. While Marchese showed tremendous bravado with his use of the scare card, Bonomo's call on the turn might have indicated a probable draw to the diamonds so he risked representing the hand that his opponent actually held. Marchese held 500,000 heading into the river and was six eliminations from a €310,000 bubble. Marchese demonstrated admirable courage with his decisive play, but the issues with the bet sizing before and after the flop ultimately contributed to situation he created on the river. This was a key hand for Bonomo, it allowed him to carry 40% of the chips in play to the final table which he would need considering the talent of the opponents he would face.