Poker Hand Matchup: Tom Marchese vs. Ben Lamb
Thomas Marchese	Win Pre-Flop	Win Post-Flop	Win Post-Turn
Starting Stack: 7,960,000	47.67 %	66.16 %	77.27 %	Winner!
Ben Lamb	Win Pre-Flop	Win Post-Flop	Win Post-Turn
Starting Stack: 4,870,000	50.78 %	33.84 %	22.73 %

Posted On: Jul 11, 2012

Outcome

With the blinds at 40,000 and 80,000 and a 10,000 ante, Marchese raised to 160,000 from under the gun, Lamb called in middle position. On the Flop, Marchese checked, Lamb bet 220,000, Marchese raised to 720,000, Lamb reraised to 1,370,000, Marchese reraised to 2,070,000, Lamb went all-in, Marchese called.

Analysis

2011 WSOP Player of the Year Ben Lamb started this hand with 60 big blinds, and was one of the few players who held an edge on the field with his tremendous post flop abilities. Lamb elected to try and buy this small pot on the flop with his combination draw to the flush and inside straight, but Marchese punished him with a hefty check raise on his set. Lamb failed to heed his talented opponent’s warning, and the betting quickly spiraled until Lamb was all-in with quite a bit of gamble. Lamb’s stack was very healthy and given Marchese’s offering of the free card on the flop it seems like a minor disaster that Lamb was all-in on the same street as a 2:1 dog. In spite of Lamb’s attractive draws Marchese’s own redraw to full houses foiled much of Lamb’s statistical potential. Lamb was in position which afforded him the opportunity to control the pot size, unfortunately he built a huge pot into one of the few hands that had him in bad shape. Lamb could have enjoyed the opportunity to utilize his talents in future spots against weaker players, but his decision to gamble here instead of practicing smallball ultimately cost him his tournament life and he was eliminated in 25th. Marchese chipped up substantially and looked to be a major threat, but he eventually busted in 13th, narrowly missing the payday.