Poker Hand Matchup: Vanessa Selbst vs. Shaun Deeb

Outcome

Final table, five handed, with the blinds at 15,000 and 30,000 and a 4,000 ante, Selbst raised to 75,000 from the small blind, Deeb called in the big blind. On the Flop, Selbst bet 60,000, Deeb raised to 208,000, Selbst reraised to 465,000, Deeb went all-in, Selbst called.

Analysis

Deeb started the final table as the chipleader and he was in great shape to recapture it once the dust settled on the flop. After Selbst submitted two bluffs on a single street Deeb finally committed for 1,567,000, leaving Selbst to face another 1,102,000 for the 2,202,000 pot. It's hard to imagine Selbst thought her AK could have been leading at this point, and even if she expected to have 6 live outs for her Ace and King to overcome something like pocket Jacks, she would still be a 3:1 dog only receiving 2:1 on her money. And Deeb was certainly the last player at the table she would want her chips to go to. She spent a few minutes deliberating her final call and it is difficult to guess why she proceeded unless she miscalculated the pot odds or convinced herself that Deeb was bluffing. Maybe she saw Deeb as her biggest threat remaining at the table and just prayed for a knockout. While it's hard to find sound motivation for this call, the King on the river eliminated Selbst's most dangerous opponent in 5th for $289,880, and left her with over half the chips in play four-handed.