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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 heads up for a tournament title and are currently out chipped by slightly more than a 2-1 margin. With 30 big blinds, you are short stacked but by no means desperate.
You’ve been playing heads up for about a dozen hands against a very solid player when he raises on the button to 500,000, or 2.5 times the big blind. You make the call with Q
2 and the flop comes down 10
10 6.
You check and your opponent bets 550,000. You have about 5 million behind your opponent’s bet, or 25 big blinds.
The Questions
Do you call or raise? If calling, what is your plan for the turn when you miss? What is your plan for the turn if you hit one of your outs? If raising, how much? If your raise is called, what is your plan for the turn?
The Argument For Calling
Your opponent raised preflop and then fired a smallish continuation bet, which hasn’t narrowed his range down much at all. You want all of his worse hands to stick around and his better hands, such as ace- or king-high hands, aren’t likely to fire another barrel, setting you up for a river bluff should you fail to hit your flush. If you do make your hand, you now have the opportunity to bet for value, or even better, raise for value.
The Argument For Raising
With a flush draw on a paired board, you have the perfect opportunity to make a semi-bluff. There is currently 1.6 million in the pot, which means that your small stack still has some fold equity. If you wait for a later street to get your money in, your opponent may find himself priced in and call you with a weak, but better hand than yours.
What Actually Happened
At the 2012 WPT Legends of Poker main event, Max Steinberg fired a 550,000 continuation bet on a flop of 10 10 6 and Josh Hale moved all in over the top for an additional 5 million.
Steinberg eventually made the call, tabling Q
6 for second pair and had to fade the Q 2 flush draw from Hale to win the pot and the title.
The turn and river fell 4
3, however, and Hale doubled up to take a nearly 2-1 chip lead. Steinberg never recovered and finished runner up for $293,490. Hale took home his first WPT title and the $500,000 first-place prize.
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.
