Give us your opinion in the comments section below for your chance at winning a six-month Card Player magazine digital subscription.
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
There are 17 players remaining in a big, regional poker tournament. You are guaranteed at least $35,572 from your initial $3,500 buy-in and with 2,275,000 in chips, you have a slightly above average stack. The blinds are currently 20,000-40,000 with a 5,000 ante, giving you 57 big blinds to work with.
Villain no. 1 raises to 100,000 from the cutoff and is called by Villain no. 2 on the button. The small blind folds and you look down at 10
8
in the big blind. You defend and the flop comes down 8
87.
You check, and Villain no. 1 makes a continuation bet of 125,000. Villain no. 2 calls, and so do you. The turn is the 10, giving you a full house. You check, and this time, Villain no. 1 checks as well. Villain no. 2 bets 420,000 and you call.
Villain no. 1 folds and the river is the J.
The Questions
Do you check or bet? If betting, how much? If checking, are you planning to check-call or check-raise? Given the run out of the board, what hands do you expect to call a value bet? Given your opponent’s line, what value hands are in his range? What busted draws are in his range? How do you extract the most value? Is the J an action killer or does it help you get paid off? Do you regret any of your play so far in the hand?
What Actually Happened
Holding 108 on a board reading 88710J at the 2016 World Poker Tour Choctaw main event, Matthew Smith checked.
His opponent, Eric Rivkin, checked behind. Smith showed his full house and Rivkin flashed the 8
before mucking his cards.
Rivkin eventually busted in eighth place, earning $82,533. Smith took sixth place for $134,720 and the other player in the hand, Craig Varnell, finished in third for $306,346. The eventual winner was James Mackey, who earned his first WPT title and the $681,758 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.
