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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
There are 21 players remaining in a live poker tournament and with 1,110,000, you are in the middle of the pack. The blinds are 15,000-30,000 with a 5,000 ante, giving you 37 big blinds to work with.
A player raises to 65,000 from middle position and it folds to you on the button. You look down at 9
7 and make the call. The big blind also calls and you see a three-handed flop of 9
52.
The big blind checks and the villain bets 115,000. He has a total of 455,000 behind and you have him covered by an additional 470,000.
The Questions
Do you call, fold or raise? Are there are any reasons for folding? If calling, what is your plan for turn if you improve? What if you don’t improve? If raising, how much? Are you raising for value or to take advantage of your fold equity? How likely are you to have the best hand right now? What kind of range has your opponent established so far? Does the presence of the big blind in the hand change your decision?
What Actually Happened
In the 2016 WPT Borgata Poker Open main event, Leif Hetland opted to raise Zachary Gruneberg’s bet of 115,000 to 250,000. The big blind, Daniel Zack, quickly folded and Grunberg moved all in for 570,000.
Hetland called with his 97, but according to the Card Player Poker Odds Calculator, he was just a slight underdog at 45 percent to win against Gruneburg’s QQ
.
The turn and river fell 8Q
and Gruneberg doubled up. Hetland was left short stack and he was ultimately eliminated in 17th place, earning $20,191. Gruneberg went on to make the final table.
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.
