Professional Poker Tour – Hands – Part II – How would you have played this hand?

In my last column, I discussed a hand I played against Marcel Luske at the Professional Poker Tour event recently held at The Mirage. In this column, I would like to discuss another hand from the same event, and in the next issue I will discuss my final hand. I chose these hands because I thought my play in each of them was not cut-and-dried, although I left the event feeling fairly satisfied with my decisions.

The failed river bluff attempt I made against Marcel Luske that I related in my last column left me with a short stack of only about $6,500 in chips (we started with $10,000, and quite a few players had already been eliminated at this point). The blinds were $100-$200 with a $25 ante when the following hand took place:

Marcel, with a big stack, opened the pot for $800 from fairly late position, seated two to my right. I was on the button, holding pocket eights. In my opinion, I figured to have the best hand, and believed I should play. The next decision, then, was how to proceed from this point. Given my chip count, I thought I had only two reasonable options. I could call and see a flop, and then make a judgment call at that point about how to proceed. Or, I could move my $6,500 all in. If I did this, I had the opportunity to win the pot and the $1,300 or so that it contained right away. This would not be an insignificant addition to my stack. I didn't think Marcel would call me unless he held a reasonable hand, and there was no chance he would fold a better hand than mine. Ultimately, I decided to just call since I held position, gambling that I could double up in this spot. Had I been in one of the blind positions, I think I would've moved all in instead.

After both blinds had folded, the dealer placed a flop of 5-5-3 rainbow on the table. This was one of the best flops I could hope for that didn't contain an 8 – three small cards without a lot of draw possibilities. If Marcel had a 5, I was resigned to going broke. Marcel led at the pot for $900. Once again, I had a decision to make. No way was I folding, and now the pot was growing larger. Should I raise to protect my vulnerable pair from overcards, or should I just call as a ploy to induce future bets from my opponent? I think a case can be built for either play here, although perhaps with my short stack, the play that most helped ensure my survival was best. However, after a bit of reflection, I just called.

The turn was a relatively harmless-looking 10. Although this card could have hit Marcel's hand, it didn't look nearly as intimidating as, say, an ace would have. He fired $1,500. If I called, I would have just over $3,000 left, with about $7,000 in the pot. This more or less committed me to calling the other $3,000 on the river, regardless of what came. Or, once again, I could move all in. The problem with this maneuver now was that Marcel would have to call only another $3,000, and with his big stack, he would likely call with any two overcards, so I wouldn't really be able to adequately protect my hand. Also, he would certainly call if he had me beat. In fact, the only hands I thought he might fold were his truly hopeless bluffs, or perhaps a hand like K-6 suited with its one overcard. I decided to save the rest of my chips for the river, since I didn't think they gave me much leverage in protecting my hand. I called.

The last card was a king. Marcel thought for a bit, and then said, "All in," which put me all in, not him. This wasn't exactly the card I had in mind, but I already had decided I wasn't giving this hand up. With a touch of reluctance, I pushed my chips forward. Fortunately for me, Marcel said, "Nice call," turning over the 9 4 for a bluff.

As it turned out, the way I played my hand enabled me to double my chips, as a raise from me at any point would have ended the hand immediately. However, I'm not so sure I played the hand properly. Although I maximized the value of this hand, as it played out, I did so at the cost of significantly increasing my chances of going broke.

Had Marcel's hand been something like K-J, my failure to move all in when the flop came with three small cards would have resulted in my elimination. It would seem that if I could choose between making a mistake that busts me and one that costs me some value on a hand, it is far less dangerous to sacrifice some value to maximize my chances of winning the pot.

Next issue, I'll conclude with the hand that sent me home. In the meantime, feel free to let me know what you thought about my play in this hand.

Part I of this series can be found at www.CardPlayer.com.