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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’re on the money bubble in a major tournament with an above-average stack of 109 big blinds. There are short stacks on the other tables, but nobody is in any real danger, so the bubble could go on for quite some time.
Your opponent, a young, solid pro with 83 big blinds, raises to 28,000 from middle position and you make the call in the big blind with 10
9.
The flop comes down 8
7
3, giving you an open-ended straight draw and two overcards, as well as a backdoor flush draw. You lead for 35,000 and your opponent calls.
The turn is the 7, pairing the board and you fire another bullet worth 55,000. Again, your opponent calls and the river is the 9.
You have 1,195,000 remaining in your stack. Your opponent has 879,000 left in front of him.
The Questions
Do you bet or, assuming your opponent bets, check-call? If betting, how much? What kinds of hands are in your opponent’s range based on how the action has played out?
The Argument For Betting
With a rivered hand of top pair, perhaps it’s best to bet for value, trying to get chips from an opponent who could be holding an eight, three or any medium pocket pair. Furthermore, because you led into the preflop raiser and bet all three streets, you are unlikely to be raised on the river by anything less than a monster, allowing you to dictate the size of the bet, which should be on the small side. By checking, you are putting yourself at the mercy of your opponent, who could choose to bomb the river and put you in a difficult spot.
The Argument For Check/Calling
The goal at this point in the hand is to get to showdown. Yes, you may miss value by checking and having your opponent check an eight, three or medium pocket pair behind, but you’d be missing out on maximum value by not giving him the opportunity to bet when behind. By checking, you allow your opponent to bet all of the aforementioned hands, as well as all of his missed draws and complete bluffs. To sum up, checking has the potential to get value from his entire range, not just his made hands.
What Actually Happened
On a board reading 8 7 3 7 9 at the World Poker Tour Championship, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi bet 100,000 and his opponent, Trevor Pope, made the call.
Mizrachi showed 10 9 for top pair, but Pope’s 7
4 had turned trips, giving him the pot.
Both players survived the money bubble and advanced to the televised final table of six, which will be played out Saturday at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Each player is guaranteed at least $155,571, but all are vying for the first-place prize of $1,196,858.
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.
