Amanda Musumeci, a Philadelphia poker pro, has been turning heads ever since her deep run in the 2011 World Series of Poker main event, where she finished 62nd for $130,997.
Later that year, she took down a preliminary event at the Borgata Fall Poker Open and has since racked up four WSOP Circuit final table appearances.
Recently, she finished second in event no. 9 of the 2012 WSOP, scoring the biggest payday of her career of $481,643. We spoke to her to get her thoughts on a crucial hand she played on day 3 that put her in great position to make the final table.
The Hand
With 13 players left in the $1,500 no-limit hold’em tournament, Amanda Musumeci raised to 52,000 in late position and was called by Giorgio Medici in the blinds.
The flop came down K
J 2
and Medici checked. Musumeci bet 78,000 and Medici quickly called. The turn was the 2
and again Medici checked.
This time, Musumeci fired in 164,000. Medici called and the river was the Q. Medici checked one last time and Musumeci bet 327,000. Medici called and then flashed the K after seeing Musumeci’s K
J for a better two pair.
Musumeci jumped up to 2.3 million after the hand, while Medici was left with just 430,000.
The Analysis
Julio Rodriguez: Can you tell us about the hand you played with Giorgio Medici?
Amanda Musumeci: Sure. When I was cutting out my raise preflop, I noticed that he already had his hand on his chips, ready to call. He seemed to do this alot, basically telegraphing his moves. So I go ahead and open to 52,000 with K-J, happy to play a pot in position.
JR: Wouldn’t him telegraphing his call discourage you from raising instead?
AM: Keep in mind, I’m not raising with K-J as a steal, I’m raising it for value. He was playing a lot of pots and was perfectly willing to mix it up and get some chips in there. He was also overvaluing his hands, as well. There were a few times where he had trouble laying down mediocre hands and wound up paying off two streets with weak holdings.
JR: Alright, what about the rest of the hand?
AM: The flop comes down K-J-2 with two hearts and he checks. I go to cut out a continuation bet and once again, I see his hand move to his chips, readying them for a call. Normally I might bet a little smaller here, since I got so much of the board, but since he’s basically telling me that he’s going to call, I can go ahead and put in a healthy bet. I settled on 78,000 and he snap called.
JR: Do you think that he was grabbing his chips in an effort to get you to slow down?
AM: I believe so. Normally when people indicate that they are going to call you down, it’s a sign of weakness. They are basically trying to scare you into betting less or not at all, so that they can see a cheap showdown with a hand like top pair, weak kicker or maybe even second pair. He had just been moved to the table and we hadn’t played together, but with a draw out there, he could easily think his top pair is best and pay me off on all three streets.
JR: The turn pairs the board.
AM: The turn is a perfect card for me. Now, he’s definitely more confident in his hand if he’s holding a king, since he’s chopping against K-10 or lower. Again, he’s got his chips in hand, so I fire out 164,000 and he called.
JR: The river is an offsuit queen. Are you worried at all about this card?
AM: It’s actually not that great of a card for my hand, since K-Q is definitely in his range. Then again, I’m not sensing a ton of strength from him, so I think it’s safe to go ahead and bet again when he checks to me. If he somehow check shoves over my river bet then it’s an awkward spot, but I think I’m calling anyway. I ended up betting almost half of his remaining stack, which may look strategic, but honestly, I don’t think he was even aware. My goal was just to get maximum value and I think I came pretty close.
JR: He flashed a king, but did he ever tell you what his other card was?
AM: He never showed me the other card, but based on the action, K-10 or K-9 are the most likely hands he had. Every once in a while he’ll show up with A-K, trying to get tricky preflop, but my best guess is that he wasn’t that strong.
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