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
You are three-handed for a major tournament title. Despite being a relatively unknown player and up against two very talented opponents, you are holding a massive chip lead with 11,125,000. With the blinds at 60,000-120,000 with a 20,000 ante, you have over 92 big blinds.
Your opponents are villain no. 1 with 2,040,000 (17 big blinds) and villain no. 2 with 2,855,000 (24 big blinds).
You start the hand with the button and look down at Q
J. You raise to 325,000 and villain no. 1 in the small blind moves all in for 2,020,000. Villain no. 2 in the big blind then moves all in over the top for 2,835,000.
You have 10,780,000 left and its another 2,510,000 to call.
The Questions
Do you call or fold? What are the arguments for folding? What are the arguments for calling? What kind of a price are you getting to call? How often do you expect your hand to be live? Does the fact that both players are better than you influence your decision?
What Actually Happened
Facing two all-ins over his opening raise at the 2014 World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic, Glenn Lafaye opted to call with his QJ and try to win the tournament right then and there.
Villain no. 1, Michael Rocco, turned over A
8. Villain no. 2, Chris Moorman, revealed 1010
. The flop fell K
QJ, giving Lafaye the lead.
The 3 on the turn changed nothing, but the A on the river gave the pot to Moorman with a Broadway straight. Rocco was eliminated in third place, earning $423,440.
Moorman nearly tripled up, giving him a stack of 7,750,000 to Lafaye’s 8,270,000 going into heads-up play. After 35 hands, Lafaye was eliminated in second place, banking $662,840. Moorman took home his first major live tournament title and the $1,015,460 first-place prize.
*Photo Courtesy of the World Poker Tour
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.
