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
There are four players remaining in a tournament from a starting field of 379 entrants. You are already guaranteed a payday of at least $83,818 from your initial $3,500 investment. The winner will get $266,857.
The blinds are currently 15,000-30,000 with a 5,000 ante, meaning your stack of 2,925,000 is worth just over 97 big blinds. You are in second place. The chip leader, who is the most inexperienced player at the table, has 4,390,000. The other two players, who are both accomplished poker pros, have 2,295,000 and 1,745,000 respectively.
You are known as a very solid, creative poker player, but so far at the final table you haven’t gotten out of line at all and have played pretty snug.
The short stack, who has been the most active player so far, raises from under the gun to 60,000. You look down at 8
5 and decide now is a good time to three-bet to 175,000. The chip leader then cold calls from the small blind. The initial raiser folds.
The flop comes down K
4
4 and the chip leader leads out for 225,000. Sensing discomfort in your opponent, you raise to 700,000. Your opponent takes a bit of time before calling. The turn is the 6, giving you a gutshot straight flush draw and your opponent checks. There is 1,845,000 in the pot and you have 2,045,000 remaining.
The Questions
Do you check behind or bet? If checking behind, what is your plan for non-heart, non-seven rivers? Will you bluff if checked to? What is your plan if you make your hand? What would be a good value bet size on the river? If betting on the turn, how much? What kind of hand do you think your opponent is holding?
What Actually Happened
At the 2015 WPT Rolling Thunder main event, Harrison Gimbel decided to move all in holding 85 on a board reading K446.
His opponent, Ravee Mathi Sundar, tanked for more than seven minutes before finally deciding to call with QQ
. According to the Card Player Poker Odds Calculator, Gimbel would win the pot 25 percent of the time.
Unfortunately for the young poker pro, the river was the 9 and he was eliminated in fourth place, earning $83,818. Mathi Sundar went on to win the tournament and the $266,857 first-place prize.
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.
