Weird Hand from Foxwoods
This hand comes from the Foxwoods Poker Classic’s $5,000 buy-in event last year. I’m in the 7 seat and an aggresive player, the big stack on the table is in the #6. So I’m in a pretty good spot, and I’ve got an above average stack, lets call it 65,000. Blinds are 800-1,600 with a 300 ante.
I’m dealt the 3h-4h in the big blind and it is folded around to the small blind, the big stack. He raises it to 4,000- about an average sized raise for him. My hand is playable enough that I can see a flop, especially against an aggressive player with a lot of chips on whom I have position. So I called to see a flop of 9-9-2 rainbow with one heart. Now in my mind I’m thinking that
- this player is known to raise with nothing and continue on the flop because he is aggressive and he has the chips to do it
- I dont think the player has a super strong hand pre-flop when he raised me
- I dont think this flop has hit him, and I think its very possible that its missed him completely, no matter what he is holding as long as he doesn’t have a 9
So when he leads out for 6,000, I just flat call planning to give him the illusion that either
- I have a 9
- I have hit some part of this flop
- I know he has not hit any part of this flop
By accomplishing any of these three, I am confident I can take the pot from him on the turn, no matter the card, with a big bet if/when he checks. Sure enough, the turn card is the 6 of hearts and he checks. Perfect- I can execute the next stage of my plan which is to take the pot down right now. I cut out 10,000 and fire it forward. This is a good bet in my opinion because its small enough that he may still think I have a 9 and am looking for a call, and big enough to force out any two overcards or draws that he may be holding. Also, this 6 is likely to not have hit my opponent in any reasonable way, and it also gives me a gutshot straight draw and a heart flush draw so I’m feeling pretty confident about this bet. BUT- here comes Mr. Aggressive, and he, after some thought, reraises me to 33,000.
OUCH! What can the guy have? A 9? I didn’t think so before and I still don’t think so but its much more of a possibility now. I really have to ponder this. Well I still don’t think the guy has a 9 but in actuality, pretty much any two cards beat me. Actually any two cards, considering I have the lowest two in the deck. But that isn’t deterring me because I still have a pretty good draw and a good chance to double up through Mr. Aggressive. Stack analysis: I have put in about 20,000 into this pot, and I have to put in 23,000 more to stay to the river which will leave me with around 22,000—not a horrible amount to have left if I just call and am forced to fold on the river. Its still enough to play with for a couple orbits. I might push all in over the top of his raise on the other hand, which would then put the pressure on him assuming he doesn’t have a 9. The only problem there is that he has pushed so much into the pot already, that he’s likely to call the little bit extra with any two cards other than a stone cold bluff. In retrospect, I made the wrong decision, but I decided to just call, hoping to spike a 5 or heart or maybe even a 3 or 4 on the river. River: 8 (no heart). Yuck-not what I wanted to see. So final board is 9-9-2-6-8. Surprisingly, the guy bets only 5,000 into the 80,000 pot. Well he would only do this for two reasons
- He knows he has the best hand and he knows there is so much in the pot already that I have to call with any semblance of a hand. And he knows I will because it doesnt put me all-in and it leaves me some chips to play with. OR
- He is on a stone bluff and knows that if he checks and I check, most likely I will have the best hand judging by the way I’ve played it.
I just can’t bring myself to think he has been playing this hand this way on just absolute air. I really can’t. I mean the guy has been betting and raising me on every street! I certainly can’t call this bet, so its either fold or push all in. The only problem is that I’m out of the tournament if he has anything other than a bluff. Only on a bluff will he be able to fold on the river to an extra 17,000. So I elect that I must fold. The cheeky bastard shows a 4-7 for a steel nuts bluff! WOW. I was pretty upset when I saw that hand. But hey, it wasn’t like I folded the best hand. The guy actually had me beat.