Poker Hand of the Week: 3/27/14

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 heads-up for a tournament title and are the short stack with 2,570,000 up against a player with 5,180,000. With the blinds at 20,000-40,000 with a 5,000 ante, you are still working with over 64 big blinds.

With 9 2 you limp in on the button and your opponent raises to 165,000. You call and the flop comes down J 9 3, giving you second pair.

Your opponent checks and you check behind. The turn is the 3, giving you a flush draw to go with your pair. Your opponent bets 250,000. You have 2,400.000 remaining in your stack.

The Questions

Do you call, raise or fold? If calling, what is your plan for the river should you make your flush? What is your plan for river cards that don’t improve your hand? If raising, how much? How does having the button influence your decision? How would you play the hand if you were out of position? Why do you think your opponent raise preflop and then opted not to continuation bet?

What Actually Happened

At the WPT bestbet Jacksonville main event and facing a bet of 250,000 from Nabil Hirezi on a board reading J 9 3 3, James Calderaro called.

The river was the 7 and Hirezi bet another 250,000. Calderaro raised to 600,000 and Hirezi called with K J for top pair.

Calderaro showed his 9 2 for a flush and took the pot. Despite fighting back to a nearly even stack, Calderaro eventually busted in second place, earning $133,764 and falling just short of his second WPT title.

Hirezi won the tournament, the title and the $206,041 first-place prize.

*Image 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.

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