Poker Hand of the Week: 3/20/15You Decide What's The Best Play |
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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 live tournament in Las Vegas. You are guaranteed a payday of $39,933 from your initial $2,000 buy-in and the winner will get $111,619. The chip leader is stacked with 2,202,000, but you and the other two players are virtually tied for second place. With the blinds at 12,000-24,000 with a 3,000 ante, your 1,325,000 is worth 55 big blinds. All of your opponents are highly skilled, although the chip leader has played somewhat unconventional at times.
A player with 1,303,000 raises to 50,000 from the cutoff and the player with 1,370,000 three-bets to 120,000 from the button. Sitting in the small blind, you look down at J
J
. You decide to call, the chip leader folds from the big blind and the cutoff makes the call.
The flop comes down 9
82 and you think for a bit before checking. The cutoff checks as well and the button bets 160,000. After about a minute of thought, you check-raise to 350,000. The cutoff then shoves all in for his last 1,180,000.
The button quickly folds. You have the cutoff covered by just 22,000, less than one big blind.
The Questions
Do you call or fold? Given the line you have taken so far, is your hand too disguised to fold? Does the flop texture make it more likely that your opponent has a drawing hand? What other hands are in your opponent’s range? Do you regret playing your jacks in such a tricky manner? Should you have reraised preflop, or perhaps led out on the flop?
What Actually Happened
At the Card Player Poker Tour main event at the Wynn casino in Las Vegas, Eric Molina was put to the test by Kevin Calenzo for the majority of his stack holding pocket jacks on a 982 flop.
After awhile in the tank, Molina called and was shown the bad news when Calenzo revealed 2
2 for bottom set. The turn and the river fell 43 and Molina was left crippled.
He was eliminated on the very next hand, cashing for $39,933. Calenzo survived to heads-up play, making a deal that paid him $82,024 for his runner-up finish. The eventual winner was Maxim Sorokin, who banked $101,619.
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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