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Poker Hand of the Week: 9/11/15

You 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

With 24 players remaining in a big buy-in, live poker tournament, you are squarely on the money bubble. Only 23 players will get paid, guaranteed a minimum of a little less than double their buy-in.

With a stack of 825,000 and blinds of 20,000-40,000 with a 5,000 ante, you are working with 20 big blinds and are sitting in 10th place overall. There are currently four players with five big blinds or less remaining in the tournament.

A player with about 32 big blinds opens for a raise of 80,000 from early position and it folds around to you on the button. You look down at ASpade SuitKSpade Suit and decide to just call. The blinds fold and the flop comes down JSpade Suit10Diamond Suit7Spade Suit, giving you two overs, a gutshot straight draw and a flush draw.

Your opponent checks and you check behind. The turn is the 3Club Suit and your opponent bets 250,000. You have a total of 740,000 remaining in your stack.

The Questions

Do you fold, call or raise? If calling, what is your plan for rivers that complete your hand? What is your plan if the river is a brick? If raising, how much? Do you want to get called? Given the situation on the money bubble, is folding ever a possibility? Do you regret not betting the flop?

What Actually Happened

Martin FingerAt the €25,000 high roller event at EPT Barcelona, Liv Boeree was facing a bet of 250,000 holding ASpade SuitKSpade Suit on a board reading JSpade Suit10Diamond Suit7Spade Suit3Club Suit.

Boeree opted to call and the river was the KHeart Suit. Her opponent, Ankush Mandavia, checked. After some thought, Boeree checked behind and her top pair was enough to take down the pot. Mandavia showed A-8 for a busted straight draw.

The bubble burst a little while later with a double elimination and Mandavia went on to finish in 18th place, earning €46,900. Boeree eventually busted in third place, banking €391,000. The winner was Martin Finger, who took home the title and the €865,900 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.