Championship Poker at the Plaza - Day Two

I was very excited to get started on day two of this event, because there was an interesting twist to it that was unique to all other events. Down to the final 36 players, we played sixhanded at six tables. That's just awesome. I felt like a kid in a candy store. Very low blinds, lots of chips, and shorthanded play – can a man ask for anything more?

I think it's pretty clear that shorthanded play benefits the professionals and really hurts the inexperienced players, who are not accustomed to seeing lots of flops and playing lots of marginal hands. I felt like day two would be an excellent time for me to make a big push, hopefully all the way down to the final table.

I started the day with about $18,000 in chips and was up to about $22,000 when I got involved in a key hand that I'd like to share with you:

The blinds were $150-$300 with a $25 ante when everybody folded to me on the button. I looked down at the 7 5, and the thought of folding never crossed my mind. This was exactly the type of hand I wanted to see in this situation.

At the $150-$300 level, my standard raise is usually $800, so that's what I made it. Annie Duke was in the small blind with close to $40,000 in chips, which was a very good-sized stack at that point in the tournament. After an awkward hesitation, she reraised to $2,800. The big blind folded, and it would cost me $2,000 more if I wanted to see the flop. Anytime I can get 2-1 pot odds, implied odds, and position with a suited connector, you can count me in!

Normally with a hand like that, I'd be hoping my opponent had two aces, but in this case, it didn't feel like aces. I picked up something before the flop (no, I won't tell you what it was), and believed my opponent had a marginal hand. The first hand that popped into my head was A-8, or maybe A-9. The reraise looked uncomfortable to me, almost like, "This hand is too good to just call with, but I'm not all that crazy about the situation." Anyway, that's the read I got at that point.

So, I called $2,000 more and the flop came 10 6 4. Annie went ahead and bet $3,600 into a pot that had $6,000 in it. It had the feel of a post oak bluff (a minimal bet intended to create the appearance that you want a call) or a weak lead. Normally in these types of situations, I would be happy to call the smallish bet, hoping that I could win a huge pot if I hit my hand on the turn. This situation was different, however. In order for me to win a big pot if I hit the straight, my opponent would have to have an overpair.

My preflop read was ace high, and that flop bet also screamed of ace high. I got a chuckle when I watched the broadcast later and Michael Konik called my situation one of "raise or fold." Michael, Michael, Michael, how am I going to fold on the flop?

Anyway, I was faced with an interesting dilemma, and it was not raise or fold. It was (a) call, (b) raise, or © move all in. Strangely enough, all of the above seemed like good choices, but there had to be one choice that was better than the rest.

Before I proceeded, I had to ask myself one key question: Would she bet the flop when out of position with just ace high? Absolutely. In fact, based on my read of her play, she would have bet the flop regardless of her hand.

It's a play born out of limit hold'em, and her teacher, Howard Lederer, is one of the best limit hold'em players around. "If you raised before the flop, you keep the lead on the flop." While I think that works to some degree in no-limit hold'em as well, it's a much more dangerous proposition, especially when out of position.

So, with my preflop read of the raise and my read of the bet on the flop, I finally decided to rule out (a) call. After making the call, I would have an additional $15,500 left to raise. So, the question remained: Should I move all in or make a standard-sized raise?

After replaying past hand histories that my opponent may have seen, I finally decided that moving all in looked too much like a drawing hand, while a raise of $8,000 almost invited a call. Of course, by raising $8,000, I was essentially moving all in anyway. If Annie were to raise me all in, that raise of $8,000 would have committed me to the pot. If I happened to be wrong and Annie did have a pair, I'd be getting close to 4-1 odds for my last $7,500, which is an automatic call.

Once I figured out the situation, I went ahead and raised $8,000and awaited my fate. I was fully expecting Annie to throw her ace high into the muck. About 10 seconds went by and nothing happened. "Hmm, I guess she has a pair of eights or nines, then. Now I really want her out!" Another 10 seconds went by … then another, and another. "Uh-oh," I thought. "She has to have some-thing; if she had ace high, she would have folded by now."

After sweating it for what seemed like an eternity, I finally got the result I was looking for, as my semibluff worked. Later when the show aired, I finally got to see what she had – A-9! Sweet.

That pot helped me build some momentum. I started hitting some flops and steadily built my stack. Going to the final table, I had $86,600, which put me in fifth place with six players remaining. Fellow Canadian Gavin Smith led the way with $165,400, and the rest of the pack was as tough as it gets: Ted Forrest, Layne Flack, Freddie Deeb, and Dan Alspach.

In the next issue, you can look forward to a pretty amazing hand that I still get goose bumps watching!

Daniel can be reached through his website: www.fullcontactpoker.com. Unfortunately, because of an overwhelming number of e-mails, Daniel cannot answer any strategy-related questions and doesn't offer private tutoring.