Yapping With Heimiller

There was a fun and interesting hand I played in the World Poker Tour event at the Legends of Poker tournament that I'd like to share. It was actually pretty funny to me, but I think you really had to be there to fully appreciate it. I'll try my best to re-create the moment.



The blinds were $50-$100 and I'd gotten off to a pretty decent start, running my $10,000 starting stack up to about $17,000. Dan Heimiller showed up late and sat down on my immediate right at an otherwise soft table. I have a long-running joke with Dan, always referring to him as a bizarre nut case as far as his playing style goes. Playing hands very strangely and bluffing in even more odd situations is something I'd seen Dan do quite a bit in the past.



In this hand, there was a limper and Dan went ahead and raised to $300. I'd seen him make this play quite often, hoping to isolate his opponent heads up with position.



With the 9 6, I called from the cutoff seat, as did the big blind and the first limper. So, four of us took a flop of the 9 5 4. Everyone checked to me, and with $1,250 already in the pot, I decided to try to protect my hand by betting $800.



The first two players folded quickly and the action was back on Dan, the original raiser. I could see it in his eyes that he just didn't believe me. I could sense that he thought I was just bluffing randomly, since everyone had checked to me. So, in trying to help him along, I said aloud, "How did you know I'd bet if you checked? That was crazy, dude."

He continued to ponder his decision, and I said, "Wow, you are going to try to take this pot away from me, aren't you, Dan? That is so nuts; you really are crazy!"



Dan continued to think for a moment, then reached for his chips and raised to $2,000. Now, that didn't really change my read of the situation much, but I did have to worry about him having flopped a set or having an overpair.



It was just hard for me to believe that with four-way action and a flush draw and a straight draw present, Dan would run the risk of me checking behind him and giving everyone a free card if he had an overpair. It just seemed so strange, but then again, that's Dan for you!



I called the raise and decided to see what developed on the turn. The turn brought the K. Once again, Dan fired out $2,000, which could mean one of two things: He was sucking me in with a monster hand, or was trying to bluff me without risking too many chips.



My read was that Dan had ace high, but he easily could have A-K, as well. It was a tough decision, especially knowing that if I called this $2,000 bet, I might be forced to make a very risky call on the river if he made a big bet.



I went with my gut, though, and called once again. The river brought the 7, which looked like an absolute death card for me. However, if Dan didn't have a drawing hand, either, that card had to look like his worst nightmare, also.



I watched and waited as the wheels turned in Dan's head. If he could bet that card, I'd put him on a hand that made a flush, or continue to put him on an ace high that he was trying to run through as a bluff. I'd decided that I was going to call a decent-sized bet on the river when Dan finally gave up and checked.



I didn't see any point in betting the river with my pair of nines since Dan would surely call me with a better pair and likely fold if he was bluffing. So, I checked, and Dan turned over the A Q.



I was actually quite surprised to see him check that hand on the river. Why? Well, for starters, he held the "key card," the A. That lets him know that I couldn't possibly have the nuts. The naked-ace play is one that is used more often in a game like pot-limit Omaha, but it also has a place in hold'em in many situations. Take my bluff versus Freddy Deeb at the Plaza a while back, for example. I bluff-raised Freddy on the river with the naked ace, knowing that he couldn't have the nut flush. That can turn out to be a valuable piece of information when used properly.



So, I raked in the pot and had my stack up over $20,000. Dan, on the other hand, mumbled to himself while clipping his fingernails under the table. No, I'm not kidding! He actually chose this tournament as the appropriate moment to do some personal grooming! Dan, you are one strange brew, buddy!



In analyzing the hand, I think Dan missed out on a few key things when trying to run this bluff. The situation wasn't set up right for him. He had to know that I was going to be very suspicious of him checking a strong hand with just one player behind him. It's certainly not the "standard" play there with an overpair, or even a flush draw.



In fact, the way Dan played the hand, it looked like he had precisely what he had: ace high – or a set. Had he simply bet the flop and then bet the turn again when the king fell, he would have had an easier time convincing me that he had a strong hand.



That one clue, or giveaway, was enough for me to make a nice call in a difficult situation. Unfortunately for me, my run ended later that day in disappointing fashion. I'm not one to talk about bad beats, so I won't bore you with the details. I try to live by the motto that if I absolutely hate listening to bad-beat stories, I'm sure everyone else is equally annoyed by listening to mine!

Read Daniel's blog at fullcontactpoker.com.