Hand 2 Hand Combat -- William Fry

Rebecca McAdam: Can you set the scene?

William Fry: I was at the mid-point stage of the Hungarian Open - which I won. I was just under the average stack and really needed to chip up and quick. I had had an awful decision go against me where the dealer had misheard me say "call" and had mucked my cards even though I put them face up and started fist pumping when the other gentlemen turned his cards over in disgust after announcing "all-in". I was about to double up with my two pair against his top pair and become one of the chip leaders. This in my first ever "big tourney" was going to be an amazing double up. I was very shocked to be in this position and even more shocked when the dealer mucked my hand and pushed the chips to the Hungarian gentlemen who then, after an inquest, with all the tournament directors getting involved, began lying through his teeth. Well, some karmic force sent me through to the final table and I somehow reached my hand around the trophy at the end of the day.

RM: Did you have to prevent yourself from reacting badly to this mishap?

WF: Well, one of the key hands for me in the tournament was at this point. I had been a little tilt-y due to the strange decision that had gone against me and had donated a few chips around the new table I was on (the other table had been split due to possible future arguments). I was now sitting with Kara Scott, Annette Obrestad, and a few other faces I recognised but could not put a name to, and I really needed some chips. Having calmed down, I put my thinking cap back on, realised I still had enough chips to do some damage with, and set about finding out how to get them.

RM: How did you get involved in the hand with Annette Obrestad?

WF: Annette min-raised from early position - now this aggressive Norwegian lady had been min-raising quite a lot on a relatively tight table, which I had previously called with A-Q during a different hand. Normally, I would believe her range here had to be quite small. I mean, if it was in a late position (especially because she had a large stack) her range would be huge (almost anything). But I felt that she was quite strong, I was thinking to myself - anywhere from 8-8 and A-J suited upwards. Everyone folded to my big blind and I looked down at two queens. Now, getting chips off good players isn't easy, and I really needed chips, so rather than raising, which would have won me a small pot, I decided to gamble and slow roll this hand.

RM: Would this normally be something you would do?

WF: Well, it's not the best hand to slow roll as any king or ace on the flop would either kill the action or give Annette the best hand, but at this point I was 90 percent sure I had the best hand, especially with Annette raising quite frequently. I really needed a double up so I decided to just call and not set off any alarm bells. The flop came down K-K-6 rainbow, which, although wasn't ideal, was still a good flop for me. I checked hoping to check-raise, but unfortunately Annette checked also, the turn bringing the 9. My head quickly spun and thoughts of Annette holding the 9-9 raced through it, but I was going to have to go with this hand. I checked again, and Annette put a half pot bet out (approx. 3,000). I thought for quite some time before announcing what I was always going to do - "raise". I pushed some chips into the middle and moved into my usual betting position (approximately 8,000). After thinking long and hard Annette called.

RM: Were you worried she was slow rolling?

WF: Yeah, I was wondering if maybe she had A-K, but I was too deep to turn back now and was praying she was holding an ace, 9, 10-10, or J-J. The river came a blank and I was first to speak. I moved almost all of my chips, around 15,000, into the middle. Annette went into the think tank, which was an awesome relief to me now as I was hoping that the "insta-call" wouldn't be heard. After an agonising wait, she called, and I turned over my Q-Q to scoop the pot. "Sick," I heard her say as I believe she mucked the J-J, a hand that a good player can get away from quite easily if put to a preflop test.

RM: Why do you think this play worked?

WF: There seemed to be two reasons. Firstly, Annette had looked me up in a previous hand to show the winning hand when I was bluffing, and secondly the sneaky way I played the pot. After the hand, Annette said, "If you had bet the flop, I would've called." So maybe some of the sneakiness I used was actually not needed. I mean if I checked the flop and an ace had hit then I wasn't going to get paid, so in many ways maybe I played the hand wrong. It's an easy game in hindsight, so on this occasion I was happy that I seemed to have played it well.

RM: There was another hand later in the same tournament that you wanted to mention, wasn't there?

WF: God, I love this hand. I had just joined a new table and after making the money had decided to become quite aggressive. I had a huge stack to my right entering quite a lot of pots, and had decided early on to bully the bully which is a hobby of mine. After reraising him with rags (and showing him), I decided to play this K-9 very unconventionally. He on the other hand gave me many clues of how to play the hand with what he said. He bet out and it was the last hand of the day. I looked at the pay structure with about 40 left and knew that really the top four prizes were where the real money was. I looked down at K-9 and announced raise.

RM: Why did you make this move?

WF: I did it for two reasons. Firstly, he had raised about 4 out of the last 12 hands so I knew his range was wide, and secondly, I had position on him. He looked shocked and annoyed, and I thought, "Brilliant, a nice little pot for me." He started to speak, "I think I have the best hand here." He waited ages, thinking.

RM: What was going through your mind at this point?

WF: I was slightly worried here and obviously didn't want a call from him. I was analysing what hands he could have - A-Q, A-J, 8-8. I knew he was strong but by the way he was talking , it obviously wasn't a massive hand. So, unless he was up for an Oscar, I was reading him correctly. Finally, to my dismay, he announced, "raise." I thought for a minute or so, and almost folded before going with my gut and putting all my chips into the middle of the table. This was a bit crazy, both of us were very deep stacked at this point, but there was now a huge amount of chips in the middle worth fighting for, and my gut said "put the pressure on". Not one of my usual plays, but I knew that if I was right then I would be one of the chip leaders.

RM: What was the result?

WF: My opponent, after folding, claimed to have mucked Q-Q. But thinking about it - the loose player that he was, and the history between us - I'm sure he would've called with Q-Q. I don't know why he told me Q-Q if he didn't have it, but I feel like he was lying and it was more likely 8-8 or A-J. I showed him the K-9 and began counting up my huge stack for the next day of play with a cheeky smile on my face, thinking, "Gus Hansen taught me that one!"

William Fry is an online professional whose first major cash was first place in the 2008 EPT Polish Open in Warsaw. Although he has also been successful online and in smaller live events. Since his big win, he has been hitting the live international poker scene with a thirst for more.