Hand 2 Hand Combat -- Alex Fitzgerald

Craig Tapscott: You’re down to the final three tables and you were recently moved to the TV table. Do you have any read at this point on one of the chip leaders, Constant Rijkenberg?

Alex Fitzgerald: From what I can tell, Rijkenberg has been playing a ton of pots. Every time I looked up from my other table, he was involved. I know that he’s not afraid to play big pots. However, it also seems like he has been incredibly spewy. He doesn’t shut down in spots where it’s plainly obvious that he should. He is the definition of a loose cannon.

Rijkenberg raises from the button to 40,000. Fitzgerald looks down at the A 6 in the big blind.

CT: If this were online, I know you would at least call with the ace, with the raise coming from the button. What are the options versus this obviously loose-aggressive player?

AF: I’m actually tighter from the big blind here than a lot of people would think I am. I’m folding K-8 offsuit and a number of hands with which people would instantly call because it’s a min-raise. Versus a talented online professional, I would fold A-6 offsuit here.

CT: Really? Well, you will be out of position, which is a huge factor.

AF: Yeah. Being out of position is incredibly disadvantageous. However, Rijkenberg has shown a propensity to barrel whenever checked to without really thinking about what he is representing. Therefore, I think I can get a little more value out of him than others. That being said, I’m still not convinced that this was a great flat [flat-call]. It’s going to put me in a lot of awkward positions, but I have confidence in my hand-reading ability.
Fitzgerald calls.

Flop: Q 10 5 (pot: 108,000)

CT: Is this a good spot to bet out? And how would Rijkenberg perceive a donk lead here?

AF: One option I often take here in cash games is to donk lead and just jam over the raise, especially if I think the player is going to raise without thinking, because a donk lead looks so weak. However, Rijkenberg doesn’t seem that bad. I think he would realize that the A, a flopped flush, a set, or nothing is about what I have in my range when I donk lead. To bet something like a queen there and fold if raised is terrible, because I’m never going to get value from a worse hand, but if I check, I will, and I also give myself a chance to get blown off the pot if I bet. My range is very polarized. Furthermore, if I donk lead, he might narrow my range down to those groupings of hands that I described and decide to flat a hand like a queen, when I might have gotten him to bet-fold that if I check-raised.

CT: So, check-call?

AF: Check-call was actually the option I was going to go with here. I figured he’d bet something like 80,000, and if I check-raised to around 230,000, he could just shove on me, and then I would have to stack off the rest of my chips with just a bare flush draw, and I can’t really be getting value from weaker flush draws. He won’t do that with the K.

CT: Other possible scenarios?

AF: A number of times, I will call the flop, it will go check, check on the turn, and I can lead the river and take it down if I believe his range is weak enough. A lot of times, my bare ace high will have some showdown value. In addition, it keeps the pot small. It also saves me from losing a significant portion of my stack when I’m deep in an EPT event with players who are less experienced than me and are terrified of losing. I have a huge edge with my stack in this tournament, and would prefer to hold on to it.

Fitzgerald checks. Rijkenberg bets 40,000.

CT: Hmm … small c-bet [continuation-bet]. OK. Before we go any further, talk about how to interpret bet-sizing, how to use it to your advantage, and some of the main tells that bet-sizing can give off.

AF: That’s something you develop over time. Typically, players continuation-bet larger when they want a fold and smaller when they want something to get called or raised. It’s an incredible tell if you’re positive of it. However, that takes several hands, and in this case, I didn’t have any history. And in some cases, players are the exact opposite of what I just described in regard to bet-sizing.

CT: So, Rijkenberg slid out a 40,000 c-bet on the flop. This was not the bet size that you were expecting at all; it was kind of smallish.

AF: Once he bet so small, I changed my plan. I now wanted to check-raise him to an amount that he would most likely three-bet, and then I could four-bet jam.

CT: If you proceed to jam in this spot, how do you think he will perceive your hand?

AF: Well, if I check-raise here, my hand will look really weak. I would often do the same thing with a flopped small flush and a set, but that’s pretty much it. My check-raise looks much more like air, because I’m never check-raising a queen there. Constant doesn’t know anything about me. I figure that given my bluffer line, he’s going to three-bet me to 270,000-300,000 with pretty much everything he was leading for 40,000, but he will call my four-bet jam of 1 million with only a small fraction of that range. If he calls and I’m caught, I will always have outs.

CT: Anything else?

AF: In addition, this sends a very valuable message: Mess with me, and I will get it in; I don’t give a s—t [laughing]. I was going to show the 6 if the betting went this way, because you can show one card in Italy. To a knowledgeable player, showing that card will pretty much give away my hand, but I don’t think Constant is that good, nor is anyone at the table, except perhaps William Reynolds.

Fitzgerald raises to 115,000. Rijkenberg moves all in.

CT: Oops!

AF: Yeah. This plan went awry. Once he shoves for this much, I think his range is pretty tight. When people overbet-jam these flops, they almost always have a small flush, a set, or two pair. My bare A doesn’t have enough equity against that range to call here.

Fitzgerald folds. Rijkenberg wins the pot of 263,000 and shows K-10 offsuit with no clubs.

CT: Oops again.

AF: I was dumbfounded when he turned that hand over [laughing]. Versus my check-raising range there, I think it’s a reckless play, and unprofitable in the long run.

CT: Thanks, and congratulations on the seventh-place finish for €171,000.

Alex “Assassinato” Fitzgerald is a 21-year-old professional poker player who’s originally from Seattle, Washington, and now lives in Malta. Online, he has cashed for more than $800,000, and in live events, for more than $275,000. In addition to having tournament cashes in Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the USA, he is an instructor at PokerPwnage.com, and is a published freelance writer. He is currently working on his first novel.