Hand 2 Hand Combat -- David Sands

Doc Sands raises to 735 with the 10 10. Villain calls from the button.

CT: What do you make of this smooth-call? And, do you know this player?

DS: He’s a solid opponent, on the button, with a large stack. I believe flatting [flat-calling] in position is becoming increasingly popular among good online players. Many inexperienced players feel that continuation-betting anytime you are the preflop raiser is the correct move. Additionally, they seem to think that once an opponent calls the flop bet, he has a decently strong holding. As a result, an increasing number of good players flat in position preflop, float on the flop, and then attempt to take the pot away on the turn. As soon as Villain flats me, I anticipate him taking this line much of the time.

Flop: 9 8 6 (pot: 2,115)
Doc Sands bets 1,265.

CT: Talk a bit about your bet-sizing.

DS: I’m confident that I have the best hand here, but I don’t want to bet too much, because I want my opponent to have plenty of room to make a play at the pot. Furthermore, I’m not too concerned with pricing out drawing hands, because I have two of the four cards that any reasonable draw needs to get there.
Villain calls.

DS: As expected, my opponent doesn’t give up the pot. Flatting in position and then folding to a half-pot c-bet [continuation-bet] on a dry flop is so weak that almost no good opponents will fold to my flop bet. Naturally, if the guy is going to float the flop, he’s going to bet the turn.

Turn: 5 (pot: 4,645)
Doc Sands checks. Villain bets 2,275.

DS: I will check-call basically any turn here for value, even though the four-card straight got there on the turn.

CT: Any clue to his hand range here? Could he have a 7?

DS: I cannot put him on any hand that contains a 7. I feel he would flat preflop in this spot with only A-7, 8-7, 7-6, 9-7, and 10-7. I can instantly eliminate 8-7, 9-7, and 7-6 from his range, since he would likely raise on the flop. And he almost never has 10-7, since I have two tens, so A-7 is really the only hand I need to be concerned with here. This is one of those spots where your opponent has either a made hand or total air. Eliminating the hands that have me dominated is much more important than trying to put him on two specific cards. As a side note, I do like his bet-sizing here; it looks strong, and gives him ample room to bluff the river.

Doc Sands calls.
River: 3 (pot: 9,195)

CT: Pretty much a brick.

DS: Yes. The 3 on the river changes nothing. If I had the best hand on the turn, I still have my opponent beat. I have already replayed the hand in an attempt to define his range, and I am unable to put him on a hand played in this manner that beats mine.

Doc Sands checks. Villain moves all in for 13,234 and has Doc Sands covered. Doc Sands calls 8,255.

CT: So, you stuck to your read to the very end.

DS: I felt that he would’ve bet a dominant hand for value rather than choose to put me all in.

Villain reveals the Q J. Doc Sands wins the pot of 25,705.

Hand No. 2

Doc Sands raises to 124,465 from under the gun with the K Q.

DS: Stack sizes are supremely important in this spot, as is the table dynamic.

CT: Please explain.

DS: The short stack at the table is sitting directly to my left with just over 30 big blinds. The four other players have between 60 and 80 big blinds, while I have over 100. I really like this spot because no one at the table has a stack that he can profitably three-bet shove. This means that I can open a very wide range without having to worry about getting shut out of the pot preflop. Since I feel I can outplay my opponents after the flop, my plan is to open a huge portion of my range and force my opponents, some of whom are no doubt trying to move up in the money, to play pots with me post-flop. This strategy really forces my opponents to make a hand to play back at me, since playing a large pot with me could cost them $200,000 in real money.

CT: Set this final table up, David.

DS: I’ve opened about 10 of the last 20 hands, and have taken the majority of pots down either uncontested preflop or by continuation-betting the flop. Villain is the only other professional left, and I’m confident that he will make a stand against me at some point, rather than just allow me to run him over.

CT: So, they will soon tire of your aggression?

DS: Yes. And K-Q is way ahead of my opening range in this spot, with the chip lead and six-handed at the final table of a major. Since I raised from under the gun, I am planning on c-betting almost any flop, especially in position. I basically think that because I’ve been so active, Villain cannot eliminate any significant part of my range preflop.

Villain calls from the big blind.
Flop: 9 7 7 (pot: 309,930)
Villain checks. Doc Sands bets 164,865.

DS: My c-bet really doesn’t enable Villain to narrow my range at all, since he knows that I’m making this bet more than 80 percent of the time.
Villain raises to 429,730.

CT: So, this is where the hand gets interesting?

DS: Yes. Since he’s a good player, I know that he infrequently flats when out of position preflop and then just check-folds on the flop. I expect him to take a stab at the pot on many dry flops.

CT: So, what’s going through your head?

DS: At this point in the hand, my first thought is, “How can I apply maximum pressure with minimum risk?” I recognized that my opponent likely felt that he had a significant skill advantage over every player at the table besides me, and was therefore unlikely to risk his stack without a strong holding. I also felt that he rarely check-raises, especially against an aggressive opponent who he knows will likely continue to bet, and with any hand that has me dominated (any 7, A-A, K-K, Q-Q, 9-9).

CT: You really felt that he might have flatted with hands like A-A, K-K, or Q-Q against such an aggressive player as you are?

DS: He could flat from out of position preflop with A-A, but we are so deep that he would almost always three-bet the K-K or Q-Q, and would always raise and call off with the 9-9.

CT: So …

DS: Once that I have deduced that it’s very unlikely I’m dominated, I analyze stack sizes in an effort to maximize leverage. With 900,000 in the pot, I’m in a position to put him to a decision for all of his chips, while risking less than 20 percent of my remaining stack.

Doc Sands reraises to 824,865.

CT: The all-important bet-sizing again.

DS: It’s a bet that, in my opinion, Villain cannot just call; he has to fold or shove.

Villain folds. Doc Sands wins the pot of 904,525.

David Sands is one of the top-ranked online players in the world. He has won eight online major events. In November 2008, he won the Full Tilt Poker $750K for $132,800. His largest cash came from taking down the Full Tilt Online Poker Series XII event No. 10, for $259,440.