Hand 2 Hand Combat -- Andreas Hoivold

Event European Poker Tour Scandinavian Open 2009
First Place $1,141,474
Entrants 462
Blinds 1,000-2,000
Ante 100
Chips Andreas Hoivold – 85,000; Roberto Romanello-75,000

Andreas Hoivold: It was day 2 with blinds at 1,000-2,000 and a 100 ante. I was on a table with a couple of pros, among them Annette Obrestad and Roberto Romanello. I kind of knew what sort of game those two played, and hoped I could use that against them.

I had played pretty tight for a while, but after a couple of rounds I wanted to play a hand. I had Q 8 of spades in middle position. Not a great hand. Not even a good hand. It is a hand amateurs should not play, but I had folded quite a few hands in a row (for me that is at least four) and I could not fold another hand. I bet 4,800 and got called by the small blind and Romanello in the big blind.

Rebecca McAdam: If he reraised you preflop, what would you have done?

AH: I would have folded instantly.

Flop: 10 5 3 (pot: 15,300)

AH: The flop was 10 5 3. It was checked around to me. I bet out 8,200. The button folded and Romanello raised to 25,000. I already had a plan if he did that and I instantly went all in for 80,000 covering Romanello by about 10,000 chips. How can I do something like that? Am I crazy? The answer is of course yes.

RM: But seriously, what were your reasons?

AH: The only hand he could have in my opinion was a 10, most likely with a kicker from 9 to K. These are hands he has to fold (since he is a good player).

The only thing he beats is a bluff, and who would risk the tournament on a bluff? If he had a set he probably would, and should, slow play it. The board is not even close to being dangerous to slow play at. He could do the same with 9-9 and 8-8, but then the fold is even easier. If he had an overpair, he would have reraised me preflop. In other words — I was almost certain he was going to fold.

In fact he did fold showing Q-10 after about six painful minutes. There was now a big crowd around the table, and they needed some inspiration. I showed the bluff and the word “sick” was repeated a few times.

RM: You said before that you knew what kind of game Romanello and Obrestad played —what are your thoughts on this?

AH: Roberto is capable of making big moves. Maybe that is one of the reasons I did this semi-crazy bluff on him. He is experienced, and for a minute I was afraid that he would make the call. Annette is a hardworking player. She likes to play a lot of hands, and she plays them good and often very aggressively. She is, despite her very young age, very experienced. She has probably played more hands online than Doyle Brunson has played live.

RM: Are these ideas from playing with them before or just from generally spending time watching how certain players play online/live?

AH: I have played with Annette quite a few times, including when she won the World Series of Poker Europe main event. After playing a lot in the UK, I had heard a bit about Roberto and seen him play, but I had not played with him before. I rarely spend time watching other players online, but I do see some TV productions.

RM: If you weren’t too sure of your opponent, would you have made the same move?

AH: I would never have made this move on someone if I didn’t know how they played. And never against a bad player.

RM: You know Roberto’s good so he will fold, does this mean you actually prefer to play pros as they are less unpredictable?

AH: I prefer playing players that can fold good hands. Bad players can’t and therefore I prefer playing pros. A mix of good and not so good players is what you usually have on a table, and I like that combo.

RM: When you’re bluffing like this do you convince yourself you have the best hand in order to look strong?

AH: I am not easily fooled. Not even by myself. But I try to “tell” my opponent that my hand is the best, of course.

Hoivold finished in 12th place for $50,302.

The popular Norwegian can be often found at a variety of major international events, and his most recent successful result was a fourth place finish at the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Cardiff main event for $17,566. Hoivold regularly makes impressive cashes in GUKPT and EPT events, among others, with his best result at the EPT German Open in season III, where he was crowned king out of 493 entrants, with a payday of $880,320. The former champ has more than $1.3 million in lifetime winnings including 16 career cashes. He plays online as “Theah_” on Ladbrokes._