Hand 2 Hand Combat -- Michael Rocco

Event 2009 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker $1,000 no-limit hold’em
Players in the Event 3,268 
First Prize $513,076
Players at the Table 9  
Stacks anfo500 – 85,908; Villain – 73,340 
Blinds 500-1,000
Antes 125

Craig Tapscott: There was some history between you and the villain that affected how this hand eventually played out, wasn’t there?

Michael “anfo500” Rocco: Yes. The villain in the hand is Aaron Kanter. He had come to the table with about 150,000 in chips, and proceeded to lose half of his stack. Through observing his play, I could sense that he was growing a bit frustrated.
 
CT: What was your table image?

MR: I was playing very aggressively, opening a lot of pots and three-betting and four-betting frequently.

CT: Had you picked up any reads on Kanter?

MR: I noticed that when he had a fairly strong but vulnerable hand in a big pot post-flop, he generally would keep the pot small and try to get to the showdown, especially when he had a positional advantage. He wasn’t one to bet for sick thin value.

Anfo500 raises from the hijack position to 2,450 with the 8 8. The villain reraises to 6,866.
 
CT: What did you make of this three-bet?

MR: His timing preflop seemed quick. And his exact sizing indicates that he took the time to type in his bet. He’s attempting to come off as strong as possible with this play. When people attempt to come off strong in a hand, they usually aren’t. I was fairly sure that I was well ahead of his three-betting range.

CT: Can you be more precise?

MR: He wasn’t the type of player to three-bet weak Broadway hands; suited and unsuited J-10, Q-10, K-Q, K-J, A-10, and A-J were all hands that I was pretty sure he would be flatting [flat-calling] with the stacks this deep. I also was fairly certain that no small pairs existed in his three-betting range, as he would be likely to set-mine them in a spot like this. And I was pretty sure that his value three-bet and get it all in range was no wider than 10-10+ and A-K. So, I elected to flat my 8-8 out of position. 

Anfo500 calls.

CT: How do you think Kanter views your flat?

MR: Given that I had five-bet the K Q earlier against him and doubled up, he probably assumed that I would be very likely to reraise him with J-J+ and A-K, and probably a lot weaker hands. My flat-call most likely appears marginal to Kanter.

Flop:  K 4 2 (pot: 16,357) 
Anfo500 checks.

MR: This is a good flop for my hand, given that I had him on a pretty wide range preflop and had eliminated hands like K-T, K-J, and K-Q from his preflop reraising range. My hand is pretty strong against his perceived range of hands. If Kanter missed the flop completely, he’s going to represent the king a very high percentage of the time, and there is only one way to do that, by betting.

The villain bets 8,255.

CT: So, now you can use some of that intelligence you had gathered.

MR: Yes. I had a strong feeling that Kanter would check back this flop with most of his hands that had good showdown value, and that were in his range, such as 10-10 to Q-Q. I also believed that he would never three-bet a small pair like 2-2 or 4-4 with stacks this deep. So, I eliminated those hands. Therefore, at this point in the hand, he is representing a very thin value-betting range — K-K, A-K, and A-A. Theoretically, K-4, K-2, and 4-2 also should be given some consideration as being part of his range.

CT: Why those trash hands?

MR: Because I assumed that he had air when I flatted his reraise preflop. He may or may not three-bet those hands with the same frequency that he three-bets other weak hands that might flop a lot better, but given that I had him on air, I feel like they should be included in his range. If he is in fact three-betting air in this spot preflop, the difference between three-betting K-6, 4-2, or A-3 isn’t that significant. So, those hands should be in his range if he did choose to three-bet nothing preflop. As you can see, the majority of the hands in his range missed the flop completely, and given that he usually has nothing at all, he will begin representing something on the flop that he does not have by continuing his aggression and betting. I am far ahead of Kanter’s range at this point, and every option but calling seems wrong.

Anfo500 calls.
Turn: J (pot: 32,867) 
Anfo500 checks. The villain bets 14,555.

MR: The size of his bet is very small, less than half the pot, and it appears to me that he is attempting to represent a very strong hand. So, how did the J improve his hand, and what is he representing? I assumed that he would check back the flop with J-J and wouldn’t three-bet me preflop with K-J. On the turn, he is continuing to represent a very thin range of hands for value, and the only ones that I can plausibly keep in his range are K-K, A-A, and random, trashy two-pair hands. I believe that he would check the turn with his monstrous hands on such a non-threatening board.

CT: Why?

MR: Because of the fact that I theoretically should be folding all of the hands that he’s attempting to get value from. My assumptions could be completely off, but what I do know is that his sizing and timing on the turn led me to believe that he still had absolutely nothing.

CT: So, raise?

MR: Well, raising the turn protects my hand, but eliminates the value that it has. All I have is a bluff-catcher. To get value out of my hand, I need to call the turn and allow him to try to win the pot on the river the only way that he can, and that is by bluffing.

Anfo500 calls.
River: Q (pot: 61,977)

CT: Do you think your 8-8 is still good with three overcards out there now?

MR: To be completely honest, I was up in the air at this point; even if my reads were spot on, I was still in an extremely tough situation.

CT: What will be the biggest factor in determining whether or not you call if he bets?

MR: His bet-sizing.

Anfo500 checks. The villain moves all in for 43,539. Anfo500 snap-calls. The villain flips over the A 6. Anfo500 wins the pot of 149,055.

MR: His river bet-sizing, combined with the sizing of his turn bet, illustrated that the hands he was taking this line for value with were few, and that his range was heavily weighted toward nothing at all.

CT: What would have changed your mind?

MR: If he bets 26,000 on the river, I’m in an extremely difficult spot. The timing of Kanter’s actions throughout the hand provided me with strong feelings that he was trying to represent something that he didn’t have.

Michael Rocco is one of the most talented online tournament players to come along in a long time; he has $1.4 million in cashes online. Recently, he became the first repeat winner of the pocketfives monthly PLB award, winning it in June and July. In July, he also took down the UltimateBet $200,000-guaranteed event for $44,660, and then in August, he won a Full Tilt Poker $100 rebuy event for $47,625.