Hand 2 Hand Combat -- Scott Augustine

Event Full Tilt Poker six-max cash game
Blinds $25-$50
Stacks Scott “iRockhoes” Augustine – $6,119; Prahlad “Spirit Rock” Friedman – $10,075

Scott Augustine: The crux of this hand is my image in his eyes. It dictates every decision that I make here.

Craig Tapscott: So, there’s a history between the two of you?

SA: Yes. My image with Prahlad is predicated on two things. First, I had a brief history with him about four years ago when he was dominating the no-limit hold’em games. He was by far the most aggressive player in the games, so my style to combat that was a much more passive one. The idea of matching aggression with aggression and making thinner plays hadn’t quite made it into my playbook yet.

CT: And second?

SA: A recent play had bolstered my passive image to him before this hand. For a couple of weeks prior, I was taking shots in the $40-$80 deep no-limit game. Since it was higher than I was playing on a day-to-day basis, I almost assuredly played tighter and probably didn’t value-bet thin enough. Value-betting thinly creates tougher decisions that I assume subconsciously I was trying to avoid. Because of this passive image, he had overbet-bluffed me a few times. I also had called him down very light in similar instances over the previous few sessions.

Spirit Rock raises to $150 from the cutoff. IRockhoes is in the big blind with the J J.

CT: What’s the appropriate move, three-bet or flat-call?

SA: If I had a more aggressive image, like I do with several regulars in the $10-$20 game, I would three-bet much more often with the intention of shoving over a four-bet. I think three-betting is OK, but I’m in danger of making him play much better against my range and am almost overrepresenting my hand due to my image. With my passive image to Prahlad, and him happily barreling me recently, I decide to …

IRockhoes calls.
Flop: A 9 3 (pot: $325)
IRockhoes checks. Spirit Rock bets $200.

CT: So, what’s your read on his range?

SA: Friedman is raising very wide from the cutoff, and nearly 100 percent of that range — including all of his air — is c-betting [continuation-betting] this flop. Folding is out of the question here. Yes, an ace flopped, but it’s sometimes better if “scare cards” hit, as it will increase your opponent’s bluffing frequency. My standard play here is to check-call. And, I think a check-raise can have a lot of merit. I can get him to float me and also bluff-raise me a high amount with my check-raise representing a very narrow range, given the preflop action and board texture. But, I decide to …

IRockhoes calls.
Turn: Q (pot: $725)
IRockhoes checks.

CT: How do you perceive this card in the story that you’re telling so far with your hand?

SA: This is not a great card, but it’s not a terrible card for my range. It’s very conceivable that I would check-call with a flush draw on the flop, as a check-raise is fairly transparent. I also have two blockers against the J-10 straight draw, and the J, specifically, is key here.

CT: And your second-nut-flush draw comes into play.

SA: It might have some implied equity if he is barreling a lot of heart rivers. I can still very easily have the best hand. I’m sure that he’s continuing to bet a large part of his range on this turn, as my hand from the flop looks like it will have a hard time continuing unless I had a flush draw. He also might think I will call the turn with an Ax J and then fold the river, so I need to be careful to minimize his profit in this spot.

Spirit Rock bets $500. IRockhoes calls.
River: 8 (pot $1,725)
IRockhoes checks. Spirit Rock bets $1,600.

CT: A possible straight draw is completed.

SA: Yes. But it’s important to note that I have a gap in my range that he doesn’t. It’s impossible for me to show up with the straight on this river, while he has it well in his range. I’m somewhat protected by my two blockers, but my range is segmented, while his value range is continuous. This means that I’m going to have a gap while he is going to be able to value-bet much wider and put me in a tough spot.

CT: You can’t fold, can you?

SA: It’s out of the question here with my image, or I’m going to get destroyed by him. The turn created a lot of good semibluffing opportunities (gutshots, a pair plus hearts, a bare heart), so his range for barreling will be very wide. The river completed a draw that I cannot have. In his eyes, unless I am bluff-catching with one pair, I’m very rarely calling this river. So, unless I slow-played a hand, I’m always showing up with a weakish one-pair hand. With all the hands he can represent, his bluffing frequency will increase dramatically. Since his bluffing frequency will rise, I will be forced to bluff-catch more often, which will in turn enable him to value-bet thinly.

CT: Take us through your options.

SA: My first option is to just call. What troubled me about this line is that I’m not even at the top of my bluff-catching range. It’s plausible that I’m right that he’s bluffing and I’ll still lose, because he’s trying to push me off a stronger ace with a weak ace or a queen.

CT: Can you check-raise all in?

SA: That option takes the gap that he’s exploiting in my value range by the river and double-dares him back. He knows that I can’t have a lot of the medium or high value hands in my range from the preceding action, so now, everything but the very top of his range becomes a bluff-catcher. Even if he has the 5 4 or J-10, it’s a very hard call for him. In his eyes, the 5 4 is the same as A-K, relative to the range that my check-shove represents. This is where my J plays a huge role, and in some ways may be better than having the nut-flush blocker (K). The J severely cuts down his high-flush range. He no longer can have the J 9, J 8, K J, and J 10. After the K 10, his next-best possible flush is the 10 9, and his flushes become severely diminished beyond that. I’m not sure if he calls with a 6 5 type of hand, but if he’s ever folding that part of his range, this choice becomes extremely profitable.

IRockhoes moves all in. Spirit Rock folds. IRockhoes wins the pot of $3,325.

CT: So, your history and image are the keys to pulling off this bluff.

SA: Yes. If almost all of his hands are bluff-catchers and my bluffing frequency is perceived as being very low, a very profitable wedge can be found between his ranges when I bluff. Most winning players online like to think of themselves as being tight-aggressive or loose-aggressive. Being honest about your image in specific spots can reap huge benefits, as I would never attempt this with a more aggressive image against a good opponent.

Scott Augustine started playing poker in the dorms during his freshman year at Notre Dame University. He eventually took his game online and began to climb the cash-game stakes. When he reached $25-$50, he went on a $600,000 profit tear, while at the same time developing his heads-up game. As the games got tougher, he joined every training site to learn and to adjust to tough opponents. A mutual respect was formed between Brian Townsend and him while playing heads-up matches. Augustine was eventually invited to join CardRunners.com as a high-stakes instructor.