Hand 2 Hand Combat -- Christopher Seeger

Event: Absolute Poker deep-stack cash game
Players in the Event: six-max

Hand No. 1
Players at the Table: 6
Stacks: Christopher “A2STEAKSAUCE” Seeger – $2,049; “STAINLESS9” – $2,649.25
Blinds: $5-$10

STAINLESS9 (the villain) raises from the hijack position to $35.

Craig Tapscott: Do you know your opponent’s game very well?

Christopher Seeger: He’s a very aggressive, winning regular. We have a history spanning several years, with more than its fair share of incredible bluffs, daring call-downs, and brutal suckouts.

A2STEAKSAUCE reraises to $120 from the button with the A 3.

CT: Seems like a weakish hand to be three-betting.

CS: This is a standard play in cash games, but it also needs to be put into context with my history against the villain.

CT: How so?

CS: We are 200 big blinds deep, which allows for a considerable amount of post-flop play, even in a three-bet pot. Although my three-bet is a bluff, I’m definitely happy to play a big pot in position against an opponent who will call my three-bets out of position very lightly.

CT: Before we go any further, can you share three keys to deep-stack cash-game play?

CS: 1. Position is everything. Having the option of firing that extra bet or seeing that extra free card is incredibly valuable, and this advantage becomes bigger as the stacks become deeper.

2. Balance your ranges. Good players will realize very quickly when you are always strong or always weak, unless you are capable of bluffing or having a big hand in nearly every situation.

3. Know your opponents. This is more than just watching your opponents to see the situations in which they are bluffing or are strong. Try to prevent the pot from getting big against a tough opponent unless you have a strong hand or strong draw (but remember to bluff big occasionally, as well), because a strong player’s advantage is bigger when the pot becomes bigger.

The villain calls.
Flop: A 5 4 (pot: $255)
The villain checks. A2STEAKSAUCE bets $160.

CT: Was checking for deception a viable option at all?

CS: Checking the flop back with my weak ace occurred to me. I expect the villain to attack a flop like this quite a bit, expecting me to bet and fold to a raise with any hand that doesn’t have an ace. Therefore, in order to balance my ranges, I have to bet and call a raise with more hands than just sets and strong aces.

The villain raises to $380. A2STEAKSAUCE calls.
Turn: 5 (pot: $1,015)

CT: How do you feel about the board pairing on the turn?

CS: It actually doesn’t change my situation much. If he has 4-4, 5-5, 5-4 suited, or A-5 suited, he now has a boat and I’m drawing to one out. If he has any of these hands, he will bet sometimes and check sometimes, looking to trap me when I bet either the turn or the river.

The villain checks.

CS: I’m still either way ahead or way behind. If I am behind, I would like to avoid going broke, and only call a river bet. At this point, there are 1.5 pot-sized bets left, so if I bet the turn, I’m forced to call his shove, which I am not happy doing.

A2STEAKSAUCE checks.
River: 2 (pot: $1,015)
The villain checks.

CS: Now I’m looking to play for stacks. Although the villain’s range for checking the river to me is still very polarized, my hand is still strong enough to try to get all in. Furthermore, the strength of my hand is well-disguised.

A2STEAKSAUCE bets $570.

CT: Why that bet-sizing?

CS: I am trying to induce a bluff-shove from whatever hand he bluff-check-raised the flop with, and he is certainly capable of check-raising the river either as a bluff or for value.

The villain shoves all in. A2STEAKSAUCE calls $979. The villain shows the 2 2. The villain wins the pot of $4,113 with a full house.

CS: It is unfortunate that the villain rivered a boat over my wheel, but such is poker. All one can do is shout a few expletives, say, “Hand well-played,” and move on to the next hand.

Hand No. 2
Players at the Table: 6
Stacks: Christopher “A2STEAKSAUCE” Seeger – $2,000; “STAINLESS9” – $2,050
Blinds: $5-$10

A2STEAKSAUCE raises to $30 from the cutoff with the A J. STAINLESS9 reraises to $120 from the small blind.

CT: What hand range do you put him on here, since you have a history together?

CS: He probably does this with a wide range of hands, including medium to high pairs, suited connectors, suited aces, and big Broadway cards.

CT: I’m sure that you have stats on the villain’s three-bets preflop, so what are your options?

CS: Well, he has a very high three-bet percentage. Folding is not a terrible option, but if I always fold A-J offsuit when he three-bets me, I become exploitable. I could call the three-bet, and play the hand deep and in position. This is a good option, and the ideal play is to sometimes call and sometimes make a four-bet bluff. In addition, I know that the villain has a history of flat-calling four-bets out of position when 200 big blinds deep.

CT: If you four-bet, how do you figure out the bet-sizing that’s appropriate?

CS: I need to make my four-bet big enough to force him to fold, commit himself with a reraise (and I can easily fold), or make a bad call.

A2STEAKSAUCE reraises to $310. The villain calls.

CS: Given that he called my four-bet, I should have reraised a little bigger.

Flop: J 6 5 (pot: $630)
The villain checks.

CT: Great flop. What now?

CS: The decision I need to make now is whether I want to bet and call off when he shoves or check back and let him bluff at the turn and river. I decided to …

A2STEAKSAUCE checks.

CS: Thinking back on it, I believe that a bet and a call is a better line. Although I can get him to bluff a very high percentage of turns and rivers, there are way too many turns and rivers that are scary for my hand. Any king or queen is a scare card, as well as a spade or any card that makes three to a straight.

Turn: 10 (pot: $630)
The villain bets $325.

CT: Now he’s betting into you. So far, it’s going according to plan.

CS: Yes. And I’m going to call him down as long as the board remains safe. A raise to commit myself is also a viable option, especially because there are so many draws possible, and he can credibly represent any of them. However, given that fact, I like a call on the turn and a call of a river shove on a card that doesn’t complete too many draws.

A2STEAKSAUCE calls.
River: A (pot: $1,280)
The villain moves all in. A2STEAKSAUCE calls $1,365 all in. The villain reveals the 8 7. A2STEAKSAUCE wins the pot of $4,010 with two pair.

Christopher Seeger became a professional poker player after graduating from Vassar College in 2009. He’s grateful for the life that poker has given him, and considers his experience at school as the best four years of his life. He credits poker forums as the source of advice that made him successful in cash games.