Floating, C-Bets, and Craziness in London

On day one of the $4,400 buy-in (£2,650) six-handed no-limit hold’em event in London at the World Series of Poker Europe, the following hand came up.

A little history: We started the day with 7,500 in chips, the European player sitting directly on my left had reraised me three times prior to this hand, and I had folded all three times. He was playing a very fast and loose game. Loose Euro guy had the chip lead at our table with 30,000. I had 14,000, and was playing pretty tight poker.
In the cutoff, with the blinds at 100-200, I opened for 450 with the 8 6. Euro guy made it 1,450 from the button, and I decided to call.

The flop came 6 4 4. I checked, Euro guy bet 1,200, I raised, making it 2,800 to go, and Euro guy called.

The turn was the 9. I checked, and Euro guy bet 2,500 in about one second flat. I called, and the river was the 10. I checked, and Euro guy bet 4,500. I studied for a long while, trying to figure out my opponent’s hand strength (more on this in my analysis below). With about 7,000 left in my chip stack, if I called and lost, I would be in bad shape. Finally, I opted to call, and Euro guy said, “You’re good, nice call.” That was music to my ears. He then showed down the J 2, and immediately, a report went out about this hand on the Internet.

Let’s take a closer look at this hand. My 450 bet from the cutoff with the 8 6 was OK, especially considering that we were playing six-handed hold’em. Loose Euro guy’s reraise to 1,450 to go with J-2 from the button was an excellent move. He sensed that I was weak, and acted on his read. My call was a little wild. If I was going to call here because I sensed weakness in my opponent, I should have gone ahead and raised, not called.

My check on the flop was standard. Why would I bet out here and prevent what we poker players call a c-bet (a continuation-bet is a bet on the flop that is made after raising or reraising preflop) from a very loose and very aggressive player? I had to let him bluff off his chips to me. His 1,200 bet was a standard c-bet. I like my 1,600 raise, because it defines my hand. I am telling my opponent that I have a hand, or that I have a draw of some sort. His call with the J 2 was a very advanced move that we call floating. (Floating is when a player calls a bet or a raise with a very weak holding, with the intent of making a bluff on the next round of betting.)

My check on the turn was standard. I mean, the 9 completed a flush draw, and what in the world could I beat now? His 2,500 bet was a good one. He had called 1,600 more on the flop to float me, and now that I had checked on the turn, he was almost forced to bet in order to continue with his line of play. However, I do not like the fact that he bet so quickly. Would he have bet a flush or an overpair like Q-Q that quickly? I think not; thus, the quickness of the bet was a clue that he was weak. My quick call on the turn was not great, either. Would I have called that quickly with a flush, an overpair, or trips? I think not; thus, my fast call showed some weakness. But I need to give myself credit for my call; I mean, there just weren’t many hands that I could beat.

On the river, my check was easy, and his 4,500 bet was an excellent one. He continued his line of play, perhaps picking up on the fact that I was weak on the flop, and maybe picking up on the fact that I was even weaker on the turn. My call was an extremely tough one for me to make. I had only about 7,000 left, and the consequences of calling and losing were huge. Honestly, I wondered if he had pocket queens, and I almost folded my hand. But, I manned up, and made a terrific call! ♠

Learn more about Phil by going to his website, www.PhilHellmuth.com, and visit his webstore at www.PokerBrat.com.