Hand 2 Hand Combat: Grayson Nichols Breaks Down How to Proceed According to Relative Position, Stack Sizes, and an Opponent’s Hand Range

Event Mini-Full Tilt Online Poker Series main event
Players in the Event: 15,527
Buy-in: $70
First Prize: $152,086
Finish: First

Hand No. 1
Players at the Table: 9
Stacks: Grayson “The_Dean221” Nichols 5,972,350;
Villain: 7,397,494
Blinds: 120,000-240,000
Antes: 30,000

Craig Tapscott: How close to the final table are we at this point?
Grayson “The_Dean221” Nichols: We had just gotten down to 18 players and had begun play at a nine-handed table again after about 30 minutes of shorthanded play. During this time, I had been playing at the table with the villain, who is a very skilled regular. I had about an average stack of 25 big blinds. The villain had been playing solidly and aggressively during the past 30 minutes or so, and hadn’t been out of line at all up to this point.
The villain raises to 480,000 from early position. The_Dean221 is to his immediate left with the 8♣ 8♠.
CT: That’s such a tough hand to play from this position. Take us through your thought process from A-Z, so that we can understand what the options are when holding medium pairs and how stack sizes come into play.
GN: OK. I do have a few factors hindering my play in this hand, mainly my awkward stack size and position at the table. For starters, my options were to fold, shove, three-bet and call a shove, three-bet and fold (which is terrible with 25 big blinds and a made hand like 8-8), or flat-call. With 25 big blinds, I’m typically just shoving over an opener, because I think three-betting with the intention of calling a shove with this sort of stack is going to look very strong to a good-thinking regular like the villain (especially due to both of us being in early position). If I three-bet to 1,100,000 or so, he knows that I am seldom three-betting and folding with a stack of 25 big blinds; hence, he won’t be likely to four-bet light, and will likely four-bet only the top of his range — all of which crushes 8-8.
CT: And if you flat-call?
GN: Flatting [flat-calling] and guessing post-flop with a medium pocket pair against a good player with less than 25 big blinds is also not an optimal play; it leaves you folding far too many flops, and you likely won’t get paid off on the ones you hit.
CT: What if you had 30 big blinds?
GN: I think the options are vast with 30 big blinds or more (the same stack size as the villain’s). Then, I think flatting in position is fine, as well as three-betting with the intention of calling his four-bet shove (which he will do much lighter in this case, since I have more than 30 big blinds and a much clearer illusion of fold equity).
CT: What are your other concerns when holding 8-8 in this spot?
GN: Well, the awkward stack size was not even the biggest part of the problem. I was far more concerned with our early positions. Had one of us been in a later position, it’s a whole different story. For instance, had he raised from the same position but I had been in the cutoff, I would have gladly shoved my 8-8, knowing there were only three people behind me to act instead of six.
CT: You don’t seem too concerned with the villain’s actual hand value from early position.
GN: We all know that an under-the-gun raise isn’t what it once was, so it was almost my position that was more bothersome to me than him raising from under the gun plus one. I was afraid that I might run into a monster (10-10 or better, or A-K) with the whole table yet to act behind me. This risk, coupled with my awkward stack size, led me to make what I thought was the best decision — especially since I felt that I had a significant experience and skill edge over most of the remaining field.
The_Dean221 folds.
CT: Did you find out what hand the villain held?
GN: The villain and the big blind did get to a showdown on this hand. The villain tabled the A♦ 5♦, so in hindsight, I was very far ahead and probably should have just shoved preflop.

Hand No. 2
Players at the Table: 4
Stacks: Grayson “The_Dean221” Nichols – 58,482,507; “Castellimich” – 28,970,395; Villain1: 20,890,444;
Villain2: 8,109,154
Blinds: 250,000-500,000
Antes: 60,000

Craig Tapscott: What’s your take on the final table at this point?
Grayson “The_Dean221” Nichols: I had a significant chip lead, but by no means did I feel this tournament was on lock. I knew that a good regular like “Castellimich” could easily give me a tough time when we were so deep-stacked. I wasn’t trying to avoid him, by any means, but I also wasn’t looking to get into any leveling wars with him; instead, I focused on grinding down the lesser-experienced players and the shorter stacks at the time.
Villain1 limps in for 500,000. The_Dean221 calls from the button with the 7♥ 6♥. Castellimich calls. Villain2 calls from the big blind.
CT: Was three-betting an option here from the button?
GN: I decided to limp along, knowing that Castellimich would often complete from the small blind and I would see a four-way flop with the 7♥ 6♥, which plays excellently in a multiway pot. Sometimes I would isolate the limper and raise to 1,500,000-1,750,000, but inasmuch as this was the first time that I had seen Villain1 limp, coupled with the short stack of 8,000,000 (16 big blinds) in the big blind, I decided to just limp in preflop.
Flop: 7♦ 6♠ 2♠ (pot: 2,240,000)
Castellimich checks. Villain2 and Villain1 check. The_Dean221 bets 1,240,000. Castellimich calls. Villain2 and Villain1 fold.
CT: What kind of hand range do you put Castellimich on after his call?
GN: I assume that he has either a flush draw or a straight draw, or some sort of one-pair hand like 8-7, 9-7, A-6, A-7, 7-5, and so on.
Turn: J♥ (pot: 4,720,000)
Castellimich checks. The_Dean221 bets 3,332,200.
CT: What are you trying to represent with that bet-sizing of a little more than two-thirds of the pot?
GN: I’m hoping to make it look like I have a straight or flush draw and am trying to bet him off his hand. Since I know that he plays somewhat similar to the way that I play, as we are high-stakes regulars, I know that he is well aware that the J♥ on the turn should never help my hand. So, when I fire a bet of two-thirds of the pot, I am either betting a made hand (sets or two pair) or continuing on a semibluff with a flush or straight draw (which is what I am hoping he will think).
Castellimich calls.
River: 6♣ (pot: 11,384,400)
Castellimich checks.
GN: This river should not affect my original assumption about Castellimich’s holding of a flush or straight draw, or single-pair hand.
CT: Can you get any more value out of your monster?
GN: I can bet just over two-thirds of the pot and hope to represent a busted flush or straight draw, and a pure bluff.
The_Dean221 bets 8,888,540. Castellimich calls and reveals the 7♠ 5♠. The_Dean221 wins the pot of 29,161,480.
GN: In actuality, it was quite a cooler flop. To be honest, I am shocked that he didn’t raise and get all in with me on the flop. Luckily, the hand worked out for me, and turned the tide heavily in my favor of winning the tournament. ♠

Grayson Nichols, 25, graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in political science. He has been playing online poker professionally for the last five years, and has amassed more than $3 million in tournament cashes. He enjoys life in Orlando, Florida, where he resides with his girlfriend and golden retriever.