Hand 2 Hand Combat - Team PokerStars Pro Maria Eduarda Mayrinck Reviews Sticky Situations When Holding A-Q in Past Events

Hand No. 1

Event: PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker no-limit hold’em event
Buy-in: $1,000
Players in the Event: 3,467
First Place: $468,045

Craig Tapscott: So, why do you think A-Q can be a frustrating hand?

Maria “Maridu” Eduarda Mayrinck: It’s a hand that seems to be a migraine headache to many people (including myself). We play it so differently than A-K when we’re in some spots.

Maridu raises from the cutoff to 29,999 with the A♥ Q♠. The villain calls from the button.

CT: What do you think he’s up to with this positional call?

MM: His flat-call here makes his range so wide that I can place him on such hands as A-X suited, any Broadway cards, any pocket pair, most suited connectors higher than 7-6, any number of suited one-gappers, and maybe even A-9 offsuit. I think that due to our stack sizes and previous history, he would have three-bet me with A-K, 10-10+, and maybe A-Q offsuit or A-J suited.

Flop: A♠ 8♣ 7♦ (pot: 87,598)

Maridu checks.

CT: Why check?

MM: I don’t want to immediately give away the strength of my hand and push him off the pot. I think the air in his range is more likely to barrel than bluff-raise or float. I want to give him a chance to try to bluff me. However, this check can be tricky, mainly because I know that he expects me to continuation-bet most ace-high flops; so, checking can also give away the strength of my hand.

The villain bets 52,500. Maridu calls.

MM: I just call because, again, I don’t want to push him off a bluff or a worse ace.

Turn: 3♥ (pot: 192,598)

Maridu checks.

MM: The turn is a non-threatening card, so again I opt to check and let him try to bluff me once more. Even if it isn’t a bluff and he has an ace, I don’t want him to fold a worse ace.

The villain checks.

River: 6♣ (pot: 192,598)

Maridu bets 86,000.

CT: Why that bet-sizing of less than half the pot? Are you baiting him?

MM: My bet is small because I think that it makes him more likely to call with an 8 or a 7, and it makes a bluff-raise more inviting. I also believe that he thinks I’m capable of leading on the river with 9-9 to K-K, not just an ace. So, my river bet is debatable if I’m not going to respond properly to a raise.

The villain raises to 299,000.

CT: Break down your thought process after he raises.

MM: Well, the first thing to be considered is the pot odds. I have to call 213,000 to win about 577,000, so I have to be right only about 37 percent of the time. I don’t think he’s ever value-raising a worse hand, only calling. The way the hand was played, my hand is somewhat faceup as one pair. I believe that he thinks I will fold one pair to a big raise a lot of times, considering the chips in play and the soft table, so deep in such a big tournament. At this point, I give myself a moment to really think through all of these things, add up all of these factors, and then …

Maridu calls. The villain reveals the J♣ 9♣. Maridu wins the pot of 790,598.

Hand No. 2

Event: Latin American Poker Tour Playa Conchal
Buy-in: $2,700
Players: 259
First Place: $172,095

The villain raises to 10,000 from early position.

CT: Review this situation for us.

MM: The villain was a Latin American player with whom I had no familiarity. I could tell that he was an active player, as I had seen him min-raising preflop and taking down all three pots by betting on the flop. We are down to 27 players, and the rest of the players at the table seem content to play tight and avoid tough spots as the tournament gets deeper. My table image in Latin America is that of a fun, loose player. Even though I have adjusted that image a little bit, I know what other Latin players think of me, and they have since adjusted to my image. Yet, I still get called down lighter than most.

Mayrinck reraises to 26,000 with the A♥ Q♥ from right behind the villain, and he calls.

Flop: K♣ Q♦ 7♠ (pot: 63,500)

The villain bets 20,000.

CT: What’s up when he bets into you?

MM: It’s pretty strange to see people make these small leads into the preflop reraiser on a K-Q board, given that my range hits this board harder than his. Also, I think he would have four-bet me preflop if he had J-J+ or A-K. I think this bet is usually a cheap attempt to pick up the pot with a weak hand.

Mayrinck calls.

Turn: 7♣ (pot: 103,500)

MM: This card improves a tiny portion of his range, like a probing 7 that now has trips, but all of the draws brick, so I expect to have the best hand fairly often.

The villain bets 40,000.

CT: Anything else?

MM: His line so far is still inconsistent with a hand that beats me, and still is somewhat indicative of a draw that wants to pick up the pot. In addition, I have position, so I’ll be able to see his reaction on the river if he hits a draw. Also, I think that if he has a queen, he won’t be betting the river, and even with a weak king, he probably will just try to show down. So, I …

Mayrinck calls.

River: 3♦ (pot: 183,500)

MM: I feel satisfied with this river card, since it doesn’t complete draws and I am prepared to call another small river bet or even check behind. However …

The villain moves all in.

CT: The river card really didn’t change anything. What’s your read on his hand now?

MM: I think the possibilities at this point are a bricked draw, A-7 suited, or K-Q. K-J is also a part of his range. I debated with myself a long time on my possibilities and how much of a “hero” I wanted to be in this spot. If I call and am correct, my stack will put me in a very advantageous position to reach the final table. If I’m wrong, my tournament is over.

CT: What variables do you look at when deciding whether or not to make such a huge call?

MM: The first thing to look at is the pot odds. I have to put in 157,000 to win 340,500, which means that I have to be correct 46 percent of the time to make this call profitable. That’s not exactly the pot odds I was getting in the other hand, and at this point, I thought it was far more likely for him not to be making such a huge river bluff against me. (He certainly could, but I just didn’t think he was making it often enough to justify a call.) However, it was a very tough spot, and in the end, I opted to …

Mayrinck folds. The villain wins the pot of 183,500.

MM: I felt pretty sick to my stomach, but at the same time, I was confident that regardless of what he held in this particular spot, the fold was correct. ♠

Maria Mayrinck, born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was a TV writer and director with the largest TV network in Latin America until she started shooting a documentary with the first-known poker professionals in Brazil in 2003. Having a background in backgammon and chess, she immediately took to the game of poker and set out to learn everything she could about it. Since then, she has made the final table of many of the biggest online tournaments and three of the most important tournaments in Latin American poker. Currently, Mayrinck is the Latin female with the most cashes in World Series of Poker events. She spends her time in Las Vegas and Rio de Janeiro, and travels the poker circuit representing Brazil as a Team PokerStars pro.