Hand 2 Hand Combat -- Jesse McKenzie

Rebecca McAdam: You said no to a deal at the final table, is this something you would generally do?

Jesse “On The Mac” McKenzie: At first I was a big believer in doing deals like in the Adelaide ANZPT in February I did a deal threehanded when I had 3.4 million chips and both other players had 750k each, then I lost two flips and came second. I also had 25 percent of the guy who came third so I actually won 150k, first was 135k (so officially I won 99k) but since then because I feel rolled for the tournaments I play I generally don’t deal unless I think the other players are of a higher skill level or where I have no edge, then I will deal, but on the Sunday Million final table I thought I had a definite skill edge versus all the players at the table.

RM: So what were your final table opponents like then?

JM: The Sunday Million was soft deep, from 100 out I had a top 10 chip stack and as we got to the last 18 players there were no regulars and very few strong players left. Tournaments with good satellite feeders generally have more soft spots in them and it was during the World Series Of Poker so many of the regulars were playing that.

RM: Right, onto the hand. The blinds were 300-600.

JM: Yeah, so I standard open 1.2 million and he calls.

RM: Had your opponent been calling loose?

JM: Yeah, like suited jacks out of position… my general strategy was to play in position and let him play out of position and put him in tough spots, let him spaz out.

RM: Had you been keeping your raises all the same size preflop or do you usually vary it?

JM: I vary, but heads up I keep it standard, something I have done in sit ‘n’ gos and MTTs, and I usually continuation bet (c-bet) the flop against most opponents but with A-K high I opt to check back as I have strong show down and the ace of clubs which against most opponents I would c-bet but because he has been bluffing and donking turns with air and draws and weak hands, I check.

Flop: Q Q J

Villain checks, On The Mac checks.

JM: He has been check raising with flush draws, gut shots, any pair, playing pretty aggro. I opt to pot control so I can pick off his bluffs and value bet in position. I feel I have a significant edge against him post-flop so I small ball it remembering no deal.

Turn: 9

Villain bets 1.2 million, On The Mac calls. Pot: 4,920,000.

JM: I think I have the best hand a lot here and if he has a 9 or a jack, I still have an ace, a king, or a 10 on the river.

River: 10

Villain shoves all in for just over 15.5 million. On The Mac tanks and folds.

JM: Initially I think this is a money card, I mean I see the 10 and think I have the best hand here a lot and would probably call a pot-sized bet on the river but he jams for 15 million into 4.9 million and from what I had seen of Rizih from 18 out was that he jammed his nut hands especially on the river. I thought long and hard because I beat a king-high straight but I tanked for a minute and 30 seconds of my 2 minute time bank wondering if you would jam a single king which A-K obviously beats. Then factored in with his jamming nut hands, a paired board, and my skill edge with relatively deep stacks heads up for the Sunday Million, 50 big blinds effective, I thought that there would be better spots as he jammed nut hands there a lot and was happy to play out of position. I basically thought I could grind him away but ironically I get in a flip when I four-bet jam 6-6 and he calls with K-J off-suit and I win.

Part of the reason I check back the flop is because I am calling a lot of turns knowing I am ahead with A-K high, so he semi-bluffs the turn with his flush draw and I am still ahead. The river is the worst card in the deck for my hand versus his and I think if he makes a pot-sized bet I have to call.

RM: So he would have to bet the pot in order for you to call?

JM: Yeah or even a 1.2x-1.4x pot bet like 6-7 million. I mean it is a very hard hand to fold (A-K) on that board but he made it as easy as it possibly can be to fold by 3x potting it. I think he must have got excited to be honest, I don’t think he paid too much attention to pot size, more just looked at his hand, and to be fair a lot of MTT players would never be able to fold that there, but in the weeks following I got a lot of good feedback from heads-up players. It was the only hand on the final table that afterwards I worried I may have possibly folded the best hand.

RM: Yes but with pot control you made it less damaging even if you did.

JM: I still lose less when he has a better hand yes. It sort of forced him to try and maximise by jamming but I don’t think it was the best play by him versus me.

RM: Were you worried at all that he hit something pre-river because even though you have A-K you only have ace high…unless a 10, A, K comes on the river.

JM: Well I thought he just wouldn’t jam those because he would have to be concerned about me possibly having a flush or a full house on that board even though I rarely would having checked back that flop.

RM: His bet on the turn, did you just really believe he had nothing still?

JM: Yeah I did, a large percent of the time I thought he had complete air or was semi-bluffing with flush draws, gut shots, small pairs, all of which A-K has significant equity against. When he bets 1.2m into 2.5m, and I have position, I am not a big maths guy but it seemed like a pretty easy call when I check back the flop for that purpose to allow him to have air in his range. I don’t want to be check-raised off my hand on the flop or have to four-bet over him, I wanted to keep pots small, play in position, and let him spaz out. When I had my aces cracked earlier on the final table I was as calm as a hindu cow, I said to myself ‘well this is why I have chips’ and tried to continue making the best play.

It was a combination of favourable conditions, run good, and good play. Obviously to beat almost 6,000 runners, you have to get lucky, basically I had aces cracked twice and indeed I cracked aces with A-10 of hearts and cracked K-K with A-Q but I am surprised I didn’t have to get luckier. I was happy with the way I played the final table, I played a lower variance style, a lot of pots in position, against other players I would definitely have to c-bet more flops and barrel more turns but the guys on this final table were a bit frisky and they didn’t mind doing some spazzy plays out of position, so I let them. ♠

Jesse “On The Mac” McKenzie took down this Sunday Million for $179,679. A long way from the US$27 he originally deposited, from which he has grown his bankroll immensely. The Australian has been making a mark on both the live and online circuit since 2010 but appears to be really coming into his own of late. At time of writing he is in second place on the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour Player of the Year leader board.