Final Table Takedown - Kurt Jewell

Kurt Jewell is a 26-year-old poker professional from Frankfort, KY. He graduated with a degree in sports management from Eastern Kentucky University.

He is a two-time World Series of Poker Circuit main event champion and a three-time ring winner. In 2010, Jewell won the WSOP-C Horseshoe Hammond main event. Jewell’s total earnings on the WSOP Circuit alone are $485,423.

Hand No. 1

Key Concepts: Board texture; Bet sizing; Knowing your opponent.

Craig Tapscott: Can you set up for us your image and feel for the play with the final table being so close at hand?

KJ: With these two tables left remaining, the players at my table are good, young players. We also have a few deep stacks at my table. The other table is full of less experienced and older players. And, their stacks are shallower. Because of past success in WSOP Circuit events, my image is “known” as aggressive and good.

Jewell raises to 32,000 holding K Q. Houston White raises to 127,000 from the button.

CT: You’re getting close to the final table. What’s your thinking with K-Q suited in this situation?

KJ: I’m playing a really good player here. I’m out of position, but holding a solid six-handed hand. I don’t want to four-bet because my hand has value, and I don’t want to have to fold or call off because he would be capable of five-bet shoving. So I…
Jewell calls.

Flop: 6 4 2 (pot: 287,000) Jewell checks. Houston bets 157,000.

Jewell: I flop only a back-door flush draw. I still have overcards but I’m out of position.

CT: So is this an instant fold?

KJ: Well I like to float. I really feel like floating out of position to try to take it down on the turn or river, depending on the card or cards that come and the player’s action. I feel that this would be a super strong line, even with my image being so crazy and aggressive.

Jewell calls.

Turn: 10 (pot: 601,000)

Jewell checks.

CT: What’s the plan after this check and a pretty good turn card?

KJ: The plan was to check, and then shove on a bet that he could make that wouldn’t absolutely force him to call. I feel like he definitely would have bet any where from 180,000 to 210,000, still allowing me to be able to get him to fold air and bad flush draws or possibly 3-3 or 5-5, a hand like that. Then I could shove over his bet. And, also, if called I still have outs with the flush draw, and most likely overcard outs as well. But, he decided to…

Houston checks.

KJ: When he checks this is a good sign for me to take this hand down on the river.

River: 7 (pot: 601,000)

KJ: I decided to value bet bluff on this river. I’m confident that I look super strong here because of my previous actions. My hand here has no showdown value, and the only way that I can win this pot is by betting, and value bet bluffing versus this player is my best chance and looks the strongest.

Jewell bets 188,000. Houston folds A Q face up. Jewell wins the pot of 601,000.

Jewell: Obviously, it was good he didn’t make his hand. My floating out of position, in my opinion, won this hand. It put me up to almost 1,300,000 and in a great spot to go to the final table with a lot of chips.

CT: Share a few strategy tips about floating a flop. It’s not just a random thing to do haphazardly. When is it a good time or situation to float and why?

KJ: It’s tough to say when a good time to float is; it’s about seizing the situational opportunities that come. When they come around, if it works out with our chip stack size and with a particular read I have on a player, I like doing it and taking advantage of the situation.

CT: And when is it a bad time to float?

KJ: A bad time to float would be anytime you don’t have a plan for the subsequent streets. I don’t make fancy plays just to try to outplay people; I have a purpose behind each decision I make. Floating. in particular, is completely based on opportunities and something that develops during the hand. The best players can identify these opportunities and utilize them to their advantage.

Hand No.2

Key Concepts: Table dynamics; Hand ranges; An opponent’s aggressive tendencies.

Jacob Bazeley raises to 85,000 from UTG. Daniel Blakeman flats from the button. Jewell calls from the small blind holding 4 4.

Flop: 9 4 4 (pot: 295,000)

Jewell checks. Bazeley bets 135,000. Blakeman folds.

CT: What’s the best way to milk this monster hand?

KJ: I know that check-raising looks really strong in a lot of spots, and a lot of people wouldn’t want to just win this hand here. But Bazeley knows that I know a lot of things that he knows, and so I decided to…

Jewell raises to 315,000.

CT: Obviously, he’s not going to put you on quads playing the hand like this?

KJ: Right. The check-raise makes me look the lightest versus him, and it allows me to maybe have him go crazy on made, or unmade hands. He has a good stack here to make a move on me.

Bazeley moves all-in. Jewell calls. Bazeley reveals A 9.

CT: Well played.

Turn: K (pot: 4,955,000)

River: 9 (pot: 4,955,000)

Jewell wins the pot of 4,955,000.

KJ: It was a really sick cooler for Bazeley. I really don’t think I would have stacked him if I had just decided to call the flop. This was such an important hand, because of who I knocked out, my most feared opponent at the table. Sure, it was a very lucky flop for me, but the check-raise, I think, is what stacked him.

CT: Very few players would ever think about check-raising with quads. The instinct is to continue to try to trap and slowplay. What are the factors that go into making this type of read on an opponent when flopping a monster?

KJ: I’m trying to use what I think is the lightest looking line possible, while doing my best to induce him into putting as much of his stack in the pot as possible. I figured check-raising would build a pot to the point where I could get his whole stack.

CT: What can you attribute your success in the WSOP Circuit events? You’ve been killing it the last couple of years.

KJ: I attribute it most to being on my own, playing for myself and not worrying about anything else. My success is based on my own actions. I want to do things the right way. ♠