Hand 2 Hand Combat: Tony “Bond18” Dunst

Rebecca McAdam: Can you set the scene for when this hand occurred?

Tony Dunst: Jacksonville was the second to last event in the World Poker Tour [WPT] season. Going into the event, Joe Serock had just surpassed [Will] Failla on the WPT POY [Player Of The Year] leader board and needed a strong result to set himself apart. By making this final table he surpassed Joe, but if he could finish in the top few spots he would put himself in a much more secure position.

RM: Would you say you know his game at all? Did you have a sense of his ranges?

TD: Failla plays a style where he likes to go to many flops, generally plays tight, but is capable of getting creative post-flop. He favors calling re-raises pre instead of making four-bets. It was hard to have a sense of his range in this specific spot because I knew he would likely call me with a wide variety of hands. He was almost never folding to my three-bets.

RM: What was the dynamic like between you at this point?

TD: Failla and I had been battling in pots for the last two days, most of which I won, one of which he bluffed me out of. I had position and was often re-raising him preflop, and he never did anything beyond call or fold pre. This was our second hand together at the final table, and the first time I had re-raised him at the final table.

RM: Perhaps you can briefly talk about the hand previous to the one in question to give an idea of play?

TD: Sure. He limp called the small [blind], check-called 9-6-2, and check-raised a 5 turn. I folded J-9, he had 6-5.

Failla completed the small blind for 30,000, Dunst raised from the big blind to 90,000, and Failla called.

Flop: 9 6 2.

Failla checked, Dunst bet 90,000, and Failla called.

Turn: 5.

Failla checks, Dunst bets 215,000, and Failla check-raises to 500,000. Dunst folds. Failla rakes in a pot worth over 800,000 in chips.

RM: What do you make of the limp call? Would you know what kind of range he would have with that or is he the kind of player to get tricky and change it up, limp calling with a decent hand?

TD: I don’t make much of the limp call. Will prefers going to flops, and he both limps from the small blind and calls raises out of position preflop often. He feels that his edge is in making better decisions post. I didn’t think he would limp-call a really good hand against someone that three-bets so much though, so I disqualified the strongest holdings from his range.

RM: When he check-called what were you thinking?

TD: When he check-called the flop I still thought there were many hands he could have. He could have a weak flush draw (he would probably raise a strong draw like a straight plus flush draw), 8-7, ace high (possibly with back-door spades), and most commonly a one pair holding like Q-9, T-9, 9-8, 9-7, 7-6, 6-5, and A-6. Basically, when he check-called the flop I thought “Sweet, I probably have the best hand and Will doesn’t like folding to me.”

RM: You obviously felt with a limper this was a dangerous board. Why did you not go to the river just to see? Were you certain you were behind?

TD: I didn’t go to the river for a variety of reasons. First of all, Will had already run a large bluff on me late on day four and I thought this early at the final table it was unlikely he’d go for it again with the memory of that hand so fresh. I thought the 5 was a bad card and completed hands like 8-7 and 6-5 (and 4-3 if he somehow had it). And I thought his sizing was pretty blatantly for value. We only started the hand about 1.2 million deep and after investing 400k in the hand I only have 800,000 back. When he check-raises that small he’s begging to be called in a spot where many raises would just be a shove because we’re so shallow and there’s not room for much else.

RM: Now to the hand in question, what happens next?

TD: I three-bet him preflop with tens, and he called with 7 6. He opened to 60k, and I made it 150k. The flop came K-Q-7 rainbow with one diamond and we both checked. The turn was the 6 and he bet 125,000, which I called. The river was a 4 and we both checked. He said, “I gotta pair.” I said, “Which pair?” He said, “Six.” I said, “No good” then tabled my hand. He glanced back at his hand, then mucked it.

RM: Were you prepared to call future bets with overcards out there on the flop?

TD: I was prepared to call one street, possibly two, depending on sizing because Failla calls with a ton of hands pre. But I think if he’d bet large on the river I would’ve talked myself into folding.

RM: What was the reasoning behind your turn call? Did you think you were ahead or was it because you wanted to see the river… or see what he did to get a better idea of his hand?

TD: I called the turn because his sizing was small, and because Will calls three-bets with so many hands that there’s no way I can fold to only one bet against him when I check back the flop and there’s only two overcards. I figured I had the best hand often.

RM: You then checked the river — was that just to be safe?

TD: I checked because there was no value to be gained from betting, and it was really unlikely I could make him fold a better hand if I decided to bet as a bluff.

RM: Did you see his cards at the end at all?

TD: Nope, I was clueless that he’d mucked the best hand.

RM: Do you think people should just turn their cards over in situations like this? Did he realise after that he missed it?

TD: Will had no idea he misread his hand. Any time there’s a showdown I usually announce my hand and table it if necessary, but I make a point of knowing precisely what my cards are. I can see why a pro mucked (he doesn’t want to give away information) and usually that’s fine, but in this case I guess Will was a little out of it.

RM: Do you think he was playing distracted/tighter/differently because of the POY? Did you use this against him overall?

TD: I think he might have been affected by the pressure. It’s hard to say; Will was having a big year and made many deep runs, so I feel like he’d be pretty acclimated. But he’s also the kind of guy that get’s really into that kind of race. I didn’t get to use it against him because we both busted shortly after.

RM: Did he discuss the hand with you ever since?

TD: I found out what happened during a break, but I decided not to say anything because we were both so short, and I wanted to wait until I had a more relevant moment to tell him. We talked about the hand later that day, and numerous times after. We joke around about it.

RM: What if you did see his hand — what would you do?

TD: If I had seen his hand I would have kept my mouth shut and let him muck if he wanted.

RM: If you recall — have you mucked hands by mistake at important moments and realised after?

TD: As far as mucking the best hand goes, the last time I can remember doing that I was like 19 or something. I always re-check my cards before I go to the flop and make a point of memorizing them. ♠

Tony “Bond18” Dunst went on to finish in fifth place in this event for $66,532, one place better than Will Failla. The score bumped the 28-year-old’s total live winnings up to more than $800,000. This mixed with online winnings approaching the half-a-million dollar mark makes Dunst a force to be reckoned with on all platforms. The young American has seven career titles to his name and is currently the host of the Raw Deal at the World Poker Tour.