Final Table Takedown: Byron Kaverman Follows Up WSOP Win with an EPT Title

|Event: 2015 Italian Poker Tour Malta|
|Players: 210|
|Entry: $11,339|
|First Prize: $473,880|
|Finish: 1st|

Byron Kaverman was born and raised in Jennings, OH and currently resides in San Diego, CA. He attended college at Tiffin University on a soccer scholarship and studied psychology. In 2004, he learned how to play poker in a neighborhood home game after watching the movie Rounders. He then went on to fine tune his tournament game online while playing professional soccer on the Ohio Vortex of the Professional Arena Soccer League. It would be at the 2011 Poker Stars Caribbean Adventure that Kaverman would break out and earn his first live win in a preliminary event for $320,840. At the 2015 World Series of Poker, Kaverman won the $10,000 no-limit six-handed championship for his first gold bracelet. In 2014, he placed second at the World Poker Tour championship for $727,680 and also currently holds the title for most cashes in a single season on the WPT. Kaverman has more than $6.7 million in career tournament earnings.

Key Concepts: Preflop Independent Chip Model (ICM) considerations; Hand ranges; Bet sizing

Craig Tapscott: Set the stage for us here as you march to the final table. What was the plan? And being one of the larger stacks with only 11 players left, what goes through your head in regards to maneuvering towards the final table and taking advantage of your stack?

Byron Kaverman: When going into a final table as one of the chip leaders, I think it’s always a risk to get caught up in looking ahead, so I really make it a point to stay in the moment and focus on the process. This one was very tough, but my stack did allow me to open and play more aggressively than I would early in a tournament. This is mainly due to the fact that some of the players with shorter stacks would be looking to move up the pay jumps. 

Pahuja raises from UTG to 50,000 Kaverman calls holding K Q from the cutoff.

CT: Could you have raised here? Was that ever an option in your head?

BK: I think it’s a good hand to three-bet, but I decided to call given ICM considerations.

CT: Share with us in a little more detail how ICM impacted your decisions at this point in the event.

BK: I was in a good situation with my stack and the impact it could possibly have in hands later at the final table. If I were to raise with K-Q suited there, it opens up the possibility of him four-betting, which would put me in a very difficult and awkward spot. And even three-betting and getting called would increase variance. I figured by calling, I’m getting to the flop against a lot of hands I dominate that might otherwise fold to a raise. And with ICM considerations, for example, if one player is extremely short, I would be able to play ultra aggressively, as other medium stacks would be looking to move up given the payouts, which is often correct versus taking slightly positive Expected Value (+EV) gambles. 

Flop:  A J 4 (pot: 151,000)

Pahuja bets 52,000. Kaverman calls.

CT: Is this a standard call with a gutshot versus an UTG raiser?

BK: He was opening quite wide at the time, so he probably thought my ranges were wide too, therefore he would probably continue on most boards.

CT: Have you nailed down any clue what his hand range could be?

BK: I think his opening range consisted of all aces, Broadways, pairs, along with a wide range of suited hands, and I expected him to bet the flop a good percentage of the time. 

Turn: 10 (pot: 255,000)

Pahuja bets 125,000.

CT: Bingo for you. So how do you determine your bet sizing while determining the hand ranges he barreled the turn with?

BK: Well, the board hits my range quite hard, as hands like A-10, A-J, K-Q make up a good portion of the hands I’m flatting and calling the flop with, so I felt it was very unlikely he was on some type of small or no-equity bluff. I think his range consisted of sets, A-J, maybe A-10, and possibly eight combo draws and a few small flush draws. And the sets and combo draws have around 20 percent against my hand and I didn’t expect him to ever fold a set or A-J, so I decided to raise to…

Kaverman raises to 320,000. Pahuja calls.

River: A (pot: 895,000)

Pahuja checks. Kaverman checks. Pahuja reveals 4 4 for a full house and wins the pot of 895,000.

CT: Could Pahuja have gotten more value from the hand?

BK: I think it’s a spot where he could have led, but instead decided to check, thinking I may have played hands that made bigger full houses that way too.

CT: Is there anything you would have done differently?

BK: In hindsight, maybe I could have raised a little more on the turn. But he was getting 3.5 to 1, needing to call 200,000 with 700,000 out there. He needed 4 to 1 to break even, assuming he’s not getting value when he fills up on river.

CT: You have been on quite a run the past year or so. Can you share with our readers your take on the recent success and how you have worked on and grown your game?

BK: To start the year I had my worst-ever trip financially at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, but stayed optimistic despite that. One of the main things I can share was that throughout the year I was focusing more on my preparation and the process of the tournament; if you don’t it can be easy to get caught up in the results. I’ve also done significantly less partying, which I think has definitely had a positive impact on my results.

Key Concepts: Balance; Pot control; Hand ranges; Bluffing

Kaverman raises to 175,000 holding K 6 from the button. Pahuja calls.

CT: Going into heads-up play, did you have a plan against Pahuja? And have you played with him much over the past few years and know his game at all, as he has been having quite a run also?

BK: I didn’t have any specific plans or strategy going into heads-up play. I never really do in poker, because situations and dynamics are always changing. Pahuja and I had played a decent amount in the past, but didn’t have much history that came into play. 

Flop: 10 6 5 (pot: 370,000)

Pahuja checks. Kaverman checks.

CT: Why the check? It’s not a bad flop for your hand in heads-up play.

BK: It’s a situation where I’m going to continue with a value bet the majority of the time, but I was looking to balance my lines somewhat. And I wanted to avoid getting check-raised and playing a big pot, which increases variance. I felt like it was a good hand to check back with, as I had an overcard and a big diamond. And although it is heads-up, I think this hand plays out similarly to most button vs. big blind hands, as the ranges aren’t too much different.

Turn: 9 (pot: 370,000)

Pahuja bets 210,000. Kaverman calls.

CT: What is Pahuja leading out with?

BK: I felt like he would be doing this with all of his 8-x and 7-x hands along with all the value ones, so it was a standard call. He also probably didn’t expect me to check back straight draws or hands like I actually have so he could be going for a no-equity bluff too.

River: 8 (pot: 790,000)

Pahuja bets 515,000.

CT: What’s your read?

BK: I think he’s going to be value betting sevens and possibly sets, two pair, and even some one-pair hands and, having said that, he could be polarized to straights and bluffs. That’s one thing that’s great about poker; it’s a game of incomplete information. I think that he is around three times more likely to have a ten-high straight than J-7 or Q-J and I expected him to give me credit for one of those hands. I think he will fold the ten-high straights, so I decided to go all in, risking around 2 million to win 1.2 million. 

Kaverman shoves all in. Pahuja folds. Kaverman wins the pot of 1,305,000.

BK: I think this shove is going to work around 70 percent of the time. Another thing is Q-J and J-7 are hands I’m more likely to continuation bet on the flop, so he probably wouldn’t expect me to be representing them. ♠