Final Table Takedown With Eugene KatchalovKatchalov Breaks Down Two Key Hands From PCA Super High Roller Win |
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Eugene Katchalov was born in Kiev, Ukraine, but was raised in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from New York University with a business degree, but has chosen to play poker professionally for the past four years.
In 2007, he won the Sunday $750,000 Guaranteed event on Full Tilt Poker, but nothing can be compared to the $2.4 million that he snagged for winning that year’s World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson Classic.
He has made multiple final tables in World Series of Poker and European Poker Tour events, and most recently won the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Super High Roller event. He then went on to finish second in the $10,000 six-max turbo event later in that week. He has more than $6 million in career tournament cashes.
In this interview, Katchalov walks us through his recent win.
| Event | Super High Roller |
| Players | 38 |
| Buy-In | $100,000 |
| First Prize | $1,500,000 |
| Finish | First |
Hand No. 1
Key Concept: Making a good read and a big laydown to live another day
Daniel Negreanu raises from under the gun to 27,000. Eugene Katchalov calls from the button with the J
J
.
Craig Tapscott: Why just call in this spot?
Eugene Katchalov: I decided to just call because I felt pretty comfortable playing my hand post-flop in position, while at the same time using pot control and disguising the strength of my hand.
CT: Many players struggle with a hand like jacks in this spot, and they’re not even facing poker superstars like Negreanu and Benyamine. Please break down your thought process for all of the possible ways to proceed, and why, against such experienced opponents.
EK: Well, if overcards hit the flop, it doesn’t necessarily mean that I have to fold to a continuation-bet. I can still comfortably call at least one barrel and
see what develops on the turn. And it’s not too easy for Daniel to just keep barreling, as my hand range is still quite wide and could be crushing and trapping a lot of his weaker holdings. If all small cards come, it’s still not easy for him to just barrel away on every street, mainly because he knows that I also have small suited connectors and small pairs in my range, which potentially could have hit hard on the flop. So, even when he has big overpairs, he may decide to proceed cautiously, thereby saving me from losing three full bets on every street. Also, situations may arise when I might realize that I have the worst hand on some street, but decide to turn it into a bluff if the right cards come off, and get him off certain semi-strong hands that cannot stand much heat.
Benyamine moves all in from the big blind.
CT: What’s your read on Benyamine? What kind of hands do you think Negreanu will continue with, and what will his thinking be with you still in the hand?
EK: At this point, I know that David has a pretty good hand, but it doesn’t have to be a monster. He’s shortstacked, and generally has to gamble with a lot of hands that I’m currently ahead of. Daniel knows this, as well, and if he has a hand like A-J, K-Q, or 8-8, he knows that he may be ahead of David’s range. But at the same time, if he just calls, he gives me a really good price to call, as well. Because of this, it’s better for him to raise small again and continue to represent a lot of strength, to isolate David and get me to fold.
Negreanu raises to 250,000.
CT: Just as you predicted. What now?
EK: At this point, I’m a little worried, but not enough to believe that either one of them necessarily has me beat. So, I decided to min-raise Daniel, as I knew that he would give me respect, and also would know that I was not messing around and was probably trapping preflop.
Katchalov raises to 500,000. Negreanu moves all in.
CT: Wow. Can you possibly call this with jacks? Could it be a coin flip?
EK: I was getting a pretty good price to call, but I thought that I quite possibly could be crushed, and could find a better spot in the future. Having played with Daniel before, I don’t think he has A-K in this spot very often. He more often has a big pair that has me beat, as I don’t think he would ever do this with tens or worse.
Katchalov tanks, and folds. Negreanu reveals the K
K. Benyamine reveals the 9
9.
Flop: Q 4 2
Turn: 3
River: 3
Negreanu wins the pot of 890,000.
Hand No. 2
Key Concept: Deciding whether or not to slow-play a very strong hand on the turn while in position on a draw heavy board.
Eugene Katchalov raises to 125,000 from the button with the 10 10. Daniel Negreanu calls.
Flop: A 10 9 (pot: 260,000)
Negreanu checks. Katchalov bets 175,000. Negreanu calls.
EK: At this point, all of the action is pretty standard, as we both have been raising almost all of our buttons and
continuation-betting a fair amount. When he calls me, I think he might have a bare ace, 10, 9, or some sort of a draw. It’s rare for him to have flopped a big hand, as more often than not, he will be raising me on the flop for protection and pot-building.
CT: Can you share a few keys to hand-reading, to help players who are having difficulty with putting players on hand ranges?
EK: Well, to be able to assign your opponent a range, you preferably need some previous history with him to be able to assess his general playing style. This should at least give you a good idea of the possible hand ranges that he can have when just calling your raise preflop, but it’s not necessarily crucial for assigning hand ranges post-flop. When he calls on a flop as draw-heavy as A-10-9 with two diamonds out of position, I would generally discount any kinds of floats. Those types of flops should generally connect with many of my opening hands, so knowing this, he will almost always have either a made hand or a draw. Also, it’s unusual for him to have a very strong hand on that flop, as many hands like A-K, A-Q, or 9-9 would often reraise me preflop.
Turn: 5 (pot: 610,000)
Negreanu checks. Katchalov bets 425,000. Negreanu raises to 1,075,000.
CT: Is it best to shove now or give him room to hang himself on the river?
EK: Well, at this point, I’m obviously trying to figure out the best way to get him to commit the rest of his stack. If he has a made hand, like two pair, I can certainly shove, and he will most likely call and end it right there. At the same time, however, I didn’t give him a strong made hand, as he just called me on the flop.
CT: So, what’s he check-raising with, then?
EK: I started considering that it was likely he was doing this with a big draw. But after a while, I thought that if he did have a draw, he would fold and save his stack — that is, unless it was a monster draw. At the same time, if I just call, he may put me on a draw. Then, I hoped he would shove his whole range on the river if it bricked out, or check and call a brick river, thinking that I missed and was bluffing. I eventually decided to …
Katchalov calls.
River: 2 (pot: 2,760,000)
Negreanu bets 475,000. Katchalov shoves all in. Negreanu folds. Katchalov wins the pot of 3,235,000.
CT: What do you think he folded? And, would you play the hand any differently after this river outcome?
EK: He folded quickly, which obviously led me to believe that he had a draw. He later claimed to me that he had a gutshot-straight draw and flush draw, and was going to call a shove on the turn. Knowing that, I obviously regretted not shoving the turn, as I could have ended it right there. Thinking back on it now, I believe shoving the turn is almost always the right play instead of just calling, mainly because Daniel is probably not bluffing the river all in very often, and I may save him money if he has a hand like A-5 and the river is some scary diamond that completes many draws.
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