Poker Hand Of The Week: Shurane Vijayaram vs. Ben HeathLet Us Know How You Would Have Played The Hand |
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Give us your opinion in the comments section below for your chance at winning a six-month Card Player magazine digital subscription.
Ask any group of poker players how you played your hand and they’ll come up with dozens of different opinions. That’s just the nature of the game.
Each week, Card Player will select a hand from the high-stakes, big buy-in poker world, break it down and show that there’s more than one way to get the job done.
The Hand
Holding a 3:1 chip advantage during heads-up play at the 2017 Aussie Millions main event, Shurane Vijayaram raised to 350,000 from the button and was called by Ben Heath in the big blind.
The flop came down 9
7
6
and Heath checked. Vijayaram bet 400,000 and Heath called. The turn was the 3 and Heath checked again.
Vijayaram bet 500,000 and Heath check-raised to 1,390,000. Vijayaram thought it over and eventually made the call. The river was the Q and Heath moved all in for 3,200,000. Vijayaram went into the tank for several minutes before finally making the call.
Heath turned over K8 for a busted open-ended straight draw, but Vijayaram held 55
for the winning hand with a lowly pair of fives.
The Questions
How do you feel about Heath’s preflop defense? What about his check-call on the flop? Should Vijayaram be betting the turn after getting called on the flop? What do you think of Heath’s check-raise sizing? Did Vijayaram call on the turn because of his own draw or because he thought he had the best hand? Since Heath moved all in after missing his draw, do you think he would have done the same had he hit the river? What hands are Vijayaram beating?
The Aftermath
Instead of getting back into the heads-up match, Heath was eliminated by a remarkable hero call from Vijayaram. Heath, who was coming off a side event win at the PokerStars Championship Bahamas, earned AUD $1 million ($760,000) for his runner-up performance.
Vijayaram, who had never recorded a live tournament cash prior to this event, took home the lion’s share of the prize pool with AUD $1.6 million ($1,216,000) along with the title. The Melbourne local got into the tournament by winning a AUD $130 satellite just days before the main event kicked off.
Check out the entire hand below.
What would you have done and why? Let us know in the comments section below and try not to be results oriented. The best answer will receive a six-month Card Player magazine digital subscription.
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