Run it Twice -- Mike Watson'SirWatts' Talks Us Through a Pot-Limit Omaha Hand |
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Mike "SirWatts" Watson is a 24-year-old professional poker player who makes his living traveling the tournament circuit and playing cash games online. He has accumulated just under $2.3 million in tournament winnings, which include a World Poker Tour win at the 2008 Bellagio Cup IV, but when he's not 
competing in a live event, he's can usually be found playing pot-limit Omaha or no-limit hold'em online at stakes anywhere from $25-$50 to $500-$1,000. Watson is also an instructor for Card Player Pro, a poker video training site.
The Game
Type: Nine-handed cash game
Game: Pot-limit Omaha
Blinds: $25-$50
The Lineup
Mike Watson (button): $8,860.50
Small blind: $2,894.00 (posts $25)
Big blind: $8,337.00 (posts $50)
Villain (under the gun): $4,975.00
Late position: $4,833.50
Run it Twice -- Review of the Hand
Preflop Action: Villain raises under the gun to $175 with K
J
3 3
. The late-positon player folds, and Watson reraises with K
Q 10 6 to $600 on the button. The blinds fold, and Villain calls. The pot is now $1,275.
Kristy Arnett: Why did you decide to three-bet preflop, and is this the type of hand you normally do it with?
Mike Watson: Well, I’ve got a nice little suited-connected-rundown-type hand, and I have the button, which is the main thing. If I was one of the blinds, I would usually just flat-call with this hand, but because I have position, I wanted to put a lot of pressure on him. It’s hard for him to play out of position against my hand. I have a hand that is going to hit a lot of flops pretty well. I have two potential flush draws, lots of connecting cards, and high cards, so there are a lot of flops I’ll be able to hit, bet the flop, and go with if I get check-raised. Even if I don’t hit, I’ll be able to take down a lot of flops because of my aggression before the flop.
KA: What did you think about his call preflop?
MW: I think he’s the type to call a three-bet with a lot of hands. That’s fine because if he’s opening a lot of pots with weak hands and calling my three-bet out of position, there’s just not going to be any way for him to play them profitably against me, because I’m going to have the best hand more often than not, and I have position. He’s just not going to hit that many flops to play back at me.
Flop Action: The flop comes Q 10 6. Villain checks, and Watson bets $900. Villain calls. The pot is now $3,075.
KA: You flopped three pair, but it’s somewhat of a draw-heavy board. How confident are you with your hand to bet out after he checked to you?
MW: On the flop, I’m pretty willing to get in all the money. I flop all three pairs, so it’s pretty hard for him to have a set. There are so many draws that, more often than not, if he check-raises me and wants to get it in, he probably just has some sort of straight draw that I’m going to be doing OK against, depending on how big of a wrap he has flopped. Also, because I’m the three-bettor preflop, sometimes players will just think that I just have aces and play back at me pretty light trying to get me to fold, thinking that even if I didn’t, their hand would do fine against a one-pair hand. So, it’s possible that he would get it in with tens and sixes and a gutshot, or something, drawing pretty thin.
KA: Since he just called your bet, are you thinking that he doesn’t have a big wrap draw at this point?
MW: Yeah, I’m thinking that since he just called, usually that signifies that he probably doesn’t have that big of a hand. If he had a really big straight draw, he would usually just be content to get it in on the flop and hope I fold, and if I don’t, then he’ll get paid off if he hits his draw. If he just calls and then he hits his draw, he might not get paid because it would be pretty obvious which cards make his hand. Generally, when someone check-calls like that, he has a marginal draw or made hand like a pair and a straight draw, or bottom two pair and either he doesn’t want to get it all in on the flop because he knows he’ll never get it in good against me in that spot, or because he’s looking to bluff on some other cards that don’t make his hand. Players do this when there are a lot of cards that can come that don’t actually make their hand but that they can represent.
Turn Action: The turn is the A. The board reads Q 10 6 A. Villain checks, and Watson checks. The pot is still $3,075.
KA: This ace makes a few of the straight draws. Are you checking behind because you feel you are beat or because you want to exercise pot control?
MW: It’s a little bit of both. It’s kind of a weird spot, because I have two pair, a made hand, which could definitely still be the best hand, and I also picked up a flush draw, which is really important, as well. I have a lot of equity against basically anything. If I’m behind, I’m going to probably have six outs to make a full house, and another eight or nine outs to make a flush. At the same time, if I bet, I don’t really get a lot out of value from many hands, because after three-betting preflop, my range is just way too strong. He’s not going to call off with queens and sixes or something. If I bet, I’m basically hoping to get value from a worse straight draw and worse flush draw. The other thing is, since I picked up the flush draw, if a spade comes off on the river that makes his straight, I could possibly win a very big pot off of him because he won’t necessarily give me credit for a flush. I feel like it’s one of those spots that even though my hand has a lot of equity against anything, it’s still probably better to check behind, just because I won’t get a lot of value out of worse hands, and I’d most likely be just getting it in against hands that have me beat.
KA: That’s interesting. Many players would look at that board and want to just get their money in with three-pair and the second-nut flush draw, but your though process really makes sense, especially about disguising your hand if you do make a flush.
MW: It’s a strange thing that doesn’t really happen in hold’em where you have both made hands and big draws. There are a few situations that come up like that in hold’em, but it’s trickier in Omaha. There are a lot more intricate situations like that where your hand is good both as a drawing hand and as a made hand, and you have to try and figure out what the best way is to get value for it. It’s not always just bombing away. In other situations, like if he does have a smaller straight draw, I don’t really want to give another free card, as well, so there is a little bit of a balance, but I think in this case, checking was the lesser evil.
River Action: The river is the Q. The board reads Q 10 6 A Q. Villain checks, and Watson bets the pot of $3,075. Villain calls and shows K J 3 3 for a straight to the ace. Watson shows K Q 10 6 for a full house, queens over tens. Watson wins the pot of $9,223 (-$2 for rake).
KA: You improve to a full house on the river, and you bet pot. With that large bet, it sees like you were trying to make it look like a full house or just a big bluff. Was that the case?
MW: Yeah, exactly. I wanted to represent the nuts or nothing. Because I three-bet preflop, there is always that sort of thought in his head that I’m representing aces. On the river, this would be a good spot for me to bluff if I happen to have a hand like 5-6-7-8 or 6-7-8-9 or something that missed, since I three-bet preflop, looking like I could have aces. To him, it would make sense that I would want to try to bluff. Now that I actually do have a hand, unless he somehow has A-Q, which is possible, or aces, which I don’t think he ever has, then I basically have the nuts at this point. I wanted to play that nuts-or-nothing game to put the pressure on him. If I was bluffing, I would probably make the same bet and take the exact same line, as well. It just puts him in a really tough spot, because I can clearly have a monster or I could have nothing, and he has to call a big bet to find out.
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