WSOP Strategy -- Lacay Discusses Big Stack ManagementLudovic Lacay Discusses Two Key Hands from Day 5 |
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With approximately 1.8 million in chips heading into Day 6 of the main event, Ludovic Lacay finds himself in excellent position to contend for the most prestigious poker tournament of the year. The French pro has earned a reputation as a top-notch player, with consistent results in both the live and online arenas.
But it’s been nearly two years since he had what many thought to be his breakout performance at the World Poker Tour Spanish Championship in Barcelona, where he finished as the tournament’s runner-up for $419,184. While he has no other six-figure scores to speak of, Lacay says that he has been focused on improving every single tournament, and believes his experience might make the difference down the stretch in these final few crucial days at the World Series.
“Well, I’m used to it. I’m used to having a big stack, I’m used to playing for three or four days in a row. Of course, the main event is longer but I think I have a lot of experience with that and I think I can really manage my stack,” said Lacay. “I have a good view of the overall tournament. I don’t really care about losing the chip lead for a few hours or a few days in this tournament. I just play my game.”
Lacay remains in the top 30 in chips of the 185 players remaining, after being near the chip lead at the end of Day 3 and Day 4.
He says his past mistakes are guiding the way he plays now.
“I’ve had a few blow-ups in the past, so I know how that works. You lose a few pots, and you feel like you’re losing control. But that doesn’t really matter, you just need to stay focused,” said Lacay. “I don’t care right now about being the table captain; I just want to be first in the end.”
Lacay discusses two noteworthy hands from Day 5, where he lets the reader in on his thought process on a few crucial decisions.
Hand No. 1: Tangling with Jordan Morgan
Pre-flop: Lacay raises from UTG + 1 to 20,000 with A-J. Jordan Morgan calls on his immediate left, and everyone else folds.
Stephen A. Murphy: What kind of range are you giving Morgan here?
Ludovic Lacay: I really think his range is pretty wide because I raise a lot of hands. Probably any suited connectors, any good suited one-gapper, and stuff like that.
Flop: Jx-4x-2x (with two clubs). Lacay bets 27,000. Morgan calls.
LL: It’s important to bet here because I will bet all my hands, so I have to bet my top pair.
SM: When Morgan calls on the flop, do you put him on any specific kind of hand? Or do you think he could be floating?
LL: He can have a draw, he can have ace-high, he can float, he can have a jack, and he can have any pocket pair between tens and fives, and even pocket threes. So, he can really have anything.
Turn: Qx (not clubs). Lacay bets 85,000 into the 120,000 pot. Morgan calls.
LL: Here’s where people usually make the mistake of checking. It doesn’t change anything and when you’re bluffing, you usually double-barrel this board and represent the queen. So when you play against good players, you have to bet when you have a jack here for balance. If you’re betting when you have nothing, you have to bet when you have the jack.
SM: Why bet nearly three-fourths the pot on the turn?
LL: I bet pretty big because I don’t want him to think I’m value betting, but that I’m trying to push him off a hand.
SM: When Morgan calls on the turn…
LL: It doesn’t change anything. When he doesn’t raise, I don’t think he has Q-J. So now I’m pretty sure I have the best hand.
SM: So you put him on a weaker jack?
LL: Yeah, like K-J, J-10. Even if he even has a pair of nines, it doesn’t really matter. Because in his head, I either have the queen — or an over pair — or nothing.
River: 8x (not a club). Lacay bets 125,000. Morgan calls and mucks.
LL: In my mind, I only lose to two eights now so I value bet 125,000 — not that big, but still pretty big. He called me really quick and mucked when he saw my hand.
I wanted the river bet to look like I was trying to get a big draw to fold the river, like A-10 of clubs.
Hand No. 2: Leading Out into the Pre-flop Aggressor
Pre-flop: Lacay raises from early position with K
J. An opponent reraises him from mid-position. Lacay calls.
SM: Why did you call a reraise with this hand out of position?
LL: Because I had been pushed off three hands before that. I had to call the reraise to show people that I didn’t care about playing a big pot. That really matters. If people think you’re only going to four-bet or fold, they’re going to keep three-betting you. If you call, they have to play a pretty big pot post-flop and that can be tough for them.
K-J isn’t a great hand, but it’s a hand you can play there.
Flop: A
10
3. Lacay bets 110,000 into a 231,000 pot. His opponent calls.
SM: You led out into the pre-flop aggressor. Explain your thought process here.
LL: I felt like if I led out here, I would get a lot of information. I have a gut shot and a backdoor flush draw, so I don’t have nothing, but still, it’s pretty much nothing.
If I check it and he bets, he’s going to bet bigger than what I’m betting, so it’s going to cost me more to call. And it’s very hard to call the flop, check the turn (and have him check behind), and then bet the river, and get him to fold a hand like queens for you.
SM: And what information did you get from him from leading out on the flop?
LL: By how quickly he called, I knew he had to have kings or queens. People here just aren’t conscious of how long it takes them to make a call, and that gives away tells.
Turn: 9. Lacay bets 200,000. His opponent folds.
LL: Once I put him on kings or queens, I had to fire the second barrel. I bet like 200,000; he had 600,000 behind. You know if he calls at that point, he’s pretty much committed to calling the river. So it’d be pretty tough to bluff the river.
However, Lacay didn’t have to worry about that as his opponent did get rid of his cards and another sizable pot was pushed toward the Frenchmen.
As tables break and the field shrinks in Day 6, watch out for the experienced pro to make a run toward the November Nine. Although Lacay is confident that he will be able to put up a big result soon, he knows that he has his work cut out for him in this tournament.
“Of course, I would love to make the final table but there are so many good players left,” said Lacay. “I know that it will happen again for me (another big result), I know I will win one someday, maybe this one, maybe another. I’m just going to focus on what I do and try to improve with every tournament I play.”
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