Run It Twice -- Hac Dang'Trex313' Walks Us Through a Heads-Up Pot-Limit Omaha Hand |
|
Hac Dang is better known as “Trex313” in the world of high-stakes cash games. He regularly plays the $500-$1,000 half pot-limit Omaha half pot-limit hold’em games when they run and has been one of the biggest winners this year on Full Tilt. He sat down with Card Player to talk about a heads-up pot-limit Omaha hand.
The Game
Game: Pot-Limit Omaha
Blinds: $300-$600
The Lineup
Hac Dang: $95,944 [big blind]
Villain: $47,999 [small blind/button]
Key Concepts
*Mixing up three-betting range out of position is crucial heads up
*Stacks size awareness is essential in making optimal plays
Run It Twice— Review of the Hand
Preflop Action: Villain raises on the button to $1,800. Dang reraises to $5,400 with 7
6
5 3
. Villain calls. The pot is now $10,800.
Kristy Arnett: Why did you decide to three-bet this hand?
Hac Dang: Anytime you are playing between 50 and 100 big blinds deep, if you three-bet, there is stuff to do post-flop. It’s not just a shove-or-fold situation. The reason you have to three-bet a low hand like this is: a) if he four-bets you, you still have odds to call preflop to see if a low flop hits, and b) if you never three-bet anything but aces and a low flop comes, then he’ll be able to just take the hand away from you. So, let’s say you never three-bet anything but aces, kings, or like A-K-10-J or high-type hands, he will always call in position. If the flop comes like 6-5-4-X, you’ll check it to him, probably, or you will bet and he’ll raise you, and you have to fold, because you don’t want to stack off with pocket aces or kings there. So, by three-betting a hand like this, it’s pretty good, because I can hit a big hand, and it’s not that tough to play out of position, because you can c-bet [continuation bet] and fold, or check and fold.
Flop Action: The flop comes J 6 4
. Dang bets $7,800. Villain calls. The pot is now $26,400.
HD: This is a good flop for my hand. I have a pair and a wrap, so if he has an overpair, I’m ahead. I put in a standard continuation-bet. On a flop like that, you have to be willing to go with your hand. If he would have raised me there, I would have had to put him on a range of hands. I guess he could have jacks sometimes, but even if he has pocket jacks, I’m are still fine. That hand is at the top of his range. I might be in trouble if he has pocket queens with a diamond draw or jacks with a diamond draw, but that’s pretty rare. If he has an overpair and a diamond draw, I am kind of in bad shape. If he has just a diamond draw, it’s like a coin-flip situation. A lot of times, if you bet this flop, he’s going to float you with like any pocket pair. Unless a diamond or a like a jack comes on the turn, you can just shove.
Turn Action: The turn is the 2. The board now reads J 6 4 2. Dang bets 26,400, and Villain calls. The pot is now $79,200.
KA: This is obviously a good card for you, but what would you have done had the turn been a diamond?
HD: Situations like that are very player dependent. Some players play their flush draws very aggressively and would almost always raise on the flop. So, against those kinds of players, you don’t always have to be scared if a diamond hits, because he would have shoved the flop. This player, in particular, plays his flush draws pretty passively, so if a diamond hit, it would have been a bad card.
KA: How do you decide between betting or going for a check-raise on the turn with a made hand like this on a draw-heavy board?
HD: It depends on stack sizes. If the stack size is good for it, then a check-raise might be good. In this case, he didn’t have enough, so a pot-size bet here gets most of his money in, anyway, so you are effectively protecting your hand, because he would only have $8,000 in value if he is only calling with a flush draw.
KA: Can you explain why check-raising is a better play if you were deeper?
HD: The reason check-raising is better play if we were deeper is because he has really good implied odds if he’s on a flush draw. Says he’s $40,000 deeper. If I bet $20,000 and he has $20,000 to call and another $40,000 behind, he has a lot of equity to just call my bet with a set or a flush draw or a backdoor-flush draw. Also, if I check on the river, a lot of times I’m going to have to call a bet of his no matter what comes, because there are so many draws that hit and miss, so it gives him a chance to bluff me off the pot if he misses, and a good chance to make a lot of money of me if he hits. Basically, he has really good implied odds if I bet and he just calls, and he has position, which makes it a lot tougher. So the thing is, if you check it here and he decides to bet with a really good draw, then a lot of times you can shove and get in all the money right there when his implied odds are gone. Not only that, but if you check the turn and he checks back, and a blank comes, like the Q, you can check-raise the river. This is very tough for him because he knows that I can check-raise the river because I know he doesn’t have the nuts, because he didn’t bet the turn. Also, if he’s trying to value-bet me thin with like two pair, it’ll keep him honest.
River Action: The river is the 5. The board now reads J 6 4 2 5. Dang checks, and Villain checks. Dang shows for a 6-high straight. Villain mucks, and Dang wins the pot of $79,200.
KA: Why did you decide to check the river?
HD: Actually, I’m not exactly sure why I checked here on the river [laugh]. I guess I didn’t think I’d get called with worse too often. I didn’t think he had a 3, because might have shoved the turn. I thought there might be a small chance that if he missed a diamond draw he might bluff $8K into $80K.
Copyright © 2001-2024
CardPlayer.com. All rights reserved.
