Run it Twice -- Ray Henson Discusses Limit Poker HandTalks About $400-$800 Game at Commerce Casino |
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Ray Henson is a professional cash-game player who travels from his home in Houston, Texas, to Los Angeles to play at the Commerce Casino, and he sat down with Card Player to discuss a limit hold’em hand he played recently.
Game
Game: Limit hold’em
Stakes: $400-$800
Blinds: $200-$400
Place: Commerce Casino
Run it Twice – Review of the Hand
Preflop Action: At a five-handed table, Villain No. 2 raises under the gun to $800, and Ray Henson three-bets to $1,200 on the button with pocket aces. Villain No. 1 in the small blind caps it to $1,600. Villain No. 2 calls, and Henson calls. The pot is now $5,200.
Kristy Arnett: What is your read on these two players?
Ray Henson: Villain No. 2 is a really aggressive regular at the Commerce. He could have a wide range here. I’m pretty sure he [Villain No. 1] has kings, queens, or jacks, or possibly A-K, but with me having two aces, it’s pretty hard for someone to have an ace in their hand.
KA: If he does have kings, queens, or jacks, what’s the benefit of him four-betting preflop? Is he doing that for value or to try and squeeze out Villain No. 2?
RH: He knows the other guy isn’t going to fold. In this case, he’s just trying to get value out of his hand.
Flop Action: The flop comes A
5 5×. Villain No. 1 bets $400, and Villain No. 2 calls. Henson raises to $800, Villain No. 1 calls, and Villain No. 2 three-bet to $1,200. Henson caps it to $1,600, and Villain No. 1 and 2 call. The pot is now $10,000.
KA: Why did you decide to raise here instead of slow-play?
RH: Right here, most of the time people would just call with my hand, because you want the other opponents to make something, but I decided that I read both of their hands as decently strong. I put Villain No. 1 on kings or queens, so I thought that if I called here, he’d just give up on the turn and check-fold if he missed. But if I raised it on the flop, I’d definitely get at least one more bet out of him. I figured Villain No. 2 could be calling with any two cards and would definitely call another bet. He also might have a flush draw.
KA: What did you think when Villain No. 2 three-bet?
RH: I thought he had either a flush draw or maybe an ace or maybe a 5. I went ahead and four-bet it, and I think Villain No. 1 called because he thought we could both be on a flush draw. My plan worked out. I got as much money as I could on the flop.
Turn Action: The turn is an offsuit 9. The board is now A 5 5x 9×. Villain No. 1 and No. 2 check. Henson bet $800. Villain No. 1 calls, and Villain No. 2 check-raises to $1,600. Henson three-bet to $2,400, and Villain No. 1 folded. Villain No. 2 reraised to $3,200. Henson called. The pot is now $17,200.
RH: After Villain No. 2 check-raised, I was pretty sure he had at least a five in his hand. There is also a possibility he has A-9, and he thinks I have A-K. He wouldn’t be doing this with a flush draw. Since Villain No. 2 was so aggressive, I decided I wasn’t worried about pushing the other guy out of the pot anymore. I just wanted to get more money in the pot.
KA: It looks as though you got as much value as you could out of Villain No. 1.
RH: Yeah, I got him to put in a bunch of money with two kings drawing almost dead. The thing was, we put four bets in before the flop three ways, and then four bets in on the flop three ways. He called the turn, as well, hoping to spike the king for one more bet to win this huge pot. If I would have just called the flop, we would only have had four bets before the flop and one bet on the flop three ways. When I bet after they checked to me on the turn, he would have just thrown his hand away, because he knows he’s behind. After I made the pot so big on the flop, Villain No. 1 decided he was getting the right price to call the turn and try to hit his two-outer.
KA: After getting heads up, why did you finally decide just to call?
RH: He was a really aggressive player, but he’s really smart. He would know that if I reraised again, that I would have to have aces full. After eight bets, there was doubt in my mind that he had either pocket nines, which I didn’t think he’d really play the flop that way, or he had A-5, or pocket fives. I decided to finally just call, because if I reraised him one more time, then he was going to just call and check-call the river unless he had pocket fives and I was beat. By just calling, he could still think I had a 5 or A-9. Since I didn’t reraise the turn, I knew he’d bet the river, thinking that there was no way I could have aces full. If did reraise the turn, he’d call, and then check-call the river, so the same amount of bets would go in, but this way, I’d get to see the river, and if a 5, comes, only one more bet was going in and I would save myself $800.
River Action: The river is an offsuit J. Villain No. 2 bets, and Henson raises. Villain No. 2 calls and shows A-5 for fives full of aces. Henson shows his pocket aces for aces full of fives to win the pot of $20,400.
RH: In limit hold’em, the better players make about a bet-and-a-half an hour. The really, really good players make two big bets an hour, but that’s really pushing it. In limit, you have to be able to read hands and maximize when you have the best hand, and save bets when you are beat.
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