I recently had the pleasure of traveling to Hollywood, Florida for the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open World Poker Tour series. Over the process two weeks, I played three WPT events with buy-ins of $3,500, $10,000, and $15,000. In the midst of day 1 of the $10,000 event, I DISCOVERED myself in a troublesome spot where I BELIEVE I paid my opponent off incorrectly.

With a 41,000 effective stack at 200-400 ante 50, everyone folded to me at the button and that i raised to 1,050 with A K. I were reasonably active inside the day, although I had folded my button a couple of times because both players within the blinds played well. The player within the small blind, a child who I frequently see at the circuit, three-bet to 3,500. He gave the impression to generally be in line and had not messed around versus me in any respect. I got the vibe that he was playing straightforwardly against the nice players, electing to play most of his pots versus the amateurs.

I think both calling the three-bet and four-betting are fine plays. Since I LOVE to four-bet bluff from time to time, I also want to four-bet with my value hands, so I four-bet to 7,600. The small blind thought for a couple of moments then called. At this point, I ASSUMED his range was reasonably strong, and it might certainly include all his premium hands. I didn’t expect to look many drawing hands like 8 7 and 3-3, although perhaps he would three-bet those hands from the small blind then call a four-bet since the player within the big blind was an ideal player. In general, when raising from the small blind when the player within the big blind plays well, you ought to three-bet most of your playable hands to be able to make the massive blind fold. When the massive blind is a weak player, you ought to be more inclined to name since you don’t mind if the massive blind sees a flop.

The flop came 5 3 2. My opponent checked and that i checked behind. I don’t think there's any point in betting this flop because most of my opponent’s range will call. If he has an over pair or any reasonable diamond, he'll call any bet. If he doesn’t have either of those, I CAN likely be capable of win at an inexpensive showdown.

The turn was the A, improving me to top pair, top kicker. Much to my surprise, my opponent bet 8,000 into the 16,050-chip pot. I DIDN'T expect him to bet on this spot for the reason that Ace must be a lot better for my range than his, given I four-bet preflop then checked behind at the flop. Despite this, I don’t think I WILL BE ABLE TO fold. My opponent may bet A-Q or A-J for value and he may choose to bluff with a hand like K Q. I wasn’t too fascinated by straights, sets, and two pairs because I didn’t think he would call a preflop four-bet with those hands. Raising is a foul option because my opponent will play perfectly, calling when he has me crushed and folding most worse hands. All of this led me to call.

The river was the K, improving me to top two pair. My opponent pushed all-in for 25,350 into the 32,050-chip pot. At this point, my normally strong hand is effectively a bluff catcher. I don’t think my opponent would push A-Q or perhaps a worse two pair for value. Which means that if he's betting for value, it's with a flush, set, or straight. I discounted many of the straights and sets as a result of preflop four-bet. Which means that if he's value betting, it's with a flush. It's worth noting that there need to be only a few flushes in my opponent’s range, primarily A K, A Q, A J, and K Q. Of course, he may have weaker flushes but I didn’t think he would three-bet and get in touch with a four-bet with those. The principle problem I bumped into is I couldn’t get a hold of many hands this specific opponent would transform a bluff. If he had the Ace or King of diamonds, but not a flush, he would probably check the river, hoping to win at showdown. I didn’t think he would turn a hand like J J right into a bluff. Given the best way he played within the day, he just didn’t strike me because the form of player who would bluff off his stack. Then again, this hand is from a $10,000 event, which means that almost all opponents are in a position to bluffing some component to the time. If his value range is solely premium flushes, then I FEEL I MUST make the crying call because if he's ever bluffing, folding is a disaster. Notice I HAVE TO win 30 percent of the time according to the pot odds. If my opponent is value betting the four combination of premium flushes and only two combinations of bluffs, I'VE a marginal call. Essentially, if he bluffs with any component of his range, calling is mandatory. If his value range expands to hands like 7 6 or 4-4, then calling could be terrible unless he's turning an enormous choice of junky hands into bluffs. Notice on this spot, he would have many combinations of value hands, meaning even supposing he was bluffing most of his busted flush draws, he would still have mostly hands which can be better than mine.

After what felt like an eternity, I MADE UP MY MIND to call, going against my read because my hand seemed strong. My opponent showed me K Q for the second one nuts. Next time I WILL trust my instincts! ♠

Jonathan Little is a two-time WPT champion with greater than $6 million in tournament winnings. Each week, he posts an academic blog and podcast at JonathanLittlePoker.com, where you will get a FREE poker training video that details five stuff you must master if you wish to win at tournament poker.

Read More... [Source: CardPlayer Poker News]