Hand History Review #2
Here's an interesting spot that came up in the $560 Borgata Million Deep Stack Event that I played yesterday. The blinds were 2K/4K with a 400 ante. It folded to me (160K) in the cutoff and I looked down at Q♥3♥. Typically, I try not to open this wide but in this instance the blinds were playing much tighter than normal. I assume it was because we were 15 minutes away from bagging up.
I opened to 10K. The button folded. Then something unexpected happened. The small blind (60K) and the big blind (108K) called. It had been several orbits since either of them had defended from the blinds. Immediately, I planned on giving up on most flops.
The pot was 35.6K. The flop came A♥6♣2♠ and they both checked. This is a very binary situation. I either need to give up or commit to firing three streets on a lot of run outs. In this case, I felt that firing three streets was better because...
I had the initiative with an uncapped range.
I had a backdoor flush draw to the second nuts.
I had a backdoor straight draw.
I had a blocker to AQ.
I had them both covered as we approached the end of day one.
I c-bet 12K, the small blind folded, and the big blind called. The pot was 59.6K. The turn was the K♥ and the small blind checked. This is the 3rd best turn card for me to barrel (the 4♥ and the 5♥ are slightly better). I fired 25K and the big blind called.
The pot was 109.6K. The river was the 5♦ and the big blind checked. This is where bet-sizing is an art form. I bet 25K on the turn to set up a perfect 65K shove into 109.6K on the river. Optionality is important. Leverage is critical.
The big blind went into the tank for about two minutes. Eventually, he said it had been a long day and he just wanted to bag up. Later he told me he folded AJ. Regardless, I think this is great example of how much pressure you can really put on people, especially when you're deep in a tournament.
