Poker Hand Of The Week: 3/20/14

Ask any group of poker players how you played your hand and they’ll come up with dozens of different opinions. That’s just the nature of the game.

Each week, Card Player will select a hand from the high-stakes, big buy-in poker world, break it down and show that there’s more than one way to get the job done.

The Scenario

There are seven players remaining in a major west coast poker tournament and only six will make the official final table. You are already in the money and guaranteed $41,410 from your initial $3,500 buy-in. There is an approximate $20,000 pay jump for making the final table and the winner will take home $302,750.

With 4,877,000 in chips and blinds of 12,000-24,000 with a 4,000 ante, you have 203 big blinds and are the chip leader. There are four shorter stacks hovering between 25 and 38 big blinds.

The player under the gun with a stack of 904,000 (38 big blinds) raises to 55,000. He is considered to be the most experience player at the table.

You look down at 2 2 and make the call from the small blind. The big blind folds and the flop is A 10 8. You check and your opponent checks behind.

The turn is the 2, giving you bottom set. You bet 75,000 and your opponent raises to 200,000. You call and the river is the 8, pairing the board. Your opponent has 645,000 remaining.

The Questions

Do you bet or check? Why did you just call on the turn? Were you worried about a flush or were you trying to disguise the strength of your hand? If checking, what kind of range do you expect your opponent to bet for value on the river? If betting, how much? What kind of bet will get called by worse?

What Actually Happened

On the final table bubble at the 2014 WPT Rolling Thunder main event and trying to get tricky with his rivered full house, Quoc Pham opted to check with 2 2 on a board of A 10 8 2 8.

His opponent, J.C. Tran, turned over A K for top pair and the busted nut flush draw. Pham took the pot and increased his chip lead.

Pham was unable to get much value from his hand and was eventually eliminated in third place, earning $127,140. Tran, having survived the hand with minimal damage, went on to win his second WPT title and the $302,750 first-place prize.

What would you have done and why? Let us know in the comments section below and try not to be results oriented. The best answer will receive a six-month Card Player magazine digital subscription.