My WSOP $2K NLHE Bustout Hand

I have an opinion, what else is new:


Anyway, I think your preflop raise was a good one. He will fold unless he holds JJ QQ or AK. I doubt he calls with anything less. You ARE representing a BIG hand. AK is the WORST you could have.


Remember he is good enough to know that you are in the blind re-raising an early position raiser who happens to be a world class player.


He is correct to put you on AA, KK or AK. So, he must just call with QQ and maybe even KK. If he moves in, you probably have to call--but when he has QQ he does not want you to call with any of the above hands that is why he did not move in.


When you miss the flop you need to check. Why? Because if you (or at least if I) had AA here you would check. Because if he has AK you need him to bluff at the pot, and if he has KK he will bet for you, and if he has any other pair he only has 2 outs.


Of course Max knows this, so he may very well check QQ behind you for fear of AA. He MAY check QQ all the way to the river--either way, if he bets after calling that re-raise preflop you are DONE unless you improve. The only value in puching in the flop is if he has the other AK--then he will (probably)muck.


If you were playing a fish the move in on any flop play works fine, a WCP pretty much sees through it.

I'm going to reply before reading anyone else's answer.


I don't like A at all.


B is the best option in my opinion given the short stack. He has to have AA to be a big favourite, you have one of them, and it's also unlikely that Max would make such a small raise with AA and let someone take a shot at him. In my mind the small raise says I like my hand but i don't love it. You might need more chips for the allin to work, but i still prefer it over a halfway raise.


C. Not a good option, unlikely to be paid off if you hit, and unlikely he will fold if you miss. After the flop you have not enough ammuntion to push him off an overpair, or maybe even a hand like 88 he would call.


D. Possibly the best option, risks little out of position, and may let you make something postflop if you hit.


I would love to know what the scary flop is though. What can come here that would make you not move allin postflop if you thought he would fold? Worst i can think of is QJx of another suit, but even then you have a gutser.

That depends on what your image is and what he thought you had. You're talking about a very good player who can obviously lay down 2 Queens if he thinks their no good. He's oly a slight favorite against AK and dominated by Kings and Aces. Does he think you're the type to move in with Jacks or worse or to steal? If not, Push in and take the pot then and there. In last year's main event my most memorable hand was not my bust-out hand but one on the second day involving Harry Thomas. I'm 29 and this was my 1st time playing the event. I had a very tough table. (David Pham, An Tran I think, John Bonetti, Harry Thomas, and a top Euro player.) My image was pretty solid and I wasn't getting out of line too much because to be honest I was a little nervous. Anyway, I had AQs in the cut-off. I raised to 1200(Blinds are 150-300). Mr. Thomas called in the BB. The flop came QJJ. He checked and I bet 2500. He check-raised me 5000 more and I moved in for 20000 more. He thought for what seemed an eternity, showed two Kings and folded saying, I can't beat 2 Aces. He laid down the best hand but he had a reason. I think as long as you make your plays for a specific reason then they're easy to handle. To answer your question though, sometimes I would re-raise my whole stack and sometimes I would just flat call the raise...Very seldom would I re-raise and not move in in NL. Good luck

I also live in Houston so my walk back was also shitty. Better luck


Russ Floyd