Poker Hand Of The Week

Poker Hand Of The Week


Give us your opinion in the comments section below for your chance at winning a six-month Card Player magazine digital subscription.


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

You are currently in third place at a six-handed final table. With 6,075,000 in chips, you are still quite comfortable with the blinds at 60,000-120,000 with a 10,000 ante. There are three shorter stacks at the table, but they are by no means desperate.
You are dealt J 10 in the hijack and min-raise to 240,000. The small blind, a good player with the chip lead and a stack of 10,560,000, calls your raise. The big blind folds.
The flop comes down K 9 8 and your opponent checks. You fire in a continuation bet of 230,000 and your opponent makes the call. The turn is the 2.


Your opponent checks and you bet 370,000. Once again, your opponent calls. The river is the J, giving you second pair. Your opponent checks. You have 5,235,000 remaining.


the Questions


Do you check behind or bet? If betting, how much? Are you betting for value, or as a bluff? Are you worried that if you bet, you may be raised off of a hand with decent showdown value? What kind of hand could your opponent be holding after checking all three streets?


What Actually Happened


On a board reading K 9 8 2 J at the 2013 Borgata Winter Poker Open, Andy Hwang decided to bet 415,000. His opponent, Matt Haugen made the call and mucked after seeing Hwang’s second pair.


Haugen ended up finishing in fourth place overall, earning $222,336. Hwang used that pot to continue climbing his way up the leader board, ultimately finishing in first place, earning his first WPT title and the $730,053 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.