Most of my decisions in the Main Event were pretty straightforward. I wound up playing two pretty similar hands against world-class players that I thought might be interesting to juxtapose.
I was at a nightmare table on day one with a plethora of excellent players. A couple hours into the day it got tougher when a young, shaggy-haired kid decked out in DraftKings gear got moved to the table. Right away I thought the kid was Randal Flowers, winner of two WPTs, a kid I'd played a little with back in the day live and online. But I checked Randal's twitter and it said he was going to play day 1c of the Main, not the 1a that we were playing. This kid was opening a lot of hands, firing a lot of continuation bets, and losing most of them. It seemed like a situation ripe for frustration, but the kid just kept on relentlessly playing his game.
I hadn't really played any pots against him until he raised in middle position, got one caller, and I tossed in the minimum raise from the big blind with A9o. Many players will just fold A9o there not wanting to get involved with a mediocre hand out of position but I think that's too tight with antes against players with wide ranges. The flop came 775 rainbow, nothing that interested me, and I checked intending to fold. DraftKings kid threw out a dull continuation bet and the other player folded. I decided the kid would bet this flop with whatever he raised with, and since he was raising a wide range folding my hand to a small bet would be inappropriate.
I called and a queen came off. I checked again. The kid bet again, not a huge bet but not a small one either. It was a little unusual for him to bet twice in a hand, as he'd been giving up on most of the hands he'd played after meeting flop resistance. If I'd known the kid was Flowers, I'd be less inclined to give him credit in this spot. The thing about this hand is most professional tournament players are going to check the flop or the turn - especially in the Main Event - if they have a hand to keep the pot under control and avoid going broke against a 7. Few players are going to go for three streets of value on this board unless they actually have a 7. In my eyes, betting twice polarizes his hand to a 7+ or a bluff. The queen is an obvious bluff card since it's unlikely to help my hand and could help that of a preflop raiser, but most players are just going to check if they actually have the queen.
Some friends suggested I should checkraise all-in (the kid had about a pot bet left in his stack after betting) on the turn to represent a 7, which would have been a strong play. But I don't think it's necessary in this spot where the kid usually has a 7 or nothing. A9 was strong enough to call against a double-barreler in this hand, and I regretted the fold I made. I especially regretted it the next day when my friend SamENole went to a DraftKings party with Flowers, who revealed he had actually played day 1a and had 98s in that hand.
On day 2 I played a hand against David Vamplew, another young, active, tough player. Vamplew raised in early position and I called two spots behind him with pocket tens. Everyone else folded and we saw a JJ2 flop. Vamplew fired a continuation bet and I called. The turn was the 6c, the second club. Vamplew fired again, somewhat bigger. I thought for a while and reluctantly folded.
Vamplew's hand is just as polar as that of Flowers, but my hand appears stronger in this hand since I called from early position rather than just defending the BB against a middle-position raise. If Vamplew is bluffing, he's doing it against a hand that probably has some more weight. I thought Vamplew had a jack, 66 or nothing, which leaves a lot more nothing combos than actual hands. But I thought Vamplew was far less likely to bluff there than Flowers had in a similar but significantly different situation. I would love to know what Vamplew had, but don't really regret folding.
I was at a nightmare table on day one with a plethora of excellent players. A couple hours into the day it got tougher when a young, shaggy-haired kid decked out in DraftKings gear got moved to the table. Right away I thought the kid was Randal Flowers, winner of two WPTs, a kid I'd played a little with back in the day live and online. But I checked Randal's twitter and it said he was going to play day 1c of the Main, not the 1a that we were playing. This kid was opening a lot of hands, firing a lot of continuation bets, and losing most of them. It seemed like a situation ripe for frustration, but the kid just kept on relentlessly playing his game.
I hadn't really played any pots against him until he raised in middle position, got one caller, and I tossed in the minimum raise from the big blind with A9o. Many players will just fold A9o there not wanting to get involved with a mediocre hand out of position but I think that's too tight with antes against players with wide ranges. The flop came 775 rainbow, nothing that interested me, and I checked intending to fold. DraftKings kid threw out a dull continuation bet and the other player folded. I decided the kid would bet this flop with whatever he raised with, and since he was raising a wide range folding my hand to a small bet would be inappropriate.
I called and a queen came off. I checked again. The kid bet again, not a huge bet but not a small one either. It was a little unusual for him to bet twice in a hand, as he'd been giving up on most of the hands he'd played after meeting flop resistance. If I'd known the kid was Flowers, I'd be less inclined to give him credit in this spot. The thing about this hand is most professional tournament players are going to check the flop or the turn - especially in the Main Event - if they have a hand to keep the pot under control and avoid going broke against a 7. Few players are going to go for three streets of value on this board unless they actually have a 7. In my eyes, betting twice polarizes his hand to a 7+ or a bluff. The queen is an obvious bluff card since it's unlikely to help my hand and could help that of a preflop raiser, but most players are just going to check if they actually have the queen.Some friends suggested I should checkraise all-in (the kid had about a pot bet left in his stack after betting) on the turn to represent a 7, which would have been a strong play. But I don't think it's necessary in this spot where the kid usually has a 7 or nothing. A9 was strong enough to call against a double-barreler in this hand, and I regretted the fold I made. I especially regretted it the next day when my friend SamENole went to a DraftKings party with Flowers, who revealed he had actually played day 1a and had 98s in that hand.
On day 2 I played a hand against David Vamplew, another young, active, tough player. Vamplew raised in early position and I called two spots behind him with pocket tens. Everyone else folded and we saw a JJ2 flop. Vamplew fired a continuation bet and I called. The turn was the 6c, the second club. Vamplew fired again, somewhat bigger. I thought for a while and reluctantly folded.Vamplew's hand is just as polar as that of Flowers, but my hand appears stronger in this hand since I called from early position rather than just defending the BB against a middle-position raise. If Vamplew is bluffing, he's doing it against a hand that probably has some more weight. I thought Vamplew had a jack, 66 or nothing, which leaves a lot more nothing combos than actual hands. But I thought Vamplew was far less likely to bluff there than Flowers had in a similar but significantly different situation. I would love to know what Vamplew had, but don't really regret folding.
