Jonathan Little Capitalizes Off a BIG Mistake by the Final Table Chip Leader
My recent PokerNews strategy articles have been devoted to my August 2019 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Event #15: $2,200 NLH 8-Handed run in which I ultimately topped a 211-entry field to win the tournament for $97,160.
This week, I continue on that topic, though now we��re getting down to the nitty-gritty with final table action. In this hand, the action was six-handed when the chip leader raised and soon had the opportunity to put a ton of ICM pressure on me. Fortunately, he didn��t go for the bluff and we won a nice pot at showdown.
It began with the blinds at 10,000/15,000/15,000 when the chip leader, who was sitting with 3 million (197 BBs) raised to 50,000 from the small blind. I was in the big with 485,000 (32 BBs) and looked down at the 6?5?. I called hoping to flop a good hand, and I made a pair when it came down K?9?5?.
My opponent continued small for 40,000 and this is a spot where I am going to call with any pair or any draw. Had my opponent bet bigger, say 100,000, I would��ve folded. Given his chip lead, he needed to bet enough to make it feel as if my stack was at risk, which is what you should do as the big stack. I think him betting so small was a mistake.
I called and the 9? turn paired the board. The small blind checked and I have a very clear check behind. I am not going to do anything to get blown off this pot. I��m not trying to protect my equity or anything like that, I��m just trying to get to showdown.
If the river is a blank and my opponent bets, I am going to go ahead and call. The river was the A? and my opponent actually checked. Do I ever turn this hand into a bluff to try and get like pocket tens to fold? The answer is no. I have some showdown value, not a lot, but I do beat some hands like queen-jack or a really small pocket pair.
Whenever you beat no hands and have the big stack, you just have to go for it.
I check behind and we beat his 8?7?, which I think was very poorly played. First, I think he needed to bet way bigger on the flop as I mentioned. Second, he should��ve kept the pressure on after the turn. Even with a king, would I call a 100K turn bet and then a jam on the river, knowing the last card is likely to be dirty a lot of the time? Probably not.
I think this is a pot where he has a pretty clear triple barrel. Even if I double up to 60 BBs, he still has a commanding chip lead while the other four players at the table were sitting with 40 BBs or less. Granted, he doesn��t want to double up the guy on his left, but it wouldn��t be the end of the world.
On the river, I think he made another mistake. Yes, I may have some aces, but I��d have raised big aces preflop and just gotten it in. I��m going to have a lot of kings, fives, and maybe middle pairs like sevens, so this would��ve been a good spot for my opponent to bet big, maybe even all in, that would get me to fold out pretty much my whole range. If he can do that, he��d be printing money. If I had king-queen would I call? No, I wouldn��t call a jam.
Whenever you beat no hands and have the big stack, you just have to go for it. This was a big mistake for my opponent. I proceeded to win most hands after this point and got heads-up against the same player in this hand. Fortunately, things went my way, I ended up winning the tournament and taking home the trophy.
For a more thorough breakdown of this hand, check out my thoughts in the following video:
Jonathan Little is a professional poker player and author with over $7,000,000 in live tournament earnings. He writes a weekly educational blog and hosts a podcast at JonathanLittlePoker.com. Sign up to learn poker from Jonathan for free at PokerCoaching.com. You can follow him on Twitter @JonathanLittle.
