Darvin Moon vs Billy Kopp: Flush vs Flush
Join us in analysing the hand where WSOP 2009 Main Event runner-up Darvin Moon eliminates Billy Kopp when both players flop a flush. We want your thoughts on whether Kopp should lose less than his Main Event tournament life in this spot.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments section!
It’s late on in the 2009 main event with twelve players remaining, only three eliminations until these players realise every poker players’ dream in reaching the world’s most coveted final table.
The blinds are at 120k/240k, with Billy Kopp’s chip stack just under the twenty million mark, his opponent in the hand, Darvin Moon, sits with twenty five million.
Kopp raises to 600k under the gun with 
and only picks up one caller in Moon from the small blind, who holds 
. The pot is a little over 1.6 million chips and the flop brings 
, making both players a flush. Moon checks to the pre-flop aggressor, Kopp makes a continuation bet of 750k and Moon smooth calls.
With the pot now over 3 million, the turn card is the 
, which pairs the board. Moon checks into Kopp again, Kopp fires a turn continuation bet of just over 2 million and Moon check raises to 6 million. After a brief deliberation, Billy Kopp shoves his stack into the middle and Moon quickly calls.
Kopp is devastatingly eliminated from the event in 12th place, before the river card is even shown and misses out on a seat among the November nine.
Check back the turn?
In Kopp’s position, so close to and reasonably well stacked ahead of the final table, should he slow down with his small flush once the board pairs?
Is the eagerly anticipated opportunity to double up from a weak opponent blinding Kopp in this hand?
The fact that Darvin had publicised his lack of poker experience to fellow players and exhibited some questionable play in the lead up to this point would no doubt have been playing on Kopp’s mind. He may have thought Moon was capable of bluff raising – but then why shove?
Does he ever call with worse?
Is it possible that Moon can raise the turn and then call off his stack with AK, a deuce, or just the nut flush draw?
Would Moon just call the raise pre-flop if he was holding AK?
Kopp's Thoughts:
"When he check-raised me, yes, it’s possible to fold there, but I still had a lot of fold equity, as well. Not to mention he could have a hand I’m crushing like A-2 or K-Q with a diamond, A-K with a diamond.
"When I flopped the flush, the last thing I was putting him on was a higher flush. He was playing a lot of pots, he had a big stack, so I thought he was very capable of having a lot of different hands in that spot." (cardplayer.com)
Let us know what you think in the comments section.
