Kate: "I accidentally his whole stack..."
Kate's in great mood today! She was able to relieve her opponent of 110 big blinds. Whether or not she's earned them with a solid play is for Jürgen to judge...
Kate: Hey Jürgen!
Look! I've taken the entire stack from my opponent and I'm really happy with my play.
I decided to call his 3-bet pre-flop since I have a bit more than 100 big blinds and my hand has good playability. My opponent checks on the flop, so I assume he primarily has hands of medium strength in his range, like jacks, tens and maybe hands like ace-queen with which he didn't want to bluff on the flop.
I think most bluffs should actually bet on the flop since the board couldn't be much better suited for a continuation bet. On the turn, I'm trying to put those mediocre hands under pressure with a pot size bet. I think that's a really good bet size here because it serves two purposes. On the one hand, I'm maximising my fold equity against his marginal hands. On the other, I'm maximising my payoff in the event I hit on the river and my opponent has an ace.
He raises and I decide to call since I've got good enough odds. I'm concerned that he could be scared of a flush on the river, leading him to just checking AK. Therefore, I simply go all-in myself—and what can I say? The rest is history and now I'm rich! 
Jürgen: Hey Kate!
I'm not entirely convinced by your pre-flop play and can't really endorse it, especially in front of an audience. You'd have to play really well post-flop to get the equity you need. Folding 8-high pre-flop will never be a big mistake!
On the turn, you could have bet just $5 when the ace hit. That's exactly the kind of card that actually makes a call down with jacks, tens and queens almost impossible.
Additionally, you should be a bit more careful not to play such a spot only from your hand's point of view. If you had ace-queen, would you have bet the pot as well because TT-QQ would have folded? When analysing this situation from a gameplan perspective, you don't really put your opponent in a lot of trouble.
After he decided to raise you on the turn, your move shouldn't be a call but rather an all-in! You can still get some fold equity here as it's not unlikely that your opponent is trying to play a weird bluff or hoping to get a cheap showdown.
The river is a bit tricky. Against AK, your choice is indeed the perfect move. However, if your opponent still has bluffs in his range, a check would have been better since he'd still have room to do something stupid. After all, a flush runout usually does induce some bluffs.
Kate: Thanks a lot, Jürgen. That's quite a lot to think about.
Jürgen: Not that it is any of my concern, but what actually happened to Walter?
Kate: Meh, let's say our date didn't go particularly well. We rented a convertible and during our tour I concluded that he doesn't have a good enough turning technique. You know, usually, you should push the wheel with your outer hand into a turn. He, however, often pulled it with his inner hand—and that didn't sit very well with me.
I've pointed it out several times and at some point it all blew up into a fight. We haven't talked to each other since. Also, I found out he's a drug dealer!
Jürgen: Wow, I'm really sorry to hear that—and of course you're right: someone who's pulling instead of pushing the wheel during a turn probably has plenty of other skeletons in his closet!
What do you think? Should Kate have gone all-in on the turn or even folded her suited connector pre-flop?
Previous episodes
- Kate & Tony: Check-raise on the flop a good idea?
- Kate & Tony: Is her huge bluff an overkill?
- Kate & Tony: Is her hero-call with K2o too insane?
- Kate & Walter: Feeling lost in a 3-bet pot
- Kate & Walter: I've called his check-raise with nothing
- Kate & Walter: I could have cried after his 4-bet
If you're interested in playing with a game plan, feel free to take a look at our best beginner strategies!
