WSOP 2007: 9-2 offsuit not the best hand??

8. June 2007 | Category: 50outs

Wow, I wonder.

Here is my story from todays final table in the $1000 with rebuys event: I started with 225,000 in the cutoff seat, being the shortstack. Every hand took like forever so the 20 minutes that have been left in the level have been used after 4 or 5 hands already. I got only trash hands that far and there was always a raise and in some cases a reraise. The tricky playing Michael Gracz was doing a lot of this raising. So, in hand #11 this changed: I was again in the cutoff, Dolph Arnold limped from UTG for 20,000, bringing the total in the pot now to 77,000 chips. Two players including Gracz folded and it was up to me. This was exactly the kind of situation I was looking for – I had played many hours the day before with Arnold and I knew how he played which hand from which position. The day before he had limped with hands like JTs, KTo, AJo and ATs. He did even open-limp on the button with KTo one time but he never ever slowplayed. They guy is playing poker since 60 years and if there is a defintion for "rock" thats your man.

I was 100% sure that he would not call an all-raise from me and the other players would be in a difficult position to call because of him limping UTG so I decided to squezze play here. I did check my cards only to give other players the idea that I might actually be interested in them, in fact I would have done this move with all possible 169 starting hand types. Unfortunatly the player in the big blind, Michael Chu, a very good asian player, found a hand just to good hand: :As:Ks and called. Arnold folded as expected and that was it. Chu flopped an ace, on the turn I had an inside straight draw for 4 outs but it was not to be. $34,200 for me in 9th place.

Now, for all those that think "How the hell can he make this play with just 92o?" let me say that I am perfectly fine with it, I had my reasoning (which was that I expected to add 50% of chips to my stack in about 85% of the times and even if I get called I have at least a 20% chance to add 120% chips to my stack – in fact in the given situation vs. AKs I had even more chances, I guess like 30% to win the hand). So I would do it again and again. Of course I discussed the hand with some other players here and although not everybody would do it himself (like Andreas Krause said smilingly) I found good support in many players fotr this move. This is one the plays that makes you look great if you survive it (say hello Gus Hansen) or look a like dumb if you fail. Even if I’m fully wrong here and just made a very foolish play this hand will give me a lot of action in the future 😀

Conclusion: although I took 7 rebuys in this event and busted out on the final table holding 92o I am 100% fine with the way I played that tournament. That this playing style is not for everybody is ok to me – the good thing about poker is everybody is responsible for his own decisions and results. And I guess reaching the final table in an event considered by many one of the most difficult tournaments of the WSOP is not too bad at all.

Tomorrow is the $5,000 pot limit holdem and should this be over quickly at 5 p.m. the $1,500 stud event. 


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