From the $530 WCOOP:
7 Card Stud High-Low ($40/$80), Ante $8
50outs (Seat 1): $2,650
sunrise100 (Seat 2): $2,395
foucault82 (Seat 3): $3,426
BabyGrand (Seat 4): $3,605
lock (Seat 5): $1,333
Siren (Seat 6): $3,538
bjbwc (Seat 7): $3,972
Islandrob1 (Seat 8): $2,991
3rd Street – (1.60 SB)
50outs: xx xx 9s___folds
sunrise100: xx xx Kd___folds
foucault82: Ad 4h 2c___calls
BabyGrand: xx xx 7d___folds
lock: xx xx 9c___folds
Siren: xx xx 8h___folds
bjbwc: xx xx As___raises
Islandrob1: xx xx 7h___folds
4th Street – (3.60 SB)
foucault82: Ad 4h 2c Th___calls
bjbwc: xx xx Ac Jh___bets
5th Street – (2.80 BB)
foucault82: Ad 4h 2c Th 2d___bets
bjbwc: xx xx Ac Jh 6c___calls
6th Street – (4.80 BB)
foucault82: Ad 4h 2c Th 2d 2s___bets
bjbwc: xx xx Ac Jh 6c 5h___calls
River – (6.80 BB)
foucault82: Ad 4h 2c Th 2d 2s Qd___checks
bjbwc: xx xx Ac Jh 6c 5h xx___checks
Total pot: (6.80 BB)
Results:
Total pot 544 | Rake 0
foucault82: [Ad 4h 2c Th 2d 2s Qd] (HI: three of a kind, Deuces)
bjbwc: [Tc 3d As Jc 6c 5h Td]
This was another nice scoop for me. One thing I noticed, and it’s not really a mistake per se, but people were 2-, 3-, and even 4-betting very aggressively on 3rd street. I suppose that makes sense if you are new to the game and are better at starting hand selection than at play on later streets, but I think especially in tournaments this isn’t a wise strategy for a strong player.
With a very strong low draw, an Ace, and some straight potential, I could certainly justify a raise rather than a call with this hand. But especially with drawing hands, you really need to have 4th street go your way before you have a monster. There are other reasons why you might raise, such as to drive other players out or represent a hand other than what you have, but when the pot is already heads up and I’m showing a deuce, I don’t think a 3rd street raise accomplishes very much.
Even though it was a WCOOP, this tournament had a kind of shallow structure. Because it’s a split pot game, Stud/8 often requires playing hands all the way to showdown. That means that almost any pot in which you get involved can become very expensive and/or very profitable. In a tournament, you’re working with a limited number of chips, and I’d rather save mine for the better spots that arise on later streets than push small edges on 3rd street.
Besides, once you jack the pot on 3rd, you may force yourself to peel when you brick fourth, which gets expensive. Worse, if your opponent is loose, then you prevent him from making a mistake by peeling after he bricks if you make the pot larger on 3rd.
But enough about that. On 4th, we both brick, and I decide to take another card off. It’s possible my opponent had a pair, but it’s somewhat less likely since I have one of his Aces, and I almost certainly have the better low draw.
On 5th, I can expect to be a small favorite if my opponent has a four card low. I’m going to call if he bets, so I’d rather just bet myself instead of giving him the option of taking a free card. Plus, it’s very difficult for him to raise me, since I could have two pair or even trips.
I’ve got to bet 6th even though I’ve got no shot at low because I’m practically a lock for high and my opponent could be paired and not yet have a low, and I need to charge him if he is drawing.
7th is an interesting spot because even though I have half the pot all but locked up, I can’t bet for value since my hand is open. I’m showing trip 2’s, which means my opponent will never call with a worse high hand. You can imagine a scenario where it would even be correct to check quads if all four of them were showing face up and there was any chance at all that your opponent could have better quads or a straight flush. Since your hand is face-up, you’ll only get action when you’re beat, so no matter how unlikely that is, you can’t bet your hand for value because worse hands never call.
Given what my opponent actually had, not reraising on 3rd turned out to be a pretty substantial mistake. I gave him more credit for raising UTG, but there really were a ton of clueless players in this thing.