The Poker Reporter Blog
Strategy Snapshot: Haxton Coughs Up Airball
Created By: Daniel Skolovy Posted in: The Poker Reporter Blog, Strategy Snapshots
In today's snapshot we break down a hand from a $50/$100 table at Full Tilt, where pr1nnyraid was locked in a ferocious battle with Isaac "luvtheWNBA" Haxton.
(Hand history and stats from PL.com MarketPulse Biggest Pots section.)
Players: Jay "pr1nnyraid" Rosenkrantz and Isaac "luvtheWNBA" Haxton
Game: Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em, Cash, Full Tilt Poker
Situation: $50/$100 blinds
Stacks: luvtheWNBA $21,736.50; pr1nnyraid $24,872.50
The Set-Up
This hand is especially interesting because both players are deep-stacked, with more than 200 BBs each.
pr1nnyraid makes it $300 to go on the button. luvtheWNBA, who is in the big blind, flat-calls. The two see a flop of T♦ J♠ 8♦.
luvtheWNBA checks and pr1nnyraid checks through. The turn brings the 4♥. luvthewnba now bets $600 and pr1nnyraid is the one who flat-calls this time. The river comes off the 4♣ and luvtheWNBA bets $1,500. pr1nnyraid then raises to $5,700.
luvtheWNBA goes into the tank and eventually shoves for $20,836.50. pr1nnyraid thinks for a moment and then makes the call. luvtheWNBA shows A♣ Q♠ and is crushed by pr1nnyraid's 9♠ 4♠.
Breakdown
The hand starts off with pr1nnyraid making a 3xBB raise with 9♠ 4♠. This raise is standard. The button is such a powerful position that you can raise practically any two cards profitably just because being in position is such an advantage.

luvtheWNBA makes somewhat of a questionable call from the big blind with A♣ Q♠. I say somewhat questionable because A-Q heads-up is almost always a re-raise. luvtheWNBA must have been trying to trap pr1nnyraid - a play I don't agree with.
Why? With A-Q you're only a slight favorite against most non-paired hands. If your opponent has a hand like T-9 or 7-8 you're barely a favorite at all. I can see making this play with a good pocket pair, but with two unpaired cards I'm re-raising almost all of the time.
Whatever the reason, luvtheWNBA elects to just call.
The T♦ J♠ 8♦ flop is actually very good for luvtheWNBA. It gives him two overcards as well as a double gut-shot straight draw. luvtheWNBA, however, once again decides to check. This play isn't so bad - I believe he was trying to check-raise pr1nnyraid.
pr1nnyraid is likely to follow up his pre-flop raise with a flop bet here - one that luvtheWNBA would be more than happy to check-raise with his robust draw. However pr1nnyraid decides against c-betting this flop and checks through.
This is always the chance you take when you go for a check-raise; sometimes you whiff and it makes the rest of the hand that much more difficult.
The turn brings the 4♥. luvtheWNBA is still sitting with only ace-high, but with his massive draw makes a full pot bet of $600. pr1nnyraid now with a pair makes the call and they're off to the river with $1,200 in the pot.

The river brings the 4♣. luvtheWNBA continues his aggression from the last street and overbets $1,500. This bet is a desperation bet. luvtheWNBA does not want a call and the way pr1nnyraid has played the hand it appears he doesn't have that strong a hand.
In fact, though, the river gave pr1nnyraid trips which is a monster heads-up. So he raises to $5,700. This bet is a solid value bet. pr1nnyraid would be happy to get a call here from any ten or jack. The results however exceed his expectations.
luvtheWNBA tanks for a while and then shoves for $20,836. This shove I really don't like all. The best-laid bluffs are the ones where you represent a hand. For the life of me I cannot see which hand luvtheWNBA is representing.
He's pretty much only representing Q-9 for the flopped straight, which is a very unlikely hand. A full house also makes up a very small part of his range. This means luvtheWNBA's range consists mostly of busted draws.
The push on the end makes this a monster-or-nothing type situation and with so many missed draws out there, pr1nnyraid's call with three-of-a-kind is very standard.
To see the full hand history and more of the biggest hold'em pots won online over the last day, week and month, head over to the PokerListings.com MarketPulse section.
More Strategy Snapshots:
- Strategy Snapshot: My Schwartz Is Bigger Than Yours
- Strategy Snapshot: How to Beat a Boy Genius
- Strategy Snapshot: Never Limp the Button
- Strategy Snapshot: E-Dog Sleeps on the Couch
- Strategy Snapshot: Clash of the Titans
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