Monday, April 7, 2008

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Brian Hastings makes bold semi-bluff

By Martin Östman

When trying to find online high-stakes action, you're offered best odds at the Omaha tables. Many of today's professional players seem to prefer the Pot-Limit format and the higher level of complexity that four hole cards give.

As a result, you often have to turn to Omaha for quality railbirding.

Sometimes, however, players get together for a game of high-stakes No-Limit Hold'em. And yesterday, Full Tilt Poker offered some great Hold'em action with several pots in the range of $100,000 and a few pots close to $150,000.

Before we take a look at a hand from yesterday's game, let's just ponder for a second what Hold'em has become.

When the game was invented, it was supposed to make it easier for superior players to outplay inferior ones. Betting on several streets, and the fact that at least 60% of each player's hand was exposed on the river, were supposed to give the good players a clear advantage.

But back in those days, most players played Fixed-Limit - a game where you grind for the long run rather than take down a couple of huge pots. Today, on the other hand, No-Limit is the most common betting structure; and instead of getting an advantage due to many betting rounds, it's all about being most aggressive.

This may be partly why players turn to Pot-Limit Omaha, where draws aren't outpriced all the time.

Now to the hand: It may seem like a pretty straightforward pot and a type of play we see almost daily. But think about it: What did Sklansky say about pre-flop hand-selection and semi-bluffs? Is this the same game he described in Theory of Poker?

Full Tilt Poker Game #5931626773 TABLE : Ringer (heads-up) $300/$600 - No-Limit Hold'em - Sun Apr 6 2008 - 7:12pm (ET)

Table Setup

Seat 1: Brian Hastings ($60,000)
Seat 2: guaranteed376 ($135,887.50)
Brian Hastings posts the small blind of $300
guaranteed376 posts the big blind of $600
The button is in seat #1

Pre-flop

Brian Hastings raises to $1,800
guaranteed376 calls $1,200

Flop 4 9 A

guaranteed376 bets $3,000
Brian Hastings calls $3,000

Turn 4 9 A K

guaranteed376 bets $7,200
Brian Hastings has 15 seconds left to act
Brian Hastings raises to $19,200
guaranteed376 has 15 seconds left to act
guaranteed376 has requested TIME
guaranteed376 calls $12,000

River 4 9 A K 2

guaranteed376 checks
Brian Hastings has 15 seconds left to act
Brian Hastings bets $36,000, and is all-in
guaranteed376 has 15 seconds left to act
guaranteed376 calls $36,000

Showdown

Brian Hastings shows 7 3 a flush, nine-high
guaranteed376 mucks
Brian Hastings wins the pot ($119,999.50) with a flush, nine-high

Summary

Total pot $120,000 | Rake $0.50
Board: 4 9 A K 2
Seat 1: Brian Hastings (small blind) collected ($119,999.50)
Seat 2: guaranteed376 (big blind) mucked

To see more hand histories from the session, and more of the biggest Hold'em pots won online over the last day, week and month, jump over to the PokerListings.com MarketPulse section.

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