As many of you will already be aware, last week saw the launch of blonde poker’s ‘Hand of the Week’, a brand spanking new feature that sees resident hand analysis geek, Chris ‘NoflopsHomer’ Hall, upload a weekly hand onto the forum for the blonde members to (as Lloyd Grossman would have said), salivate, ingest and cogitate over by posting their views and opinions on the relevant thread. If you haven’t had a look, then why not take a quick peek now by clicking here. It’s not too late to share your pearls of wisdom either.The hand in question was from last year’s Baden EPT Final and saw German chef Thang Duc Nguyen and aggressive Scandie (well, duh) Peter Eicchardt lock horns. With Peter the chip leader, Thang limped on the small blind with As-5c and Peter checked the big. 2h-6s-4c Flop, Thang bet 12k and Peter called. Thang checked the 5h Turn, Peter bet 40k, Thang called and they both saw a 7c River.
blonde members were asked what they thought of the decisions made by the players and what they would have done themselves, a question that prised out some intriguing answers, one of which came from blondeite johnbhoy76:
"I fold pre-flop. My reasons are that I do not want to play out of position against the chip leader. I have the sort of hand that can lead to trouble if I hit an Ace on the flop. I just really really hate playing from the small blind against anyone even when I have a monster. If I have built up a tight image at the table I may raise here but I am definitely not calling."
Which was followed by a superb post by MANTIS01:
"I raise pre-flop to 36k
I would raise here for a number of reasons...
1. I probably have the best hand right now, so why not seize the initiative?
2. If I limp I would fully expect my aggressive opponent to raise with position and chip power.
3. If my opponent raises I wouldn't call - so I would be thinking either raise myself or fold.
4. I am out of position
5. To acquire some information
After the flop...
Not a great flop for me, but then again probably not a great flop for my opponent who has just called my raise. I represented a hand pre-flop and so I would lead out again with a bet of half the pot. I may still have the best of it and I am on a draw to improve so I continue taking the initiative here.If you decide to limp pre-flop the complexion of the hand changes I think. If you lead out after the flop, into an aggressive opponent, on that board, I would fully expect to get re-raised as standard. What are you betting with that you wont lay down to a re-raise from the chip-leader? Betting out with a flopped straight would be a good play though!
By limping pre-flop Thang has potentially got himself into a sticky situation now
1. He can lead out now, get re-raised, probably folds
2. He can lead out now, get a call, doesn't improve, and check-folds
3. He can check-call with nothing
4. He can check-raise with nothing
5. He can lead out again on the turn with nothing
All of these options are not great and this is why I raise pre-flop."
When asked about Thang’s flop bet and Peter’s subsequent call, AndrewT commented:
"Purely from a 'take a stab at a pot' perspective, there's nothing wrong with leading out generally, but he's trying it against the wrong sort of opponent. Against a tight player, you've a good chance of taking the pot, and even getting action here gives you a good idea of where you stand. But 12k into a pot of 30k isn't going to make Peter fold the majority of his hands, and won't give Thang any real info. Peter's call could mean anything."And when pressed about the Turn, happybhoy argued:
"I'm still check/folding. I don't know where I am and I don't reckon 2nd pair is changing the situation much - if you intend to call here, what will you do on the river? Will it depend on the river card itself? If I'm calling here then it has to be with the intention of hail-marying it on the river regardless of the river card (but my balls would have to be huge)."
So, as you can see, a real eclecticism of views and opinions from a broad range of members. A few people took a stab at deciphering what Peter was holding (happybhoy = 2-2, doubleup = 9-5, MANTIS01 = K-8), but no one quite struck gold by pin-pointing Peter’s two cards, which will be revealed now…
Drum roll please…
So there you have it, both players checked the River and Peter took it down with Q-7 off-suit, a cheeky Seven hitting the River. Thanks to all who took part this week. Don't forget to post your views on how it all panned out and be sure to join in with next week's Hand of the Week which shall be posted on the Hand Analysis board on Monday.