Joined: Jan '08
Location: Canada
Age: 36 (M)
Posts: 2698
GUs Hansen's book is out! Here is some of it , I haven't read it but looking forward to reading it.
From chapter 1: Hand 38 CRUCIAL HAND 3 - MAKING THE WRONG READ – FOLDING TOP PAIR Blinds: 400/800/100, My position: 2 off the button, Hand: Jc 3c, My chip stack: 73,400
New round, same procedure. Or maybe not?
I make it 2500 two off the button with Jc3c. The BB ponders for a while but finally decides to call. It felt like he was thinking about the re-raise and not the fold so my instinct tells me that my J3 is probably not the best hand…
The flop comes:
Jh 8c 6s
Top pair, ridiculous kicker - but top pair nonetheless!
He was supposed to check but instead he decides to fire out 6000. What was that all about? It is not very often that I am facing a substantial lead-out bet when I am the initial raiser and therefore I wanted to take my time to make sure I made the right decision…
My opponent had another 14k in front of him which meant my maximum down-side from this point on would be a total of 20k. Maximum up-side 26k.
Options: Folding: Seems very odd now that I finally flopped top pair. Calling: Putting in 6000 and awaiting his next move. Raising: Shooting 20k into the middle hoping my J3 was ahead.
Three very different approaches and whichever one to take is gonna be decided solely on my read on the situation.
Read: • He looked eager to re-raise pre-flop – not a good sign. • He led out 6000 which is a significant part of his stack – not a good sign • He looked mighty confident about the situation at hand – not a good sign.
I can remember three times in my career where I raised pre-flop, flopped top pair, and folded facing a single bet! Was this going to be the fourth?
The only holdings that made some kind of sense to me were the AJ, the QQ and hands of similar strength. The more I thought about it the more confident he looked, and in the end I saw no other choice than to muck my hand! I folded.
Because of my very curious nature I showed the Jack face-up, as I was certain he was going to turn it over if he had bluffed me. Don't worry – he did! He turned over two Tens displaying his victory to the table, or should I say – my ridiculous fold… Where did I go wrong? My initial read about him wanting to re-raise before the flop was correct - re-raising pre-flop with TT would be the normal play.
My read on his confidence level after his lead-out bet was also correct – I think taking my time made my opponent certain that his TT was the best hand because how could I ever be taking that long with a Jack in my hand? My read on his lead-out bet was incorrect – I took it as a sign of strength where it was in fact meant as a stab to take down the pot if I didn't hit the flop.
I made an informed decision based on all the facts I had available at the time. I came to the wrong conclusion but that is bound to happen when you sit 10+hours at the poker table. Maybe I should think twice next time I am about to fold top pair on the flop…
Gus Hansen is a great incredible player.... one of the best in the world i think also that he has a magical power because he know the cards and the cards loves him
Joined: Jan '08
Location: Germany
Age: 37 (M)
Posts: 482
Thanks Gene, i have to read this one They way he talks about his own hands is very nice and a cool mix of theory and the "life of gus hansen". Allthough my english is quite weak, i think i could understand, cause there wont be a german translation for sure .
Joined: May '08
Location: Argentina
Age: 50 (M)
Posts: 54
gus is good he had too win nothin else matters he does do some wild s**t and almost all of em needed to place good so they are not going too gamble with anything but like top 5 starting hands
one of the best in the world
i think also that he has a magical power because he know the cards and the cards loves him
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