Poker: Studying opponent might help you pass test

Your first assignment in any pot is to put your opponent on a hand. You're trying to figure out where you are.

Your next assignment is to determine the best way to get the most money out of your opponent. However, before you put in that big raise on the river, you need to ask yourself what your opponent could hold that would allow him or her to call that raise with the second-best hand.

Frequently, the answer is that your opponent could call that raise only with a hand that would beat you. In today's hand, which was played at the $2,000-buy-in no-limit hold 'em event at the 2007 World Series of Poker, Blair Rodman and Amato Galasso were engaged in a three-hour, heads-up battle.

With a chip lead of about $5.3 million to $2.8 million, Rodman was looking for the one big hand that could end it.

With blinds at $80,000-$160,000, plus a $20,000 ante, Rodman limped on the button with 10-6 offsuit. Galasso checked his option from the big blind.

The flop came 9-6-4 rainbow. Galasso checked, and Rodman checked behind him with middle pair.

"Throughout our heads-up play I had bet almost every situation like this," Rodman said, "but I had just lost some big hands, Amato was playing a bit erratically, and I thought he might play back with nothing and force me to fold. If I checked back, he wouldn't give me credit for anything and maybe I could make something a little later in the


hand."
The turn came the 9 of spades, which looked like a good card for Rodman, but Galasso bet out $250,000.

"Amato and I had both been doing a lot of trapping, so I didn't want to get overaggressive," said Rodman, who chose to call. "If I called and he bet again on the river, I wouldn't like it, as I really didn't think he'd bluff twice at this pot, but I'd probably have to call."

The river came the 6 of diamonds, giving Rodman a big hand of 6s full of 9s.

"My first inclination was that this could be the hand I was looking for to end it," Rodman said.

But when Galasso led out again for $400,000, Rodman had to reconsider raising by asking what hands Galasso could call with that didn't beat or tie Rodman.

"If he was bluffing with a busted straight or flush draw, he obviously couldn't call," Rodman said. "If he had a middle pair like 7s or 8s, he might pay it off, but I thought he'd likely have raised pre-flop with those hands.

"I quickly came to the conclusion that he was either bluffing or had a 9 or a 6, so calling was the best avenue."

Galasso turned over 9-5 offsuit for a better full house. By just calling, Rodman lost relatively few chips, preserving his lead and allowing him to go on to win his first WSOP bracelet.

News Added: 22 March, 2008

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