POTD #119 AK Week Part Four: What To Do When One Acts Out Of Turn?

In the money in Triton Vietnam, can I hero fold AK preflop?

A reason poker is so popular is because anyone can win. A reason poker has struggled to gain popularity as a sport is because anyone can win. Bill Ackman aside, I am not sure there are too many rich people who believe they might be able to beat the best athletes in the world, so they usually opt not to play versus them. I’ve played poker vs. Richard Seymour, but I care about my bones not being broken too much to play football versus him.

So what makes a great poker player? Strong fundamentals, good instincts, emotional control and the ability to execute under pressure, but also a certain je ne sais quoi. Nick Petrangelo¹ has described some players as being “natural born winners.” They may possess all of the qualities listed above, but when the chips are down, they have a magician-like quality to evade danger or spin nothing into gold.

In POTD #40, I gave my analysis about Jamil Wakil’s controversial bustout hand from the EPT Monaco Main Event Final Table². But another thought lingered in my mind, which was, who are the players that would make the right decision most often in a hand like that? Poker is a game of probabilities, but there are hands, especially live hands, that are about certainties, and you need to find out the right answer. Today, we continue AK week and discuss a hand where someone acted out of turn. There was no chance it was an angle, but it gave me an extra piece of information about my opponent’s range. Was I able to lock into my inner Juan Pardo and make a hero fold? Read on to find out.

Triton Vietnam 2023 - Event #5 30,000 NLH 8-Handed
(50k/100k/100k) (SB/BB/BBA) 15/171 Remain. We Are in the Money

It folds to Oscar Brodkin (3.25M) in the HJ who makes it 250k, Dao Minh Phu (825K) shoves the CO, it folds to me in the BB when Oscar Brodkin snap calls out of turn. This means if I call, Oscar will be forced to call and can’t raise. If I go all-in, Oscar will have all options available to him. I have A♠️K♣️ and 2.32M chips. and go all-in. Oscar snap calls with K♠️K♥️. Dao Minh Phu has 4♠️4♣️ and the board runs out 9♥️6♣️4♥️A♥️2♥️