POTD #182 Triton London vs GTO Lab Pro Nick Petrangelo

Do I make a thin river shove or try to save $60k?

Level 10 is one of the most stressful levels one will play in a Triton tournament, because it’s the level before rebuy closes. Within 30 minutes to an hour, you will know your total investment in the tournament. Ideally, you block out the noise, but it can be hard to do, as “blocking out the noise” is not a metaphor; you’re literally hearing the poker room fill up. You see poor souls that were knocked out two hours ago milling around the poker room, and while you want to play the best poker you’re capable of, part of your brain is also monitoring the clock as it ticks down, hoping you won’t be joining the riff-raff waiting to re-enter with 15bbs.

In an ideal world, you’d never feel this sort of anxiety, while also being so tuned into the psychology of your opponents that you are aware this is a factor that they might consider. Staying calm, while also altering your gameplan by, say, folding mediocre bluff catchers vs. those who don’t want to rebuy, while making hero calls versus an opponent who you don’t think will check back on the river when they only have half a starting stack behind. However, we are not in an ideal world, and I think at the very least you can use the anxiety you feel about rebuying again to gain a better understanding of how your opponents might be thinking in the same situation.

I have never been able to embrace pure stoicism, in part because I am easily distracted, sometimes by things unrelated to poker, but sometimes by poker-adjacent things. I’ve been in the middle of a hand and noticed the floor staff moving in a way that indicates my table is about to break, so I stalled to dodge the BB. The EV I gained by dodging the BB is probably greater than the EV I would have gained by giving 100% focus to the actual pot I am playing. I have not gained any EV by worrying about if I have an extra $60k in my Luxon account to rebuy if I bust. The only small consolation of this anxiety is that it can give me a window into the thought process of other players and determine who is thinking irrationally, but in today’s hand it was hardly worth the distraction.

Triton London 2023 - Event #13 $60k NLH 8-Handed
(4k/8k/8k) (SB/BB/BBA). Registration is open, but closes soon. 200k starting stack

It folds to Nick Petrangelo (323k) in the CO who makes it 18k, I (274k) call on the button with J♠️T♣️, the blinds fold.

Flop (56k) J♦️T♦️3♥️: Nick checks, I bet 26k, Nick calls.
Turn (108k) A♠️: Nick checks, I check.
River (108k) 5♠️: Nick bets 78k, I call and beat A♦️Q♦️