POTD #281 $100,000 PCA SHR vs Isaac Haxton

In a tricky deepstacked pot, I don't consider all the options at my disposal and started Ike's path to another trophy. (Photo Tomas Stacha)

In POTD #280, I wrote about a three-bet pot where it sure felt like my opponent had AK high that rivered top pair top kicker, but I bet anyways. In today’s Barry Greenstein Ace (and/or King) on the River hand, I probe the turn in a three-bet pot with seven high and am unsure what to do with my seven high. There are a lot of differences between the two hands, but the main one is I was unsure how often my opponent, eventual winner of the tournament Isaac Haxton, actually had top pair top kicker, because this was a flop where he might c-bet AK and a turn where he might fold it to a half-pot bet.

I went back to my room at Baha Mar later that night and was curious about my turn frequencies and if my river bluff was any good. 250bb three-bet pots early position vs. early position are not really my speciality. They’re not really anyone’s speciality. What I learned was that my river play was fine, but my turn strategy was way off the mark. A good reminder that whenever you play a hand that gives you some trouble, it’s important to look at every decision you make. It’s easy to focus on the final decision you made in a hand, but more often than not you’ll learn you got there the wrong way.

2023 $100,000 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Super High Roller
(500/1k/1k) (SB/BB/BBA) 250k Starting Stack

It folds to me UTG7 with 7♥️6♥️, I make it 2.5k, Isaac Haxton is next to act and makes it 8.5k, it folds back to me and I call.

Flop (19.5k) T♣️9♦️5♥️: I check, Ike checks.
Turn (19.5k) 5♠️: I bet 10k, Ike calls.
River (39.5k) K♠️: I bet 10k, Ike makes it 50k, I fold.