€100,000 Buy-In partypoker Millions (2018)
It’s always a poker party whenever we have the chance to review a hand from partypoker, known for hosting numerous high stakes tournaments played by the best in the world. This partypoker hand features American pros Nick Petrangelo and Jake Schindler, both boasting eight figures in total tournament winnings. With two established pros battling for supremacy, what happens when one of them backdoors quads?
The Game: €100,000 partypoker Millions
Blinds: 20,000/40,000
Stacks Sizes: 80 Big Blinds Effective
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Button vs Big Blind Preflop
Looking down at A♥-K♠ on the button, Petrangelo raises it to 140,000, inducing a call from Schindler who held Q♥-8♠. While off-suited queen-eight is weak against many of the hands in Petrangelo’s raising range, acting as the big blind makes this call acceptable.
Flop Analysis
The Pot: 330,000
The Board: A♣-8♥-6♣
Effective Stack: 76 Big Blinds
Petrangelo Executes The Continuation Bet
Schindler makes the standard check, which should always be done on ace-high boards when out of position. Securing a paired ace with a king kicker to boot, Petrangelo would take advantage of his hand strength with a 240,000 continuation bet. When having a substantially strong hand that can easily be called by weaker hands, this is a situation where there should be a very standard continuation bet. A medium to big size is ideal when considering bet sizing, making Petrangelo’s 240,000 bet technically sound. With a paired eight and being a player known to be “sticky”, Schindler would make the call.
Turn Analysis
The Pot: 810,000
The Board: A♣-8♥-6♣-8♦
Effective Stack: 70 Big Blinds
A Cooler On The Turn
Another eight on the turn would produce an absolute cooler for Petrangelo, who surely thought his new two pair was safe. On the flip side, Schindler was forced to contain his excitement as he decided what to do with his three eights. While it may seem questionable, Schindler should lead out here with a bet. With this board, the nut advantage has shifted over to Schindler, who should be betting out with all of the eights and junky draws in his range. A medium bet here with an opportunity to jam on the river essentially takes all of Petrangelo’s decently strong hands (like his paired ace) and turns them into bluff catchers. Leading with a perfectly polarized range, a player wins whatever is in the pot on average, producing a truly effective strategy.
A decorated tournament player, Schindler would make an excellent play leading out for 575,000. While we at home know he was dominated, Petrangelo did not have the benefit of knowing his opponent’s hand and found himself in an unknowingly tough spot. With his
A♥-K♠, Petrangelo should not be raising as the eights in his opponents range have him beat (like in this case) and any draws Schindler may have should be caught on the river when they miss. A call is the pure, reasonable play in this spot, which Petrangelo makes.
River Analysis
The Pot: 1,960,000
The Board: A♣-8♥-6♣-8♦-8♣
Effective Stack: 60 Big Blind
Schindler Hits Quads On The River
With the nuts, Schindler must now figure out how to get as much of his opponent’s chips in the middle as he can. The question he must ask himself is ‘if I check will I induce a bluff, and if I bet will my opponent find a hero call?’ In this scenario Schindler has two clear options: check to induce a bluff or shove all-in. What a lot of people do wrong in this spot is they go for a non all-in bet, which fails to leave you polarized! Going for the final blow, Schindler moved all-in, leaving Petrangelo with the decision to either give up or go home. Unfortunately for Petrangelo, this is a spot where he should always be calling, even when it produces a cooler.
Result: Schindler Gets Full Value
Forced to call, Petrangelo would throw a single chip in the middle with the rest soon to follow as Schindler masterfully played his runner-runner quads to bust him.
