This instalment of Metagame Hands is between Phil ‘The Unabomber’ Laak and Tom Dwan at the Aussie Millions 2009 Cash Game. Laak is a very successful cash game player and has played with Dwan before, as well as knowing his aggressive reputation. Things heat up at around 5:00...
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The blinds are $500/$1,000 with a $200 ante to further juice the action. Dwan limps in from middle position for $1,000 with 8d-6d. Tournament legend Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson folds on the button, leaving Austalian grinder Jamie Pickering to make up the small blind with 9h-5s while Laak checks his Kc-9d.
The Kd-Qd-3s flop gives Laak top pair and Dwan a medium strength flush draw which he bets to the tune of $3,400, just over the size of the pot, when Pickering and Laak check to him.
Laak certainly can’t fold here, but check-raising against an opponent like Dwan would open the door for him to pile on more pressure in position, so he elects to call. The 4d turn completes the flush for Dwan and gives Laak his own medium strength backdoor flush draw.
Laak checks and Dwan bets $8,800 into the $11,200 pot. Laak isn’t hugely comfortable but makes the call. The river is a blank 2h and Laak checks immediately, as if trying to get to showdown as quickly as possible. Dwan takes his time sizing his bet before eventually sliding out a huge $62,200 bet into the $28,800 pot.
As the commentator points out, Laak wouldn’t contemplate making this top-pair call against anybody else but Dwan. Laak knows that Dwan likes to make big bets with air but at the same time seems to know that he’s behind saying, ‘You know that I’m holding on so you want to get paid by a big bet. This is pay-off wizardry at its finest.’ He eventually makes the call and loses to the flush.
Earlier in the same session Laak had told the table that his friend and fellow professional player Antonio Esfandiari had said, ‘Against Durrrr [Dwan] if you get one pair you just… hold on for all four barrels. If it costs you $200,000 to see if your one pair is good that’s what you have to do.’ It’s priceless information for Dwan, who knows that Laak is going to be willing to check-call down a lot of top-pair strength hands including calling huge value bets. This is a great example of Dwan’s mastery of the metagame.
See also: Albert Iversen vs Sammy George…
See also: Cristian Dragomir vs Phil Hellmuth…