Heat 17
Pro	Roberto Romanello
Pro	Liam Flood
Pro	Roy Brindley
Gareth E	David Saab
888Pro	Michael Keiner
888	Gary Medwell

Last night I sat and watched again heat 17 which included the above.

Gary is one of the Belfast posse and he found it hard to get any change out of these boys.

Michael and Saab were chatting all night although I did notice the ' shut the heck up' look come across Michael on several occasions.

Roy the Boy was just card dead all night and David donked off half his stack to Gentleman Liam Flood in a hand that he had no right or value to call.

I missed it after that as I wasn't feeling very well and had to go to bed.

**********

Don't miss next week (heat 18)

Padraig puts down the microphone and picks up the chips.

Our very own papajac takes his seat to do the business along with a young man in the shape of Mike Partridge who qualified on-line.

Also sat at the table is ex-England footballer Teddy Sherringham

Heat 18
Pro	Juha Helppi
Pro	Dixie
Pro	Padraig Parkinson
Littlewoods	Mike Partridge
888	Jack Hinchey
Celeb	Teddy Sheringham

So don't miss this one guys

Sky Sports

Monday

Not sure what time, about 10pm I think.

If someone knows exactly, please correct me.

Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again.

And meeting again, after moments or a lifetime, is certain for those who are friends.

 David donked off half his stack to Gentleman Liam Flood in a hand that he had no right or value to call.

No he didn't

He made a fantastic move from the SB and was very unlucky to see Flood find a monster behind him. Once Flood moved in, Saab was getting almost 3/1 on his call, he had to call with any two cards because of how big the pot was.

You don't win these tournaments unless you have stuff like this in your arsenal.

I haven't watched many of these heats but was VERY impressed by David Saab last night and Michael Keiner also played very well.

We must be talking about different hands.

In the hand I'm talking about, Liam had him beat but in no mans world would you call it a monster.

Shame I can't remember the exact hand, I'll look out for a replay on Sky.

Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again.

And meeting again, after moments or a lifetime, is certain for those who are friends.

Was AK v 59

We're talking 4 handed at the time. AK is a monster.

Yes it is pre-flop.

Flood I believe went all-in and David called with a pair of 5's?...not sure

Can't remember what the board was but even David didn't think he was ahead but called anyway for something like 70K more.

You may have a different opinion to me, but I think to call a bet like that with a weak hand is not a good call.

It devestated his stack and he was soon walking

If he had pushed against Flood, then that's different.

Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again.

And meeting again, after moments or a lifetime, is certain for those who are friends.

The button opened for 21k, Saab picked something up off him (from the way he bet his chips I believe) and re-raised to 60k with 59dd. That's a perfectly legitimate play.

Unfortunately for him, Flood woke up in the BB with one of very few hands he could shove all in with. He probably folds AQ and 99 (maybe even 10s) and shoves with anything stronger.

Once he shoves for 130k total, it's costing Saab another 70k to call into a pot that already contains over 200k. He's pretty much getting 3/1 on his money, and if he wins the pot he's a mammoth chip leader and all but guaranteed a seat in the turbo.

Folding in this spot would be a huge mistake.

As it was, when Flood flipped up AK it was a fantastic spot for Saab to be in, and he only had to dodge 5 cards on the river to take out a very dangerous player and take a commanding chip lead.

Saab played the hand very well.

We are all entitled to our opinions

Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again.

And meeting again, after moments or a lifetime, is certain for those who are friends.

Folding the 59dd pre-flop is the most obvious play. Score 5 points for this play.

Calling is 100% off limits. Score 0 points for this play and quit poker immediately.

Raising is legitimate if you have a read on the OR as weak, as you can be sure he will fold and know that the BB can only play back with the absolute top of his range. There can't be a score for this play as it is so situation-dependant, but in this case it was a fantastic move by Saab. If I thought I could award points here, I would give Saab 10pts, but I don't think it would be fair because it's so unorthodox and would encourage bad play from players not thinking at his level.

If you think his raise is bad then I have no qualms with your argument, you're playing fine in that regard.

However, if you can understand his raise and you then fold to Flood's shove, score yourself minus infinity points. This is absolutely abysmal play and you should be put down. The pot odds are HUGE. Forget what you're holding, forget what he might be holding. Odds are all that matter. You're getting such a large price that you should probably call even if the dealer only gave you one card.

Topics like this one are why the think tank threads on this forum never progress beyond level one thinking. People run their KK into AA pre-flop and then post to ask whether they should have folded.

We are all "entitled to our opinions", but you have to give me some credit here for mine. 6-max is my best format. When I played on 888 and there was still traffic in the $100/$200 games, I used to get HU with a guy called loser36 so often it was sick. He'd win some, I'd win some, but we were always the top two. In that regard, I think I'm pretty well positioned to offer a more accurate "opinion" on this hand than most.

Nothing like a good maths debate in the morning to get me going...

If we all played poker the same the only winner would be the house (and Idi0, who is a luckbox!)

I agree with L67C's surmisation of the hand here. Saab picked up on something and repopped. For Flood to shove here he had to have an absolute monster. I think I would have opened Flood's range a little wider than L67C suggested, but by and large I agree with the hand as it panned out. Personally, I like Saab's move, looking to squeeze someone he felt was weak and then calling the shove with odds. I can also see why some people would be more inclined to fold the Dolly in the first place, but as the hand panned Saab played it perfectly.

However, I'd certainly take issue with one part of your post, L67C:

Topics like this one are why the think tank threads on this forum never progress beyond level one thinking. People run their KK into AA pre-flop and then post to ask whether they should have folded.

I think one needs to remember that this forum caters to a very wide range of players, many of whom do not cite English as their first language, who encompass the whole length and breadth of the ability and knowledge spectrum.  That said, for every 'Beginner's Question' you can usually find an advance theory or stratagem being discussed and explored.

Posts are put up in the 'Think Tank' by people wishing to further their poker education.  In turn, they are answered by their friends and peers. Some of these players have an in-depth knowledge of the game, whilst others rely on instinct and belief.  Some of us are at level 3 or 4 thinking, some at level 1 or 2. All of us share a love of poker and of learning the game.  On the poker highway, we all started somewhere. Some will realise their destination quicker than others... but we are all climbing the ladder, one rung at a time!

  'Poker - takes five minutes to learn and a lifetime to master' - Doyle Brunson.