The popular poker vlogger and a Hustler Casino Live regular, Mariano, has become a fan favorite for his calculated but fearless approach to the game. While his style is not reckless, he is one of those players who has all the plays in their arsenal, always keeping opponents on their toes.
This style can be (and has been) very effective, but with poker being a game of incomplete information, it can also backfire every now and again.
One such instance happened recently, in a hand featuring Mariano and David. Stakes are $25/$50/$100, and David is the effective stack with $78,875 in front of him.
Preflop Action
The hand begins with Coach Collins bumping it up to $300 from the lojack position holding 10♦5♠. David makes the call in the cutoff with 8♦8♣, and this entices Mariano in the small blind with 6♥4♥ and Pipi in the straddle position with A♥9♦.
They proceed to see the flop four-way, with $1,350 in the middle and Mariano set to start the action once the flop is dealt.
Preflop Play Analysis
Even to a complete poker newbie, there is very little need to explain why raising with T-5 off with several players to act behind you is a bad idea. This is one of the worst possible starting hands in Texas Hold’em, so the only possible explanation is that Coach Collins was getting really bored.
David could go either way with his pocket eights. The original raise is fairly small for a live environment, and with deep stacks, 3-betting is a very viable option. There is nothing wrong with calling to see the flop, either.
From a purely GTO point of view, Mariano’s small suited connectors might be a fold in the small blind, but in action-packed games where implied odds are through the roof, these are the type of hands you want to see flops with and win a huge pot when you hit your hidden monster.
Finally, Pipi is getting a great price, so he’s not going anywhere. A-9 is a bit of a problematic hand in multi-way pots, so there is a bit of an argument for squeezing to try and thin the field and define ranges a bit better. But with such great direct odds, folding is never an option with almost any two cards.
Flop Action
The flop comes J♦8♥4♣, so David finds his set, while Mariano hits the bottom pair with some backdoor options. There isn’t much going on for the other two players.
Mariano plays in flow and checks. Pipi follows suit, and Coach Collins wisely decides to skip on a continuation bet against three opponents.
The action gets to David, who bets $700. Mariano goes for a big raise and makes it $3,400. Pipi and Coach Collins get out of the way, and David calls, bringing the pot to $8,150.
Flop Play Analysis
After the first two callers check, Coach Collins has to decide if he wants to keep his preflop lead by continuation betting. In this particular spot, having completely whiffed and facing three opponents, it would be lighting money on fire, so his decision to pass on the opportunity is 100% correct.
David pretty much has the nuts with his set of eights given the preflop action, and it’s a pretty dry board. However, with stacks being so deep, he wants to start building the pot as soon as possible, and it’s likely that at least one of the other players has connected with the board in some way.
So, his half-pot bet is perfectly reasonable and is a better option than checking.
Facing this bet, Mariano decides to go for a massive raise, and it’s an interesting decision. There aren’t many draws available on this flop, so he is basically saying that he has two pair or better.
Pocket Jacks are not really in his range and he’d certainly 3-bet with that hand, but he can have the other two sets and pretty much all two pair combos (including 8-4 of the suited variety).
Facing a big raise from an aggressive opponent who is more than capable of pulling a big bluff, David has an easy call. He knows 100% that he’s good right now, and there aren’t many cards that will change his mind. So, no reason to raise and chase away your opponent when they are bluffing, and if they do have a big hand, there is plenty of time still to get money in the middle.
Turn Action
The 3♥ comes on the turn, for the board of J♦8♥4♣3♥. With this card, Mariano picks up a flush draw, which encourages him to continue betting, and he fires out for $8,000.
After thinking it over, David decides to go for a raise and bumps it up to $23,000. Mariano refuses to give up and moves all in for David’s remaining $52k, and he makes a quick call.
All of a sudden, there is $158,500 in the middle, and Mariano needs to find one of his flush outs to win. They run it twice, but both rivers come clean in Q♣ and A♣, and David scoops a hefty six-figure pot.
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Turn Play Analysis
After David calls Mariano’s big flop raise, it’s pretty indicative that he has a decent hand. That said, having picked up additional outs, Mariano needs to keep the pressure up, and he continues to tell his story of a monster hand with a pot-sized bet.
Facing such a large bet, calling is probably the best course of action. Raising here indicates a huge amount of strength, and if your opponent is bluffing, they’ll be able to get away. By just calling, you let them blast away on all sorts of rivers.
However, David decides this is a good spot to raise, and he chooses a solid sizing, too, making it pretty much three times the bet.
Mariano probably knows a fair bit about his opponent’s playing style and tendencies, but in a vacuum, this seems like the perfect time to abort the operation and just muck. It certainly feels like David is committed to his hand, and if there is no fold equity, Mariano is drawing very thin.
It could be a player-specific move or some sort of live read gone wrong, but David’s actions in this hand were very indicative of strength, so moving all in after he makes a big turn raise feels like a bit of a punt.
