High Stakes Poker Snapshot: Good2cRaSZi Bluffing

The sixth episode of GSN's High Stakes Poker brought us our second group of players.

In the second session of Season 6 Patrik Antonius, Lex "RaSZi" Veldhuis, Andrew "Good2CU" Robl, Barry Greenstein and Dennis Phillips join Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu for a little degenerate gambling.

Right away we get to see Ivey's KK crack Patrik's AA in a hand that sounds way more exciting than it actually was.

In another hand Negreanu turns a straight flush and remarks that he's never made a royal. Lex Veldhuis steals the show with, "Well, you're a live player you play like 300 hands a year."

We also see Dwan durrrring it up and making all sorts of rivered hands and soul-owning people into calling, hoping to hit the bottom of his range.

But the most interesting hand of the night was played by Lex Veldhuis and Andrew Robl.

The Set-up

With the blinds $400/$800 and a $200 ante Negreanu raises in early position to $3,000. Veldhuis, immediately on his left, makes it $11,000 to go and everyone folds to Robl in the big blind.

Robl cold-calls the three-bet and Negreanu calls as well. The flop comes Q♣ 7♠ 3♣ and Robl and Negreanu both check.

Veldhuis c-bets $23,800 into $34,400 and Robl flat-calls. Negreanu folds and the turn comes J♠.

Robl checks again and this time Veldhuis checks through.

The river comes A♦. Robl thinks and checks and Veldhuis bets $54,400. Robl goes back into the tank and eventually just calls.

Veldhuis declares a set is good and Robl turns over Q♦ Q♥.

Veldhuis mucks the 8♥ 6♥ and the $190,000 pot is sent to From Busto to Robusto 2 star Andrew "Good2CU" Robl.

The Breakdown:

Negreanu raises under the gun to $3,000 with the 3♦ 4♦. Negreanu just likes suited connectors far too much to fold them.

Veldhuis elects to three-bet the 8♥ 6♥ to $11,000. Veldhuis' re-raise is a bluff and he's hoping Negreanu will either fold immediately or call only to check-fold the flop.

Usually three-bet bluffing an early position raise is a losing proposition because EP raises tend to mean much stronger hands. Usually you three-bet light the late-position raises because your opponent's range is generally much wider and he'll be raise-folding much more often.

But this is TV poker and when Veldhuis three-bet bluffs an EP raise he may realize that he'll be given more credit for three-betting an EP raise than an LP raise.

Everyone folds around to Robl who calls the $11,000 with Q♥ Q♦.

A cold-call is good in this spot. A cold four-bet of a UTG+1 raise and a UTG+2 three-bet would absolutely scream strength. QQ would actually be at the very bottom of his cold four-bet-for-value range.

By just calling the three-bet Robl keeps QQ near the top of his range, which is where you want to be.

Negreanu elects to call as well with his suited connectors. Everyone is deep and he has his favorite type of hand with decent odds.

When the flop comes 3♣ 7♠ Q♣ Robl checks his top set over to the three-bettor. He knows that someone who three-bets an early position raise is very likely to follow that up with a flop c-bet almost regardless of the board.

Negreanu flops bottom pair and checks as well. Veldhuis does c-bet the queen-high board, firing $23,800 into $34,400.

He showed a ton of strength pre-flop and follows it up on the flop. Robl elects to just flat-call with top set.

A flat is good in this spot because should Veldhuis be bluffing he's likely to keep bluffing. A smooth-call also gives Negreanu a chance to either spazz out with a weird bluff or make a move if he had flopped a decent hand.

Robl doesn't need to worry about building a pot because if Veldhuis has a hand worth stacking off, the effective stacks are such that he can get it in with a pot bet on the turn and a pot bet on the river.

So if they're getting all-in, they're getting all-in whether Robl raises or not and by just calling he gives Veldhuis a chance to hang himself.

The turn comes the J♠. Robl checks and Veldhuis checks behind. Robl checked again to let Veldhuis bet but this time he checks behind, perhaps realizing that Robl will not fold to a second barrel.

The river brings the A♦ and Robl thinks and checks again.

This check is really good. He knows that the A♦ is not only a card that hits Veldhuis' range but it also is a great card for Veldhuis to bluff at.

Veldhuis elects to fire $54,000 into $82,000 - a bet that's designed to look like an AK that one-barreled the flop only to check the turn and hit the river.

It's a decent enough bet and should Robl have called preflop with something like 9♠ 9♦ or T♥ T♠ or even K♠ Q♠ he would have a very difficult river call on his hands.

But Robl's preflop flat kept him at the top of his range, where he remains in this hand with Q♥ Q♦. Robl eventually chooses to just call rather than check-raising.

As it turns out Robl plays this hand near perfectly and makes the maximum amount vs. an aggressive opponent.

OH PS, Durrrr posted on 2+2 that Ivey has already bought out of the vegetarian bet for $150,000.

More Strategy Snapshots from High Stakes Poker Season 6: