Hand history
Session: 7 August 2024 · Montenegro · Official report dated 8 August 2024
REPORTED HAND / VISUAL REPLAY
Elton Tsang K♣K♠ vs Andy Ni J♦J♣
Community cards
- 01PreflopTony G opens to 5.5BB; Ni calls in the small blind; Tsang squeezes from the straddle to 27.5BB; Tony G folds; Ni calls another 22BB. Pot at street end (BB): 64BB.
- 02Flop7♦4♥2♥: Ni checks; Tsang bets 20BB; Ni calls. Pot at street end (BB): 104BB.
- 03Turn8♦: Ni checks; Tsang bets 77.5BB; Ni calls. Pot at street end (BB): 259BB.
- 04River7♥: Ni checks; Tsang shoves 183.5BB; Ni calls. Kings and sevens beat jacks and sevens. Pot at street end (BB): 626BB.
Preflop: a squeeze needs a value target and a continuation plan
After Tony G opens to 5.5BB and Ni cold-calls in the small blind, Tsang retains his straddle option. Raising KK to 27.5BB can collect value from some weaker pairs, including QQ and JJ, while discouraging a multiway flop. At 308.5BB effective, this is not a short-stack automatic stack-off.
Calling preserves more weak hands but gives the existing entrants a cheaper multiway pot. Ni’s first call must account for the big blind and live straddle behind him. Facing the squeeze, his additional 22BB goes toward a 64BB pot after calling: 34.375% immediately. Three betting streets remain, so price alone does not prove JJ must call. Four-betting gains initiative but can isolate a stronger continuing range.
Flop: what does the small size keep in?
The 7♦4♥2♥ flop contains no ace or queen, leaving KK an overpair. Ni can nevertheless retain sets of sevens, fours or deuces and heart draws. The squeezer may retain many strong pairs without owning every nut combination. After Ni checks, Tsang bets 20BB into 64BB, or 31.25%.
A small bet can charge worse pairs and draws while keeping medium-strength hands involved. Checking preserves weaker hands and limits the immediate investment, but forgoes some value. Calling JJ keeps overcards and bluffs in Tsang’s range. Raising JJ needs worse continuing hands; otherwise it risks isolating kings, aces or sets.
Turn: a second draw and a larger bet reshape the range
The 8♦ adds a diamond draw, improves 88 to a set and makes 65 a straight, if those holdings survive the preflop and flop ranges. Hearts remain live, and Ni can still hold pairs such as QQ or JJ. The absence of a check-raise does not prove his range contains only one-pair hands.
Tsang bets 77.5BB into 104BB, about 74.52%. A call produces 259BB with 183.5BB effective behind, a river SPR near 0.71. A smaller bet may preserve weaker calls; checking reduces range filtration at the cost of missed value and free realization for draws. Ni’s immediate turn calling price is 77.5/259, about 29.92%, but future river investment remains. This does not establish JJ’s equity against the unknown range.
River: who pays kings after hearts arrive?
The 7♥ completes hearts and pairs the board. KK now makes kings and sevens, not a full house. Flushes, boats, quads and potentially AA beat it. A 65 straight made on the turn also remains ahead, conditional on reaching this line. A threatening river does not automatically remove all overpair value.
After Ni checks, Tsang shoves 183.5BB into 259BB, about 70.85%. If QQ or JJ pays, kings can gain value; if worse hands fold and stronger hands call, betting loses ground to checking. A smaller bet might attract more weak calls, while checking realizes showdown value. The observed payment from JJ does not prove the shove is equilibrium-optimal.
The JJ call: 29.31% is a price, not a command
The shove creates 442.5BB. Ni must add 183.5BB to finish a 626BB pot, a 29.31% equity threshold. JJ loses not only to flushes and full houses but also to possible value shoves with AA, KK or QQ. Only a binary model where JJ beats all bluffs and loses to all value translates this into a required bluff fraction. Weaker value hands require a different calculation.
J♦ removes possible missed diamonds such as A♦J♦ or J♦T♦, but their preflop squeeze and multi-street bluff frequencies are assumptions, not known facts. With no heart, JJ also leaves two-heart value hands available. Consider both sides of removal instead of selecting one convenient blocker. Ni calls and loses to kings; showdown cannot retroactively establish either player’s unknown range or frequency.
Practice the decision process
Texas GTO Coach offers structured poker training. Revisit positions, ranges and sizing; this article is not a hand-specific solver output or a promise of profit.
Hand review questions
Does a paired board turn KK into a full house?
No. KK plus the pair of sevens is two pair. A full house requires three of one rank and two of another.
Is 29.31% JJ’s required defense frequency?
No. It is the equity price of this additional call; the shove range still determines the decision.
Should kings without a heart automatically shove?
No. They leave more opposing flush combinations available. Identify worse paying hands and compare a smaller bet with checking.
Turn what you learned into practice.
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