Hand history
Session: 9 August 2024 · Montenegro · Official report dated 10 August 2024
REPORTED HAND / VISUAL REPLAY
ST Wang (Esti Wang) A♠A♥ vs Phil Ivey Q♥Q♦
Community cards
- 01PreflopIvey opens HJ to 5 BB; Wang 3-bets CO to 17.5 BB; Ivey 4-bets to 52.5 BB; Wang calls another 35 BB. Pot at street end (BB): 111BB.
- 02Flop6♣7♣3♥: Ivey bets 50 BB; Wang shoves covering him, with 203 BB effectively matched on the street; Ivey calls another 153 BB. Pot at street end (BB): 517BB.
- 03Turn4♦: both players are already all-in; there is no new betting. Pot at street end (BB): 517BB.
- 04RiverQ♣: Ivey makes a set of queens and beats one pair of aces. One turn-and-river runout only; no new betting. Pot at street end (BB): 517BB.
Preflop: distinguish big blinds from the straddle
The 2 BB straddle does not change our unit: the effective stack is 255.5 original big blinds. HJ opens to 5 BB, CO raises to 17.5 BB and HJ 4-bets to 52.5 BB. QQ can seek value from some weaker pairs or high cards and build a lower-SPR pot. Calling the 3-bet is an alternative that retains weaker hands and controls pot growth; its merits depend on CO’s 3-betting and continuing ranges.
Wang adds 35 BB with AA, making a 111 BB pot. Flatting places the strongest pair inside his calling range and may retain weaker value hands or bluffs. A 5-bet can take earlier value from willing KK/QQ, but can also drive weaker hands out. Neither line is proved right or wrong by the eventual river.
QQ on the flop: an overpair is not the top of every range
Both players have overpairs on 6♣7♣3♥. Ivey bets 50 BB into 111 BB, about 45.05% pot. The 203 BB effective stack before the bet gives an SPR of about 1.83. QQ may want calls from lower pairs such as JJ/TT, or deny equity to unpaired high cards, but those hands must first survive the preflop range filter.
A CO 4-bet call does not exclude AA or KK; this hand demonstrates exactly that. Low sets,54 and club draws are relevant only if those holdings can reach the flop through this line. Checking can retain weaker hands, support a checking range and reduce exposure to strong raises. A low board does not automatically give the 4-bettor every nut hand.
Wang’s AA shove: value still needs worse hands to continue
A shove can take value from willing KK/QQ and charge club draws that actually exist for seeing both remaining cards. AA contains no club and does not remove a candidate such as A♣K♣. Being unblocked does not prove that a draw is in the range; preflop selection still matters. AA is not the flop nuts if the conditional low-card monsters are present.
Calling is a serious alternative: it retains Ivey’s weaker bets and future actions, but gives him a turn card and may encounter cards that slow later value. A call makes a 211 BB pot with 153 BB effective behind, a turn SPR near 0.73. Stacks can still go in later, so inability to build a pot is not, by itself, a convincing reason to shove immediately.
Ivey’s 153 BB decision: price and composition belong together
Ivey has bet 50 BB and must add 153 BB. Although Wang covers, each player can contribute only 203 BB effectively on the flop. A call produces a 517 BB pot. The immediate threshold 153/517 is about 29.59%, not a minimum defense frequency or proof that QQ has enough equity against Wang’s range.
The question is whether weaker pairs or club combinations can shove, or whether the range is mostly AA,KK and any stronger hands that legitimately arrived here. Q♥Q♦ has no club, leaving some Q♣ draw candidates available, but that alone does not establish enough semi-bluffs. If value is strong and bluffs scarce, folding deserves consideration; a low SPR does not force every overpair to call.
The runout supplies a result, not new betting decisions
All betting ended on the flop and the turn/river were dealt once. After 4♦, a study model fixing only the two hands and board leaves 44 uniformly possible rivers: two queens win for QQ, four fives put a seven-high straight on board and split, and the other 38 favor AA. This is not equity against an unknown range, and it does not condition on other folded cards shown by the broadcast.
The actual Q♣ gives Ivey a set over one pair. Although it is the third board club, neither player holds a club, so neither makes a flush. Winning does not establish the call as optimal, and losing does not refute the AA shove; revisit the information and alternatives available at the decision.
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
Why might AA flat rather than 5-bet?
Flatting retains weaker hands and protects the top of a calling range. A 5-bet can extract earlier value from willing weaker pairs. Effective stacks and the opponent’s response decide the comparison, not a universal slow-play rule.
Does QQ call 203 BB or 153 BB more?
203 BB is the final matched street total. With 50 BB already bet, the additional call is 153 BB. Its denominator is the final 517 BB pot, excluding unmatched covering chips.
Does this prove Ivey’s call was GTO?
No hand-specific solver was run. Revealed-hand runout enumeration does not evaluate an unknown shoving range, and a winning river does not prove the earlier action’s EV.
Turn what you learned into practice.
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