Small pairs in big- stack events

At the final table of the 2015 World Series of Poker Main Event, I had a stack of 27 million on Day 1. With blinds at 250,000- 500,000 plus a 50,000 ante, I was dealt 4 ♥ 4 ♣ under the gun.

I raised to 1.2 million. This was a little bigger than a standard raise, but at a seven- handed table, any pair is likely ahead, so I wasn’t really looking for action.

Pierre Neuville called from middle position with A♣ K ♥ . I thought this was too conservative. Neuville’s hand was ahead of much of my range, and he was in reasonable shape against all my pairs other than A- A and K- K. He had been pretty tight, so a three- bet would have to be respected. And with his hand, he should have been happy to get it all in with a five- bet shove if I chose to four- bet.

The K♠ Q ♠ 4 ♦ f lop was terrific for me, hitting a huge portion of his range while giving me a set. It was, however, a draw- heavy f lop, so I needed to proceed with caution. I bet 1.6 million, just under half the pot.

I was certainly ahead here, and he would never fold any hand with a king or with two spades.

When Neuville called, I knew his range was pretty limited. He could have had A- K, K- Q, K- J, A- Q or A- x spades. He also could have had A- J or A- 10 with the A♠ . I could discount the possibility that he had K- Q, as he would have been far more likely to raise that hand on a draw- heavy board. For him to just call with A- K was still a little tight but understandable on this board.

The Q ♦ on the turn was good and bad. It gave me a full house, but it was also an action killer, as a bet would likely prompt him to fold any draws or high pairs.

I checked, disguising the strength of my hand and giving his draws an opportunity to hit. He checked behind, which took all queens out of his range.

The 3 ♠ on the river was a good card for me. A bet here could look like a bluffed f lush, and he may well have hit a f lush draw. So with his range now limited to A- x spades, A- K and K- J, how much could I extract? The pot was just over 6.7 million, and Neuville had 11.5 million behind. Too much and I’d chase out A- K and K- J ( and maybe even a f lush with the paired board). If he was deeper, an overbet of 7 million- 8 million could look suspicious enough to get a hero call, but not here, especially since my bet- check- bet was a pretty strong line.

I bet over half the pot, about 35% of his stack. He called and then mucked his A♣ K ♥ when I showed my full house.

This hand put me into second place ahead of Zvi Stern, and it crippled Neuville, who was the next player to bust, finishing seventh. It served as a good example of how to play small pairs in big- stack events when you are playing shorthanded.