Fine line between champ, chump

At the final table of the Mid-States Poker Tour main event at Canterbury Park, a tournament that drew 493 entrants to Shakopee, Minn., last December, the action was down to four players, each competing for a first-place prize worth more than $100,000.

The blinds were 30,000- 60,000 with an ante of 10,000 when Ben Marsh (2.4 million in chips) raised to 125,000 under the gun with Ks 7s.

Thomas Wu (2.8 million) then looked down at Kd Kc on the button and opted to just call. He was setting up a move that some pros refer to as a “back shove.”

Basically, Wu was just limping with a strong hand with the intention of moving all in if an opponent behind him reopened the action. That was exactly what happened when Rob Wazwaz (2.8 million) reraised to 500,000 holding As Qs in the big blind.

Marsh got out of the way, Wu limpraised all in, and Wazwaz called. Had Wu reraised Marsh with his pocket kings instead of flat- calling, things surely would have played out differently. That likely would have raised some red flags for Wazwaz, who may have either just called or even folded.

As it was, the chips got in, and Wazwaz found himself a decided underdog. Wu was a 67.7 percent favorite while Wazwaz would come from behind 31.9 percent of the time. (There was also a slight chance of a split pot.)

The 7d 10c Jh flop gave Wazwaz a gutshot straight draw, but with Wu holding two kings and Marsh having folded one, the odds of Wazwaz finding the king he needed to complete the straight were remote.

Neither the 6h on the turn nor the 2h on the river changed a thing, and Wu’s hand held to give him the double.

While things worked out for Wu in this hand, that’s not always the case.

When players attempt a back shove, sometimes they come to regret it. In this instance, Wazwaz could have easily spiked an ace to take the lead.

Had he done so, Wu may have had the same thought many players have after suffering a back-shove bad beat: “Why didn’t I just reraise and chase them out?”

Josh Reichard, an eight-time World Series of Poker Circuit ring winner, was providing commentary for the final table and explained what had just transpired.

“Whenever you call an open or limp and there’s a raise, the initial person in the pot folds, and you shove, that’s what is known as a back shove,” Reichard said. “It’s an East Coast thing mostly.”

No matter where the term originated, the move has been around for a long time.

However, it’s not often used shorthanded at a final table with tens of thousands of dollars on the line.

Can you recognize this maneuver when you see it? In this hand, Wazwaz didn’t, and he wound up busting out in fourth place for $34,323.

Often, the difference between being a poker champ and a poker chump is diagnosing when your opponent is making a move. Be sure to keep an eye out for this tricky play.