"it's so bad that it's brilliant"

[blueodum 0]

Here in Canada on TSN they are currently airing the Party Poker European Open.Down to 4-handed. A guy named Theis has 4-4 and makes a solid raise. O'Dea, a pro has a pair of nines and calls. Theis has been very tight all game.The flop comes J4x. So what does Theis do? He goes all-in with his set. The commentator can't believe it - calls it the worst move he could have made but then adds - "it's so bad your opponent won't believe that you've flopped a monster". Theis also put in a huge raise after he flopped the nut straight (his opponent flopped a set of nines, called, and lost) on an earlier hand.Anyway, O'Dea takes a long time to think and finally - calls! To add insult to injury Theis makes quad fours on the turn and O'Dea is knocked out.It's players like Theis that make me think that one day I'll be on TV at a final table because it seems that just about anyone can do it.

[Guest XXEddie]

I love those players the make what they have so obvious to the point where you can play them blind

[Emptyeye 0]

Actually, I have to agree with the topic title--the push with the set is so bad that it's good. The conventional thinking is that any competent player would check their monster flop in that situation--but aren't you also taught that an all-in play at any point is typically a bluff? Maybe Theis was operating on this level--"He'll think no competent layer would possibly go all-in with a monster so that's exactly what I'll do."Tobey McGuire actually did something similar to Phil Hellmuth, albeit in a slightly different situation--hit trips, bet it, and Phil outthought himself and said "He bet that flop, there's no way he does that if he has trips!"What IS stupid is the opponent's calling with nines with at least one overcard out there (I'll presume the X was irrelevant, though it too could've been an overcard). Gap concept, people, gap concept.

[blueodum 0]

I agree it was a very bad call, but the blinds and antes were pretty high and it was 4-handed.I'd agree that as a stealth play it makes some sense, but the whole table had seen the same guy go all-in when he flopped the nut straight earlier.

[stojke7-2 0]

I must be much worse then all of you, because I probobly would've made the exact same play and you all seem to be against it. I guess I just don't see the point in letting someone draw out on you when all you have is trips, and someone could easily draw to a straight or a flush or what ever.

[Raindog 0]

I saw a tournament on TV recently : Carribean Poker Classic, or something like that.The winner was some guy from England named John Earle. I thought he played pretty poorly throughout the show but when you flop monster after monster it gets hard to lose. He was heads up with some younger guy from Norway (I think) who was, in my opinion, playing much much better than this John Earle guy but Earle just got all the cards (or so the TV show made it appear). Earle would flop a flush or flop a straight and then immediately bet out huge. The commentators couldn't believe it. He still won.I don't know if anyone else saw that one but it also left me thinking "if that guy can win a tournament....".

[blueodum 0]

I think it's a defensible strategy, if you are playing against someone who likes to go all in. Most pros won't call there unless they have a better hand and they'll depend on their read to help them determine if they indeed have the better hand. The all-in move here works well against aggressive inexperienced players because they are more likely to call with the worse hand. Remember in this case, the opponent would have to risk all their chips.One alternative is to bet about the size of the pot, so that it creates the impression that you've trying to steal the pot.Another is to minimum bet (the weak lead), hoping the opponent re-raises(then you can go all-in).Still another is to check, and see what kind of bet your opponent makes. The size of his bet should help you determine how strong his hand is.

[blueodum 0]

I remember, and I think that most of the time the Swede correctly folded.