Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 76: Matt Bretzfield Gets Tricky With Aces
Last updated: Jun 27, 2019
Published: Aug 15, 2018
3 min read
For the past four days, I've been doing some freelance live reporting at the 2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open at Hollywood, Florida's Hard Rock Hotel & Casino . It was there I observed some interesting hands, some of which I'll be covering in this column over the coming weeks starting today with one from the 2018 SHRPO $5,250 Championship .
The tournament drew 914 entries. It was on Day 2 that New York's Matt Bretzfield played a big hand in Level 12 (1,200/2,500/2,500). The hand began when Bretzfield limped under the gun and the player in the hijack raised to 8,000. Carlos Rojas , who began the day with 355,500 in chips, then three-bet to 13,500 from the big blind.
Bretzfield, a pot-limit Omaha cash game grinder who relocated to South Florida in February, woke up with a limp-raise to 38,000. The player in the hijack released his hand, and Rojas called to see a 10♥ K♦ 6♠ flop.
Bretzfield: "He's calling there to either flop a set or see if an ace or king comes."
Rojas checked, Bretzfield bet 75,000, and Rojas paused for a few beats before check-raising all in for 131,500. Bretzfield snap-called.
Bretzfield: A♦ A♠ Q♠ Q♥
Rojas needed some luck for his two ladies, but was left wanting as the 8♦ bricked the turn followed by the 7♦ on the river.
I was curious why Bretzfield slow played the pocket rockets, so I decided to ask him on a break.
"The guy in Seat 8 and the guy in the big blind were consistently raising, very aggressive," he explained. "So I limped hoping the player in the big blind — who came in sixth in chips but had been losing — would raise. He'd been raising every hand. So I limped under the gun and one of the tighter players raised. When it got to Rojas he pretended he wanted to call but actually raised."
He continued: "When it got back to me, I was definitely going to raise. I thought I'd end the hand right there, take the 30K in the pot and increase my stack by 15 percent. I made a big raise, the original raiser folded, and Rojas just smooth-called. I wasn't sure if he was calling out of spite because I raised after he pretended he didn't want to raise."
"When it came king-high I wanted to end the hand. I bet 75K. I was never folding the hand, I was investing myself. When he jammed I thought he might have a set of kings, but he didn't. I don't understand why he played it that way. If he wanted to jam, he should've jammed preflop. He's calling there to either flop a set or see if an ace or king comes. The king is out there and I limp-raised preflop. I'm not doing that with jacks. The minimum I have is ace-king. I think he was more on tilt that anything."
What do you make of this hand? Let me know on Twitter @ChadAHolloway .
Image courtesy SHRPO.
Chad Holloway
PR & Media Manager
PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, host of both the PokerNews Podcast & MPST Podcast Presented By PokerNews, and 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
In this Series
1 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 1: Making Reads and Trusting Them 2 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 2: Playing in Poker Charity Events 3 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 3: Throttle Back Before You End Up Punting 4 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 4: Punish the Satellite Bubble 5 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 5: What is Proper Accumulator Strategy? 6 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 6: A Chip and a Chair Story with “SirWatts” 7 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 7: 15 Things About Poker I Wish I’d Known Sooner 8 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 8: Examining the Largest Overlay in Poker History 9 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 9: Differences Between Rebuys and Reentries 10 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 10: Five Must-Read Poker Books of 2014 11 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 11: When Will You Finally Break Through? 12 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 12: Dealing with a Target on Your Back 13 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 13: Knowing When to Call It Quits 14 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 14: Embarking on a Year-Long Weight Loss Journey 15 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 15: Navigating Multiple Decision Points in a Poker Hand 16 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 16: Chris Moorman Tells Me How Badly I Play Poker 17 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 17: Richard “nutsinho” Lyndaker on Getting It in Marginal 18 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 18: Getting Inside the Head of Poker Pro Brian Rast 19 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 19: Stupid Calls & Lucky Draws in MSPT WI Championship 20 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 20: Talking Ante-Only Strategy with Greg “FossilMan” Raymer 21 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 21: Contributing to Jonathan Little’s New Book 22 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 22: Consequences of Acting Out of Turn & Tossing in Chips 23 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 23: When It Comes to Chops, Do What’s In Your Best Interest 24 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 24: Accepting Bad Beats & Lessons in Selling Action 25 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 25: Heinz’ Ace-High Call Shows Why He's a World Champ 26 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 26: Is Keeping the Short Stack Alive Collusion? 27 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 27: Great Laydown or Bad Fold on Poker Night in America? 28 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 28: Calling Hellmuth with Jack-Deuce Offsuit 29 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 29: The Philosophy of "No-Chop" Chad 30 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 30: Preparing to Play the World Series of Poker 31 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 31: Staying on Your Grind at the World Series of Poker 32 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 32: The Perilous Decision to Call Off with Ace-Queen 33 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 33: Using Poker Skills in Reality TV Competitions 34 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 34: Esfandiari Explains How to Recover from Bad Beats 35 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 35: Tilly vs. Brunson in Super High Roller Cash Game Hand 36 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol 36: Unconventional Play Leads to Good WSOP Main Event Start 37 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 37: Lessons in Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low w/ Evan Jarvis 38 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 38: Things to Say and Do When You Bust a Poker Tournament 39 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 39: How Much Did I Have to Raise to Get You to Fold? 40 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 40: Practicing Patience in My Deep PPC Poker Tour Run 41 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 41: Analyzing a Questionable SHRPO Main Event Hand 42 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 42: Analyzing the Play of Neymar Jr. at EPT Barcelona 43 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 43: The Value of a Reliable Poker Reputation 44 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 44: John “KasinoKrime” Beauprez Rips My PLO Game Apart 45 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 45: Satellite Dilemmas -- To Call or Not to Call 46 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 46: Seiver Leverages the River in Super High Roller Bowl 47 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 47: What Untraditional Moves in Poker Might Mean 48 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 48: Thinking About the Future with Sam Grizzle 49 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 49: WCOOP Champ “Coenaldinho7” Offers Up His Biggest Hands 50 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 50: The Peril of Shoving Weak Aces 51 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 51: The Importance of Not Giving Up in Poker Tournaments 52 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 52: Does Asking “Check” Actually Constitute a Check? 53 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 53: Thomas Cannuli Impresses Even After Main Event Bustout 54 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 54: Dealers Aren’t Always Right 55 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 55: Don’t Get Married to Pocket Aces 56 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 56: Bazeley’s Survival Instinct Leads to Continued Success 57 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 57: Playing “Deuces Wild” on the European Poker Tour 58 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 58: The Wildest Hand in European Poker Tour History 59 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 59: Death, Zombies & Spending Time w/Phil Hellmuth 60 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 60: How the Unstoppable Fedor Holz Managed to Win Again 61 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 61: Lessons To Be Learned When You Hit the Big Stage 62 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 62: Steve O’Dwyer Explains the “Oreo Cookie Tell” 63 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 63: What Would Happen to a Chip Stack If a November Niner Died? 64 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 64: Forgetting One Chip -- Should It Still Be an All-In Bet? 65 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 65: Todd “sharkslayerrr” Breyfogle on Bankroll Management 66 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 66: Cash Game Pro Daniel Arfin Offers Sound Bankroll Advice 67 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 67: Honeyman Plays Kings to Keep in Opponent’s Bluff Range 68 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 68: Why Do I Even Bother Drinking at the Poker Table? 69 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 69: Is Your Favorite Poker Pro Left- or Right-Handed? 70 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 70: In Order to Live You Have to Be Willing to Die 71 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 71: How to Amass a Big Stack Early in a Poker Tournament 72 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 72: Answering User-Submitted Poker Scenarios 73 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 73: Saying Goodbye with a Top Five List 74 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 74: We're Back, Baby! 75 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 75: Jivkov on Exploiting Capped Ranges 76 Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 76: Matt Bretzfield Gets Tricky With Aces 77 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 77: Joseph Cheong Gets Crazy with a Pair of Ladies 78 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 78: Wyoming Poker Action & Wild South Dakota Hand 79 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 79: Calling Controversy at WinStar 80 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 80: Going for Value with Matt Hunt 81 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 81: Bracelet Winner Ryan Leng on Bad Call 82 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 82: Romeopro33 Recounts XL Eclipse Victory 83 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 83: Men The Master Doesn't Get Paid 84 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 84: Harman Hits Back-to-Back Miracle Turns 85 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 85: Jamie Kerstetter on Dealing with Bounties 86 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 86: Matt Stout Develops a Limp Dynamic 87 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 87: Matt Alexander Caught in Between w/ Two Red Aces 88 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 88: John Beauprez on Why He Folded a Set of Jacks 89 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 89: Alex Aqel Lets Opponent Hang Himself with Aces 90 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 90: David Peters Makes Beastly Call Against Will Givens 91 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 91: Poker Lessons from a Game of Risk 92 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 92: My Upstuck Diagnosis by the CLC Squad 93 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 93: Alex Foxen Coolers Nick Petrangelo in SHRB 94 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 94: My $25,000 PSPC Experience at 2019 PCA 95 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 95: The Equity of Leveraging Time Extensions 96 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 96: Dan O'Brien on Developing Healthy Routines 97 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 97: Big Hands From the WSOP-C Potawatomi 98 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 98: Simon Deadman Rips Apart My NLH Tourney Play 99 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 99: Shoving 10-6 Smack Dab Into Pocket Aces 100 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 100: The Revived Re-Entries Debate SHOW ALL 100 ARTICLES
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