Maria Ho Analyzes Folding a Flopped Set of Tens in a Multi-Way Pot
There's quite the final table happening today in the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event. Just six remain from the 529-entry starting field, with Maria Ho starting the final day of play with the chip lead.
This week Ho discussed with PokerNews a very interesting hand she played early on Day 4 of the event, a multi-way pot in which she actually flopped middle set but given a unique set of circumstances chose to fold her hand rather than call all in for her tournament life.
The hand came up on the feature table on Wednesday, meaning we can fill in further specifics regarding the situation Ho describes in the video below.
With the blinds 8,000/16,000 with a 2,000 ante, Rainer Kempe opened with a raise to 34,000 from the hijack seat and Kristen Bicknell called from the button. Kempe had the big stack at the table to start the hand with 1,522,000, and Bicknell had 854,000.
The action moved to Niall Farrell who started with 1,186,000 in the small blind, and he squeezed by three-betting to 152,000.
Ho was in the big blind, having begun with 926,000. After looking down to see she'd been dealt 10♣10♦, Ho asked Farrell how much he had behind, confirming that he had the bigger stack between the two.
Noting her own stack, Ho explains below "I think that's deep enough to play that hand as a call. I think you can four-bet it as well." As David Tuchman observed on the livestream, not only were the stacks deep in terms of big blinds, but all four players involved in the hand had above-average chips at the time as well.
Ho did call as did both Kempe and Bicknell, making the pot 624,000 total when the flop fell 10♥7♥J♥, giving Ho middle set but also making straights or flushes possible.
Farrell paused a short while, then led into the field with an all-in push with the just over 1 million he had left, meaning for Ho to remain in the hand she, too, would have to commit all of her stack.
"In that spot, I know that Niall has either aces with the A♥ or ace-king with the A♥," says Ho, adding as well how the other two players still in the hand could have hands that hit the flop in ways that potentially could be ahead of her set of tens.
"Even if it got heads-up between Niall and I, he's going to have almost 50 percent equity — he has anywhere from 40 to 48 percent, depending what his exact hand is," she adds.
Coupling that with the presence of the other two players in the hand, as well as other variables, Ho made the tough choice to let her hand go.
"I felt like I was making the best decision given all the factors that I had to consider, and not everybody has the knowledge of all the factors that I did," says Ho. Take a look:
If you're curious, you can see the hand archived on the WSOP.com livestream starting at the 1 hour, 9 minute mark.
By the way, Ho was correct about Farrell having the ace of hearts — he had A♥K♣. Meanwhile Kempe had 9♥9♣ and Bicknell A♠J♠, and after Ho's fold they also quickly stepped aside.
Along with Ho, Farrell also made today's last day of play. Be sure to stick with PokerNews to follow the live updates to discover who becomes the next WSOP Europe Main Event champion.
