Old School vs New School: Negreanu Breaks Down 'Rounders' Final Hand
Table Of Contents
The latest episode of Daniel Negreanu's Old School vs New School series has been released, and features arguably one of the most famous hands of all time.
Of course, it's the final hand from the movie Rounders starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton, with protagonist Mike McDermott taking on the formidable Teddy KGB.
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Mike McDermott vs Teddy KGB
Here's the hand how it plays out:
Mike McDermott sits with 8♠9♠ and $400 is in the pot pre-flop. The flop comes 6♦7♠10♥ and McDermott checks-calls a bet of $2,000 from Teddy KGB.
The turn is the 2♣. McDermott checks again and Teddy KGB bets the pot or $4,400. McDermott calls.
The river is the A♠. McDermott checks for the third time and Teddy KGB moves all in for $23,900 into a pot of $13,200. McDermott calls with his straight and takes down the pot.
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The Analysis
Negreanu admits the analysis pre-flop is a little ropey, but focuses on his analysis on post-flop.
In his old-school section of the video, the analysis is far more straight forward. Having flopped the nut straight, Negreanu says that it's much easier to just call and let Teddy KGB keep betting.
"He's saying I have a really good hand here. But again, I don't feel like I need to raise him. If he's got a really good hand he'll just bet for me on the river. And if he's bluffing, you let him bluff."
"Teddy makes a play that doesn't make any sense on this board texture..."
Whereas in the new school analysis, Negreanu focuses much more on Teddy KGB's line and whether the line makes any sense. He also talks about the frequency McDermott should be check-raising flop or indeed leading on the turn.
"Teddy makes a play that doesn't make any sense on this board texture," says Negreanu. "He bets 5x pot [on the flop]. You're not going to see any solvers doing this, especially on a board texture like that where the nuts is clearly defined. An overbet like this would make more sense on a disconnected board."
To check out the full analysis, you'll have to watch the video yourself!
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What Did Teddy KGB Have?
In addition to the analysis, Negreanu also takes the opportunity to answer one of the most-often posed questions in poker - What did Teddy KGB have?
Negreanu starts off by assuming that from Teddy's reaction, he took a bad beat. He also attempts to use some new school knowledge to eliminate certain hands like pocket tens, that would have given Teddy top set on the flop.
"By using game theory in concert with physical reads you can eliminate part of his range," says Negreanu. "If he had aces he's kind of over-playing them. Although he did jam river with an overbet.
"When Mike calls this flop for 5x pot, what does Teddy think he has! If he has aces, then it's poor overplay from Teddy KGB!"
Again, you'll have to check out the video yourself to see what Negreanu ends up deciding Teddy had!
Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.
