In our Hand of the Week we analyse the fold the whole poker world is talking about by Joe Hachem with Pocket Kings on the 2023 WPT World Championship bubble.
Poker Hand of the Week Setup
We are at the bubble of the 2023 WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas. There are 485 players left and 480 get paid with min-cash being a whopping $18,700 and a staggering %
Blinds are 10,000/15,000 with a 15,000 big blind Ante and Ben Bianco has Joe Hachem easily covered at the start of our Poker Hand of the Week.
Poker Hand of the Week Action
Preflop:
Big stack Ben Bianco raises UTG to 40,000 holding A♠A♣. 2005 WSOP Main Event Champion Joe Hachem then picks up K♣K♥ right behind him and makes it 120,000 to go with only 385K behind.
Everybody folds to Bianco, who puts Joe All-in sending him deep into the tank for more than one minute.
The lone fact that Hachem is thinking for so long in this spot without putting his chips into the middle is remarkable.
What is even more remarkable is that he ends up folding Pocket Kings Preflop and is right as Bianco shows him Pocket Aces!
Poker Hand of the Week Analysis
You don’t see that too often that someone folds Pocket Kings preflop in a poker tournament. However, the question is, is that the right play?
That’s a clear spot, where we have to take a look at the solver. The solver says that in Joe Hachem’s shoes you are supposed to call Pocket Tens and better and AKs.
KK is a very profitable call here, especially given that you have already invested 37% of your stack.
Chris Brewer, one of the best tournament players in the world, agrees with this analysis:
The people who are saying near the bubble so it’s easy and obv are hilarious. I’ll give you guys a hint, 3b folding KK needing 37% equity for chips is not an idea https://t.co/Gh05l6XZVA
— Chris Brewer (@Chris_D_Brewer) December 17, 2023
Poker Hand of the Week Conclusion
Of course there is high ICM pressure, since we are close to the bubble with a sizeable min-cash of $18,700.
Neverthelesss, Pocket Kings is still a highly profitable call and you shouldn’t be folding this hand in that spot.
Important to note is that Joe Hachem is up against the chip leader at the table, who could easily be abusing the bubble and could do that with smaller pocket pairs or Ace-King, which Hachem has crushed.
The major takeaway from this hand is: No matter how great a fold looks on TV, it doesn’t make it the right play.
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Watch the Poker Hand of the Week here:
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