Nguyen Takes a Hit

Chad Holloway

Kenny Nguyen opened for 2,200 from middle position only to have the player in the cutoff three-bet to 5,300. The button and blinds got out of the way, Nguyen made the call, and it was heads up to the {7-Hearts} {10-Diamonds} {4-Spades} flop. Nguyen, who has been sitting on a monster stack much of the day, decided to lead out for 5,500, which the cutoff called without so much as a moment's thought.

The dealer then burned and turned the {10-Clubs} , and Nguyen tossed out four orange T5,000 chips for a bet of 20,000. This time the cutoff, who had 15,050, thought for about seven seconds before committing his stack. "Good call," Nguyen said as he tables {K-Spades} {Q-Spades} . "You have an ace, right?"

Sure enough, the cutoff showed the {A-Diamonds} {K-Diamonds} and proved that he did in fact make a good call. "Ahhh, I knew he had that," Nguyen said with a smile. "Nice hand." The harmless {9-Clubs} was put out on the river and Nguyen doubled his opponent, dropping to 106,000 in the process.