On a board of Amit Makhija is already all in. With 2,000 in the side pot, Howard Lederer was first to act and bet 6,000. His opponent on the button called. The river brought the. Lederer checked. Total life earnings: $2,989,538. Latest cash: $2,353 on 05-Jul-2020. Click here to see the details of Amit Makhija's 93 cashes. Amit Makhija at the WSOP It's been nearly a decade since Amit Makhija established himself as an emerging force in the poker world, and since then he's cemented himself as one of the top players in.
Amit Makhija played Event #16, a $5,000 no-limit hold'em event that started yesterday and by dinner break had one of the biggest chip stacks in the field due in large part to a hero call. He took a break from the tournament to discuss the hand with PokerNews.
Fill us in on how you'd been playing up to this point?
I had been playing on the tight side. I had just won a coin flip and was up to 26,000 to start the hand. I was feeling good. I was playing tight, but every pot I played seemed to be a big pot.
Tell us about the hand.
So the opponent in this hand had not been opening very often, he'd been pretty tight, but when he did open, he had a lot of suited hands in his range. There were just game-flow times that he was looking to steal that I thought were fairly obvious. He also had a tell I picked up on when I saw him show down a couple pretty bad hands. He was tight, but he definitely had some spew in him. Also, my read on him was that he wasn't capable of value-betting extremely thin.
So he raised to 900 with the blinds at 150-300. I flatted in position with pocket threes. The flop comes , two clubs. He hesitantly fired 1,500. He looked pretty nervous and bobbled the 500 chip when he was putting it in. I decided to look him up and called.
If you thought he was weak, did you think about raising since your hand is pretty vulnerable?
I think a raise is definitely a viable option on the flop, and I thought about it, but against him, I thought it'd be better to call. I thought he had nothing, and I thought he might bluff off a little more. Against someone who I think is capable of value-betting thin on multiple streets, I might raise there. Against him, though, it's either a good hand or just complete air. He was checking his mid-pair type hands, and so I think it's more valuable to call. It's almost like a trapping situation. I decided to peel one off and reevaluate.
The turn was a jack, bringing a backdoor flush draw with two hearts on the board now. I think he has both flush draws in his range for sure, and I just still stuck with my read that he didn't have much and that he wasn't capable of value-betting thin, so I called. I thought he'd bet an ace-king or king-queen hand like this, but I think on the river,he'd check to me with those hands if a brick came and try to get me to bluff off.
On the turn, I don't really think about raising because I don't think he's folding any part of his value range to me. If I'm going to raise this hand, it's going to be on the flop. It's too expensive to do it on the turn. It just would have been awkward with stacks.
So when the river came a complete brick, an off-suit five or something, he shoved for 15,000, which was most of my chips. It was definitely bigger than a pot-size bet, and he just looked really uncomfortable. My read on the flop was that he was weak, and I just can't imagine a hand he's doing this with for value unless he rivered a set or something, but I don't think he'd ever play a low pair that way. I just thought that most of his range was draws. I took a long time to think about it, and talked to him a bit, which seemed to make him uncomfortable too. I usually don't make a lot of hero calls, but everything was just telling me to call. I was pretty sure he didn't have anything, but I was worried he could be bluffing with a better hand than mine. I ended up looking him up, and he said, 'Nice call,' and flipped over nine-eight of hearts.
So because this opponent was not capable of value-betting a lot of hands here, you could make this call?
Right. If it was someone who was good, like a cash-game player whose ranges are balanced and can recognize that my range is extra weak in this spot, and could value-bet big here with a king or even second pair, I have to fold. Against this specific player who doesn't value-bet thinly, his range is super polarized. That, along with my read on his demeanor led me to make this call.
During a break, Makhija talked to the PokerNews video team a little bit about the hand and also was the subject of the latest edition of Calling the Clock.
Makhija ended Day 1 of this event with 90,000 in chips and returning for Day 2 this afternoon. Follow the action by staying tuned in to PokerNews.com Live Updates.
Tags
WSOP CircuitTournament StrategyBeginner strategyIntermediate strategyRelated Tournaments
World Series of Poker Circuit
Every Thursday, Card Player sits down with some of the best in the game to discuss pivotal hands from the week's biggest tournaments on the circuit.
This week, while covering the World Poker Tour Legends of Poker tournament at the Bicycle Casino, we spoke to final table chip leader Amit Makhija about the hand that gave him his lead. Makhija entered day 4 with a large stack already, but took advantage of a mistake made by an opponent to give him a massive lead on the rest of the field. It was a lead that proved to be insurmountable as Makhija used his chips to bully his tablemates before the final six were set.
Makhija plays online as AMAK316 and is no stranger to the grind that playing 10 tables on a Sunday can be. Makhija has earned more than $350,000 in Online Player of the Year-qualifying events alone. Having said that, he has already proven himself on the live circuit, as well, earning another $350,000 in the last year with more to come Thursday night. After going deep at the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo, Makhija followed that up with a final-table finish at the World Series of Poker. Tonight, he goes for his first WPT win.
Event/Blinds-Antes | WPT Legends of Poker | 6,000-12,000 with a 2,000 ante |
Player | Amit Makhija | Ron Jenkins |
Chip Count | 850,000 | 750,000 |
Hand | A J | 9 7 |
Philip Stark raised to 36,000 on the button, and Ron Jenkins made the call from the small blind. Amit Makhija reraised to 110,000 from the big blind, and Stark got out of the way.
Jenkins called, and the flop came down J 6 5. Jenkins led out for 120,000, and Makhija reraised to 260,000. Jenkins called.
The turn was the 5, pairing the board, and Jenkins moved all in for 380,000. Makhija, covering Jenkins by just 100,000, instantly called and tabled A,J. Jenkins showed 97 for a gutshot with a flush draw, and the river 9 wasn't enough for Jenkins.
Makhija took the pot and increased his stack to 1.65 million, a dominating lead at that time in the tournament.
The Interview
Julio Rodriguez: You repopped it from the big blind. Were you squeezing or just getting value from your hand?
Amit Makhija: Well, it was a squeeze, but I also knew my hand was good. The guy on the button [Philip Stark] had like 30 big blinds, and he was raising pretty wide. So, I thought by reraising from the big blind, I would call if he decided to shove. The other guy [Ron Jenkins] I hadposition on, and I figured he was flatting with any two cards. I'm holding A-J suited, and that is so far ahead of his range in that spot.
Amit Makhija Poker Game
JR: What's your opinion of your opponent at this point?
AM: To be honest, he was kind of donkish. He was playing a lot of hands and playing them passively out of position. I kind of wanted him to call me, because we were both pretty deep at that point. I knew he was kind of looney and would stack off to me pretty light.
JR: He leads the flop for 120,000. Doesn't that seem like a kind of funky bet considering his action preflop?
AM: Uh, no. That's pretty normal for bad players. When they flop nothing, they try to lead in and take down pots because they don't want to risk too many chips with a check-raise. The problem with that thinking is that they have a hard time representing something big, because if they had a monster, they would check it hoping to get maximum value.
JR: What kind of hand were you putting him on?
AM: I figured he was just holding a weak draw, or maybe air, and I wanted to keep him in the pot, so I decided to raise pretty small. I made it 260,000, which was just over a min-raise.
JR: Do you think that your small reraise forced him to stay in the pot given how much he already had put in?
AM: No, he snap-called me. His chips went into the pot immediately after I raised. He snap-fired out and then snap-called my raise. I knew, at that point, that he had nothing and was planning something weird on the turn to try to take it away.
JR: Well, you were right. He open-shoved the turn.
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I think a raise is definitely a viable option on the flop, and I thought about it, but against him, I thought it'd be better to call. I thought he had nothing, and I thought he might bluff off a little more. Against someone who I think is capable of value-betting thin on multiple streets, I might raise there. Against him, though, it's either a good hand or just complete air. He was checking his mid-pair type hands, and so I think it's more valuable to call. It's almost like a trapping situation. I decided to peel one off and reevaluate.
The turn was a jack, bringing a backdoor flush draw with two hearts on the board now. I think he has both flush draws in his range for sure, and I just still stuck with my read that he didn't have much and that he wasn't capable of value-betting thin, so I called. I thought he'd bet an ace-king or king-queen hand like this, but I think on the river,he'd check to me with those hands if a brick came and try to get me to bluff off.
On the turn, I don't really think about raising because I don't think he's folding any part of his value range to me. If I'm going to raise this hand, it's going to be on the flop. It's too expensive to do it on the turn. It just would have been awkward with stacks.
So when the river came a complete brick, an off-suit five or something, he shoved for 15,000, which was most of my chips. It was definitely bigger than a pot-size bet, and he just looked really uncomfortable. My read on the flop was that he was weak, and I just can't imagine a hand he's doing this with for value unless he rivered a set or something, but I don't think he'd ever play a low pair that way. I just thought that most of his range was draws. I took a long time to think about it, and talked to him a bit, which seemed to make him uncomfortable too. I usually don't make a lot of hero calls, but everything was just telling me to call. I was pretty sure he didn't have anything, but I was worried he could be bluffing with a better hand than mine. I ended up looking him up, and he said, 'Nice call,' and flipped over nine-eight of hearts.
So because this opponent was not capable of value-betting a lot of hands here, you could make this call?
Right. If it was someone who was good, like a cash-game player whose ranges are balanced and can recognize that my range is extra weak in this spot, and could value-bet big here with a king or even second pair, I have to fold. Against this specific player who doesn't value-bet thinly, his range is super polarized. That, along with my read on his demeanor led me to make this call.
During a break, Makhija talked to the PokerNews video team a little bit about the hand and also was the subject of the latest edition of Calling the Clock.
Makhija ended Day 1 of this event with 90,000 in chips and returning for Day 2 this afternoon. Follow the action by staying tuned in to PokerNews.com Live Updates.
Tags
WSOP CircuitTournament StrategyBeginner strategyIntermediate strategyRelated Tournaments
World Series of Poker Circuit
Every Thursday, Card Player sits down with some of the best in the game to discuss pivotal hands from the week's biggest tournaments on the circuit.
This week, while covering the World Poker Tour Legends of Poker tournament at the Bicycle Casino, we spoke to final table chip leader Amit Makhija about the hand that gave him his lead. Makhija entered day 4 with a large stack already, but took advantage of a mistake made by an opponent to give him a massive lead on the rest of the field. It was a lead that proved to be insurmountable as Makhija used his chips to bully his tablemates before the final six were set.
Makhija plays online as AMAK316 and is no stranger to the grind that playing 10 tables on a Sunday can be. Makhija has earned more than $350,000 in Online Player of the Year-qualifying events alone. Having said that, he has already proven himself on the live circuit, as well, earning another $350,000 in the last year with more to come Thursday night. After going deep at the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo, Makhija followed that up with a final-table finish at the World Series of Poker. Tonight, he goes for his first WPT win.
Event/Blinds-Antes | WPT Legends of Poker | 6,000-12,000 with a 2,000 ante |
Player | Amit Makhija | Ron Jenkins |
Chip Count | 850,000 | 750,000 |
Hand | A J | 9 7 |
Philip Stark raised to 36,000 on the button, and Ron Jenkins made the call from the small blind. Amit Makhija reraised to 110,000 from the big blind, and Stark got out of the way.
Jenkins called, and the flop came down J 6 5. Jenkins led out for 120,000, and Makhija reraised to 260,000. Jenkins called.
The turn was the 5, pairing the board, and Jenkins moved all in for 380,000. Makhija, covering Jenkins by just 100,000, instantly called and tabled A,J. Jenkins showed 97 for a gutshot with a flush draw, and the river 9 wasn't enough for Jenkins.
Makhija took the pot and increased his stack to 1.65 million, a dominating lead at that time in the tournament.
The Interview
Julio Rodriguez: You repopped it from the big blind. Were you squeezing or just getting value from your hand?
Amit Makhija: Well, it was a squeeze, but I also knew my hand was good. The guy on the button [Philip Stark] had like 30 big blinds, and he was raising pretty wide. So, I thought by reraising from the big blind, I would call if he decided to shove. The other guy [Ron Jenkins] I hadposition on, and I figured he was flatting with any two cards. I'm holding A-J suited, and that is so far ahead of his range in that spot.
Amit Makhija Poker Game
JR: What's your opinion of your opponent at this point?
AM: To be honest, he was kind of donkish. He was playing a lot of hands and playing them passively out of position. I kind of wanted him to call me, because we were both pretty deep at that point. I knew he was kind of looney and would stack off to me pretty light.
JR: He leads the flop for 120,000. Doesn't that seem like a kind of funky bet considering his action preflop?
AM: Uh, no. That's pretty normal for bad players. When they flop nothing, they try to lead in and take down pots because they don't want to risk too many chips with a check-raise. The problem with that thinking is that they have a hard time representing something big, because if they had a monster, they would check it hoping to get maximum value.
JR: What kind of hand were you putting him on?
AM: I figured he was just holding a weak draw, or maybe air, and I wanted to keep him in the pot, so I decided to raise pretty small. I made it 260,000, which was just over a min-raise.
JR: Do you think that your small reraise forced him to stay in the pot given how much he already had put in?
AM: No, he snap-called me. His chips went into the pot immediately after I raised. He snap-fired out and then snap-called my raise. I knew, at that point, that he had nothing and was planning something weird on the turn to try to take it away.
JR: Well, you were right. He open-shoved the turn.
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AM: Yeah, he open-shoved [to put me all in] for about the other half of his stack. I didn't even have to think about it. I called, knowing I was way ahead. The turn paired the board with a five, but there's no way he's open-shoving trip fives there. The board wasn't exactly scary, so he'd probably try to get some value.
As it turns out, he picked up a diamond draw with his gutshot, but the way he bet the turn, it was almost as if the diamond draw was just a fortunate coincidence for his hand. I'm pretty sure that he would have shoved the turn even if he didn't pick up the extra outs. He looked like a pretty conservative guy, but I knew better because of a hand that Maria Ho told me about the day before that showed me that he likes to get out of line.
If I hadn't played with him before, it may have been a tougher spot for me. The entire day, he was making bets that just didn't make any sense. It was like he wanted to be aggressive but just didn't know how.
JR: Would you ever use his line for a situation like this?
AM: Not for this situation. If I were him, I would've moved all in on the flop, that way he might actually have shown a little strength. I was calling, anyway, but it would've been a bet that made much more sense. Perros jugando poker pintura original del.
I might use his line when I have a strong hand against players who don't know me and think I'm some random person. It looks really weak, and sometimes aggressive players will sense that.
JR: So, it's not too terrible of a line if you have a big hand?
AM: Exactly. He just did it backwards. [Laughing] He did it like every bad player does it … with a bad hand.
Amit Makhija Poker Rules
JR: If only you thought he was a good player, it would have worked perfectly.
Amit Makhija Poker Games
AM: [Laughing] Probably not. I pretty much had the nuts on that flop.