Don’t forget element of surprise

Many pros express frustration that their raises don’t always get a lot of respect because amateurs want to beat them in a pot or go home with a story if they lose to the name player.

To counter that, a lot of pros will take some shots with surprising hands that can both take down a big pot and send a message to the table, as top pro Michael Mizrachi did in this hand from the 2010 World Series of Poker $10,000-buy-in main event.

With blinds at $100-$200, the player in Seat 5 limped. Mizrachi found 2-6 of hearts in the cutoff and decided that his sizable stack allowed him to gamble, so he limped as well. The player on the button raised to $1,000, getting a call from the original limper and Mizrachi.

“I knew my deuce-6 of hearts would play well against big cards,” said Mizrachi, who won the 2010 WSOP Players Championship bracelet. “Against a raiser heads-up, I might fold. However, I had a lot of chips to play with, so I figured I’d take a shot at it.

“The kid on the button was pretty aggressive, so I figured if I had a big flop, I could check-raise him. A lot of guys don’t believe me. Every time I raise, I get four or five callers. It seems everybody wants to beat me. Maybe it’s camera time. They just want to beat me in a pot, a good one or bad one, I guess.” The flop came Q-2-6, two diamonds, giving Mizrachi bottom two pair while putting out a flush draw. All three players checked.

The turn came the 2 of clubs, giving Mizrachi a full house.

“The first guy led out for $2,000,” said Mizrachi, who also has won two World Poker Tour main events. “I’m hoping the guy behind me might have kings or aces. I doubt it, but I wanted to see. I just called because the guy who led out seemed more like a bluffer. I called him just so he could bluff the river. The guy behind me called, which shocked me a little.”

The river came the 8 of clubs.

“I was a little worried because I thought the guy in the last seat might have 7s, 8s, 10s or jacks,” Mizrachi said, “and if he had 8s, I was a little worried I got rivered.

“The first guy led out for $6,000. I took my time because every time I took my time, I ended up folding. This time I made a big raise in hopes it would show a little weakness.”

Mizrachi raised to $16,700. The player on the button folded. The player in Seat 5 called, then mucked his cards when he saw Mizrachi’s surprising deuces over 6s.

“People wouldn’t put me on that hand in that position when I’m calling a raise,” said Mizrachi, who made the final table of the 2010 main event, with the tournament concluding in November.

“I like to take big shots like that when I have a big stack.”

Table talk

The button: The player who acts last in each betting hand after the flop.

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