There are a whole lot of Monday morning Quarterback/poker fans who can look at how a hand went down in a big tournament and start waxing poetic about how the cards should have been played. Most of these people fall into the “blowhard” category. Sometimes an error is so glaring that it needs to be pointed out. While there is almost no such thing as a guarantee when it comes to how a hand will play out, there are certain plays that make that are standard. Sometimes in an effort to be tricky we outsmart ourselves. This is what seems to have happened to Alexander Dovzhenko at the 2009 PokerStars.net EPT as he faced off against Maxim Lykov for the title.
Dovznenko was holding a Jc-10h. His opponent had a rather weak 4h-9d. Maxim raised 220,000 from the button and Dovznenko called the bet. The flop gave them both a pair. The 4s-Jd-7s gave Dovznenko a top pair as compared to Maxim’s pair of fours. This is where it went wrong for Dovznenko. He was the first to act after the flop, and instead of taking control of the hand, he checked. Presumably he expected Lykov to raise from the button, but Maxim checked as well. This was not only a lost betting round for Dovznenko and his top pair, but it also brought another card to the table. The turn turned out to be the winner for Maxim. The four of clubs that was dealt to the board gave Maxim a dominant set, and the hand was pretty much over.
Maxim raised one million, and Dovznenko called all-in. A harmless Ace was the river card and Maxim was the Main Event champion. Had Dovznenko just been aggressive after the flop, Maxim would probably have folded his cards instead of staking his tournament stack on an unsuited 4-9. There is a lesson to be learned here for the rest of us.
