Booth vs Ivey
High Stakes Poker, Season 3, 2007. A deep-stacked cash game.
A low flop, a deep stack and a big decision
Why it is famous
Brad Booth moved in $300,000 with four-high and a gutshot, and Phil Ivey folded a pair of kings. A giant bet on a scary board is a story, and the question is which hands tell it.
What to take from it
Ask which hands tell it.
The hand
Booth 4♠2♠
Ivey K♦K♥
Before the flop
Blinds are posted. Booth has the button.
Williams raises to 1.8K.
Booth raises to 5.8K.
Another player folds.
Ivey raises to 14K.
Williams folds.
Booth calls.
The flop
Board 7♠6♦3♦
Ivey bets 23K.
Booth raises to 300K and is all in.
Ivey folds.
Booth wins the pot.
The decisions
- Booth. With stacks this deep, a cheap call lets Booth try to outplay Ivey after the flop on a board that misses big pairs. A shove before the flop would only get called by better hands.
- Booth. A low, connected board rarely helps a player who re-raised twice before the flop. Booth’s call could be a pair that just made a set. The enormous overbet asks Ivey whether kings are worth $300,000.
- Ivey. A player who calls a re-raise and then shoves several times the pot on seven-six-three most often has a set or two pair. Kings beat only bluffs and draws. Ivey folded the best hand, and the fold lost to a bluff this time.
What the sources do not say. The blinds, the stacks and the exact pot are not documented, so no figures for them are shown and prices are given in words. Ivey’s seat is disputed: PokerNews says small blind and CardPlayer big blind. What Williams did over Ivey’s re-raise is not documented. He is shown folding, because the hand goes on without him. The second source has no link.
Sources
- PokerNews, memorable High Stakes Poker hands (2010)
- CardPlayer (cited by the research for the seat dispute and the same action; no link)
Practise it in 5 minutes Play this hand, one decision at a time.
Quads is for adults, 18 and over. It teaches with play chips only: there is no real money, ever.