Dwan vs Ivey

High Stakes Poker, Season 6, 2010. A six-handed table.

Two of the game’s biggest names

Why it is famous

Tom Dwan squeezed before the flop and bet every street with nine-high. Phil Ivey, holding the better hand, thought for over three minutes and folded. Ivey said while thinking, "This is gonna be the sickest call of all time."

What to take from it

A great player can make the right fold against the wrong hand. A call would have won here.

The hand

Ivey A♦6♦

Negreanu J♣3♣

Dwan 9♠8♠

Laak A♠9♦

Elezra A♣7♣

Before the flop

Blinds 400 and 800. Ivey has the button.

Laak raises to 3.9K.

Elezra calls.

Another player folds.

Ivey calls.

Negreanu calls.

Dwan raises to 28.9K.

Laak folds.

Elezra folds.

Ivey calls.

Negreanu folds.

The flop

Board K♦Q♣10♦

Dwan bets 45.8K.

Ivey calls.

The turn

Board K♦Q♣10♦3♠

Dwan bets 123.2K.

Ivey calls.

The river

Board K♦Q♣10♦3♠6♣

Dwan bets 268.2K.

Ivey folds.

Dwan wins the pot.

The decisions

Dwan. Players who only call a raise rarely hold a premium hand, since those usually re-raise. A big squeeze often wins the pot already in the middle. When it is called, Dwan’s range looks like big pairs and ace-king.
Dwan. Ivey’s calls fit a draw that missed or a medium hand. Dwan’s line, a squeeze and then a bet on every street, tells a story of ace-king, kings or a set. Only a big bet folds a pair.
Ivey. Sixes beat only a bluff, and Dwan’s line is the strongest-looking line in poker. Folding is usually right here. Ivey folded the best hand, and Dwan won with nine-high. A call would have won, but the fold was a reasonable one.

What the sources do not say. Ivey’s seat is not documented. The pot fixes a six-handed table with the small blind calling, which could be Ivey or Negreanu. Ivey is shown on the button and Negreanu in the small blind, which fits the order the callers are named in. The stacks are approximate: Ivey had over a million and Dwan about $800,000.

Sources

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.