Chidwick vs Rajkumar
Triton Poker, London, 2019 · Final Table, Seven Players Left
A final table in the biggest event of its day
The Hand
Vivek Rajkumar and Stephen Chidwick. Blinds 100K / 200K.
Before the Flop
- Blinds 100K and 200K. Rajkumar has the button.
- Four other players fold.
- Rajkumar raises to 450K.
- Another player folds.
- Chidwick calls.
The Flop
- Chidwick checks.
- Rajkumar bets 300K.
- Chidwick calls.
The Turn
- Chidwick checks.
- Rajkumar bets 850K.
Chidwick calls. Why
Chidwick. The button attacks the big blind with a wide range. Many of his bets on jack-nine-queen are straight and flush draws or overcards, and Chidwick’s jack beats them all.
The River
- Chidwick checks.
- Rajkumar moves all in.
- Chidwick calls all in. The famous decision
Play Chidwick vs Rajkumar, decision by decision
Play This Hand
The river
The Famous Decision
Chidwick. The river missed every draw, so a shove here is either a hand that beats his (a queen, or a jack with a better kicker) or a missed draw. Chidwick judged there were enough missed draws, and he was right.
Chidwick called for his tournament, and his pair of jacks beat ace-high.
The Result
Chidwick wins at the showdown with Pair of Jacks.
- RajkumarA♠8♣
- ChidwickJ♦5♦Wins
Why It Is Famous
In the biggest buy-in event ever held at the time, Stephen Chidwick called an all in on the river with second pair and a weak kicker, for his tournament life. He doubled up, and finished fourth.
What to Take from It
When the river misses every draw, weigh the missed draws against the hands that beat you. With enough of them, one pair can call.
Sources
What the sources do not say. Every bet size comes from one report, which is why the pot and the prices are given in words where they rest on it. The ante and Chidwick’s starting stack are not documented. Only the players in the hand are drawn. The size of Rajkumar’s all in is not shown. Chidwick had 2.9 million left on the river.
Make both decisions, then see what really happened
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