Ivey vs Mercier

High Stakes Poker, Season 6, 2010 · A Cash Game Episode

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From the same episode as Dwan vs Ivey

The Hand

9♠9♦IveyCoversD
A♥4♥Mercierabout 210K
Q♣6♦HansenNot publishedFolded
9♣5♣ElezraNot publishedFolded
Blinds 600 / 1.2K, ante 100
7♥3♦2♠
7♥3♦2♠8♣
7♥3♦2♠8♣Q♠

Phil Ivey, Jason Mercier, Gus Hansen and Eli Elezra. Blinds 600 / 1.2K, ante 100.

Before the Flop

  • Blinds 600 and 1.2K. Ivey has the button.
  • Hansen raises to 4.2K.
  • Elezra calls.
  • Ivey calls.
  • Mercier raises to 22.1K.
  • Another player folds.
  • Hansen folds.
  • Elezra folds.
  • Ivey calls. Why

    Ivey. Nines are too good to fold against a squeeze from an aggressive player. Re-raising would turn them into a bluff, because better hands do not fold.

The Flop

  • Mercier bets 28.7K.
  • Ivey raises to 78.7K. Why

    Ivey. Nines are an overpair on a low board. Raising charges overcards and draws, and finds out whether the bet was a continuation bet.

  • Mercier raises to 185.1K and is all in.
  • Ivey calls. The famous decision

The Turn

The River

Play Ivey vs Mercier, decision by decision

Play This Hand

The flop

The Famous Decision

Ivey. A squeezer’s range on seven-three-two is full of overcards and draws, such as ace-four with a gutshot. Few hands beat nines here, and the price is good.

Ivey called, and his nines held up.

The Result

Ivey wins at the showdown with Pair of Nines.

Why It Is Famous

Phil Ivey called off a big stack with one pair against a pro’s squeeze and shove, and was right. It is the flip side of the hand where he folded the best hand to Tom Dwan in the same episode.

What to Take from It

Nines are too good to fold against an aggressive squeeze, and a re-raise before the flop would only turn them into a bluff. Call, then let the flop decide.

Sources

What the sources do not say. Mercier squeezed from the small blind. The table size and the final pot are not documented; five players are shown. The blinds, 600 and 1,200 with a 100 ante, are from PokerListings. Mercier’s stack is worked out from the all in, and Ivey covered it.

Make all three decisions, then see what really happened

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Moneymaker against Farha, 2003, replayed in Quads: the turn, Farha bets, and the app asks what Moneymaker does.

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