WPT Four-time Champion: Darren Elias Shares Insight into Exploiting Opponent’s Betting Patterns
Darren Elias, a four-time World Poker Tour (WPT) champion from the United States, is a master at detecting his opponents’ tendencies and maximizing the use of this information to his advantage.
In this article, Elias analyzes three key hands he played against Christopher Rosso at the final table of the 2014 WPT Caribbean Main Event. By gathering crucial information about Rosso’s betting patterns in the first two hands, Elias made an important call in the third hand that greatly shifted the game in his favor.
Hand 1
There were four players left at the final table. Blind levels were at 4,000/8,000/1,000.
Pre-flop Action and Analysis
Mike Linster (489,000 chips) raised to 17,000 with 6♣4♣ from the CO position. Christopher Rosso (2,189,000 chips) re-raised to 40,000 with A♣A♦ from the button, and Linster called. Pot: 96,000.
Linster should have folded 6♣4♣, even in a four-handed game. He had the chip leader to his left and the small blind had a short stack, so he should have tightened his pre-flop range.
Rosso’s 3-betting range with pocket aces and his bet sizing were both good. It should be noted that Rosso is a loose player.
Linster, who made the marginal initial raise, should have folded to the 3-bet. However, he chose to call and bring this hand to the flop.
Flop Action and Analysis
Flop: 5♠Q♣J♠
Linster checked, and Rosso bet 100,000.
The result of this hand is not important. What’s important is that Elias noticed that Rosso made a pot-sized continuation bet with his overpair on a board that is likely to hit many callers’ ranges. He will later use this information about Rosso’s bet sizing to his advantage.
Hand 2
Two short-stacked players had been eliminated, and Elias was now heads-up against Rosso, vying for the WPT championship title. Blind levels were at 8,000/16,000/2,000.
Pre-flop Action and Analysis
Elias (679,000 chips) raised to 32,000 with A♠J♥ from the button, and Rosso (2,800,000 chips) called with Q♦3♦. Pot: 68,000.
Both players’ pre-flop actions were very standard.
Flop Action and Analysis
Flop: 5♣A♥4♠
Rosso checked, and Elias bet 33,000. Rosso called. Pot: 134,000.
Elias had a hand worth betting, and Rosso’s gutshot with a Q-high was enough to continue against Elias’s wide range from the button.
Turn Action and Analysis
Turn: 8♠
Rosso bet 45,000, and Elias called. Pot: 224,000.
Faced with Rosso’s leading bet, Elias had little choice but to call with his top pair. This is especially true against a loose recreational player who might bluff with hands that should not be bluffed in this situation.
Elias paid special attention to the bet sizing Rosso chose here. Unlike in the first hand, where Rosso made a pot-sized bet with his overpair on the flop, Rosso’s bet sizing was reduced to around 33% of the pot this time.
River Action and Analysis
River: 5♠, making the board 5♣A♥4♠8♠5♠.
Rosso bet 60,000, and Elias called.
Elias easily called this small bet again. But more importantly, as the heads-up match progressed, this hand revealed another piece of information about Rosso’s bet sizing tendencies.
As Elias put it, “In the first hand, we saw him bet pot with a good hand. In the second hand, he bet 30% pot on the turn with a bluff, and 25% pot on the river. When we piece all this information together and observe more hands, it seems to confirm a hypothesis: Rosso’s bet sizing is based on his hand strength rather than any fundamental board structure or range calculation.”
Hand 3
As the heads-up match progressed, the chip counts of the two players became very close.
Blind levels were at 12,000/24,000/4,000.
Pre-flop Action and Analysis
Rosso (1,900,000 chips) raised to 60,000 with Q♠7♦ from the button, and Elias (1,600,000 chips) called with A♥9♦ from the big blind. Pot: 132,000.
Both players’ pre-flop actions were standard given their chip stacks and positions.
Flop Action and Analysis
Flop: 6♣10♦3♠
Elias checked, and Rosso bet 60,000. Elias called. Pot: 252,000.
Rosso’s continuation bet with his gutshot was standard, and Elias’s call with his gutshot and backdoor flush draw was also standard.
Turn Action and Analysis
Turn: K♦
Elias checked, and Rosso bet 160,000. Elias called. Pot: 572,000.
Rosso’s bet sizing on the turn was consistent with his previous bet sizing tendencies. However, Elias’s call was not standard. He chose to call with just a gutshot and a backdoor flush draw, which may seem like a risky play. However, Elias had observed Rosso’s tendency to make small bets with weak hands and large bets with strong hands. Therefore, Elias thought that Rosso’s large bet on the turn might indicate that he had hit his draw or had a very strong hand.
River Action and Analysis
River: 4♥, making the board 6♣10♦3♠K♦4♥.
Elias checked, and Rosso bet 320,000.
This is where Elias’s previous observations and analysis paid off. He deduced that Rosso’s large bet on the turn was likely a sign of strength. Therefore, when Rosso made another large bet on the river, Elias decided to fold his gutshot and backdoor flush draw.
By folding in this situation, Elias avoided a potentially costly mistake and preserved his chip stack. Rosso’s large bet on the river indicated that he had a strong hand, which Elias correctly deduced.
Conclusion
Darren Elias’s ability to analyze his opponent’s tendencies and adjust his play accordingly is what makes him such a successful poker player. In this particular heads-up match, Elias’s observations about Rosso’s bet sizing tendencies allowed him to make a crucial fold on the river and preserve his chip stack. By understanding your opponent’s tendencies and exploiting them to your advantage, you too can become a successful poker player.