10 High Stakes Texas Hold’em Hands with Pro Melika Razavi

High stakes regular, magician, pageant queen, and CoinPoker ambassador Melika Razavi loves hitting the high stakes cash game tables. To give our community some insight into her pot-winning strategies, Melika will walk you through 10 great high-roller hands step-by-step.

High Stakes Hand #1: Melika vs Fedow

On a 100/200 No Limit Hold’Em table I open the from BTN to 600 (I like to open 3x from this position). As a result, Sb folds and BB (fedow) defends.

The flop is 2h 8d 5s, making it a dry board with no flush draw and low cards. This means fedow will not have many two-pairs in his range. He most likely has folded all the off-suit two pairs (i.e. 2-5, 2-8, and 5-8) preflop.

Most likely we have all the overpairs while fedow does not since he only called preflop.
For these reasons, I like to c-bet very widely here. I bet almost my whole range; 1/3. By choosing a smaller sized bet, I am able to make enough cheap bluffs, which I can get away easily, to make the wide c-bet range profitable.

Against most players’ defending tendencies, I believe it’s very profitable to c-bet all pairs and at least some Ace high combos such as A3 and A4 for value.

Usually players with trips on boards this face-up will almost always go for a check-raise or check-call.”

So I bet 450 and fedow calls.

The turn is 8C and fedow decides to donk-bet half the pot. In this spot, I really don’t believe that he has an 8. Usually, players with trips on boards this face-up (8 high on the flop and an 8 on the turn) will almost always go for a check-raise or check-call.

I decided to call to let him bluff the river as there’s really no point in raising at this moment.

The river is 6h and fedow snap-checks.

At this point, I put him on a hand that’s either complete air, a small pair, or 6-7, 6-9, 4-6, 5-6, etc. I bet slightly over half the pot with 1800the on Rive. He calls and I win the pot.

High Stakes Hand #2: Melika vs Wajahat96 & Oribatej

1. I don’t mind getting the money in with a flush draw against a short stack when there is dead money in the pot. This probably only happens when SB has a Q or a draw himself.
2. I can make Oribatej fold some pairs, like a weak Q, 9-9, or J-J, plus I make him fold his bluffs and straight draws.
3. My raise looks strong to both players. I assume these players understand that I cannot be doing this check raise against two players unless I have a flush draw, two pairs, or a set. I gain a lot of respect when I check-raise, and it’s not fun to be out of position without initiative with a 4 high flush draw.

Therefore, I check-raised to 6000 to put SB all-in, and both players called.

He checks behind with Aces, which I think is a huge mistake.”

High Stakes Hand #5: Melika vs Leroy

I minimum raise 200 from the cutoff with 7c-9c and Leroy 3bets from the button to 750, a position where we can expect a large number of 3bet bluffs.

I would guess that, on average, a random button 3bets a random cutoff player between 5-25% of the time, and up to half of those times it will be a bluff.”

I would guess that, on average, a random button 3bets a random cutoff player between 5-25% of the time, and up to half of those times it will be a bluff. Out of position, this suited one-gapper hand is no good to call in my opinion.

I’d rather call with a hand like 8c-9c or 9c-10c that would be able to defend itself better out of position against a 3bet range.  However, 7c-9c is still a hand with lots of equity against premium hands, so it’s also too good of a hand to fold. That’s why I decided to add 79s to my 4bet bluff range.

I 4bet to 1,900 and Leroy calls.

The flop gives us a very dry 7d 3c 3h rainbow.

I assume my opponent would 5bet shove all-in with AK and all overpairs higher than tens pre-flop most of the time for 100 big blinds.”

In this scenario, I would be in the lead most of the time, except on rare occasions when my opponent would decide to slow-play an overpair. I assume my opponent would 5bet shove all-in with Ac-Kh and all overpairs higher than tens pre-flop most of the time for 100 big blinds.

On this board, I decide to bet very small (1/4) with my entire range. Leroy will be forced to call Kc and Ah high when I bet 1,000.

He calls my 1,000 into 4,000 and the turn comes with a Qc giving me a flush draw.

The pot is now at 6,000 and I have 3 options. Bet small again, over-bet shove, or check-call. I prefer check-calling with a mid-pair and flush draw turn here for the following reasons:

1. My opponent might bluff their Ah  and Kc high combos
2. Only a better hand would call my all-in, and there’s no reason to value shove when I can bluff-catch
3. I am not scared of the river anymore now that I can hit a flush and get paid
4. When I check-call all-in I can sometimes get it in with the best hand or with a hand that can improve on the river and win

I check and Leroy checks behind.

The river is a blank 4d that doesn’t change anything, so I check again for the same reasons as on the turn. The plan works and Leroy goes all-in 7,100 into 6,000 with 5s-Kd. A hand he should have let go and folded a total of three times in this hand analysis.

There are just too many floats pre-flop and during the flop that are in his range for me not to think that he would turn some of them into a bluff river. In the end, my pair of sevens wins the pot.

High Stakes Hand #6: Melika vs Ennuye

Ennuye opens with 6,000 and I 3bet 24,000 with Qh-Ks. It’s a strong value hand heads-up and it can call a 4bet if Ennuye decides to raise to 50-70,000.

Instead of raising, my opponent calls and the flop is 4h 9d 3s rainbow. King high is not as good as Ace high to be check-calling with for showdown value, so I’d rather bet to try and pick up some equity. I bet 16,000 (1/3) and Ennuye flats.

The turn is 10h, and I pick up some gutshot equity.

None of the other cards are worth continuity betting without equity.”

My plan on the turn here is to continue to bet on a 10, J, Q, K, or A. None of the other cards are worth continuity betting without equity since we only have overcards and our opponent will most likely call all of his pairs.

Ennuye calls and the river completes the backdoor flush with 6h. I decided to shove all-in 196,000 into 300,000 for the following reasons:

1. The river is a good card for me since I now have many flush and straight combos, plus I have a heart in my hand so I’m blocking him from some flush combos
2. Ennuye will have to fold all his single pairs, and it’s hard for him to call with less than 2 pairs or a set as I can’t have that many bluffs (I don’t think he would assume I have gone bananas on both the turn and river without any equity)
3. I would have played the same way with value hands 5h-7h or 7h-8h for a straight when I 3bet them, as I would have many suited heart combos and also 9h-10c, 9s-9h,  and 10s-10c when I shove the river.

It would cost him 196,000 to win a 692,000 pot which means he needs to win 28% of the time when he calls.”

The only bluffs I can have are KQ, KJs, QJs, 10Js, 7Js, 8Js, A2s and A5s. These are not enough bluff combos for him to make a loose hero call. It would cost him 196,000 to win a 692,000 pot which means he needs to win 28% of the time when he calls (196000/692000=0.28)

Ennuye makes the correct fold and the bluff is successful.

High Stakes Hand #7: Melika vs JeSuisJP

I raise with Ah-Jh from small blind to 400, and JeSuisJP1963 3betsmy open-raise to 1,200 from the big blind. I have an easy call.

When I’m small blind playing against big blind I like to raise by 4x. Since I am out of position I don’t mind taking down the pot pre-flop. I have a tighter open-range from the small blind compared to the button, and it will be harder to win pots out of position post-flop.

The flop is Jc 5c 10d and I check-call a cbet of 1,400 into 3,600.

With top pair and top kicker, my hand is too good to fold here.”

The turn is a 9h and I check-call a bet of 3,700 into 7,800. With top pair and top kicker, my hand is too good to fold here, even though my opponent can have any overpair, two-pairs, sets, or straights. This cuts it close and I don’t think it’s a mistake folding on the turn against many players.

However, there are still plenty of straight-draw and flush-draw hands he can have that he would give up if he misses the river.

The river is a 7s. I check and JeSuisJP1963 bets 10,700 into 19,000.

The only hands I could beat now are a missed flush or straight draw that doesn’t have an 8 for straight. JeSuisJP1963 could potentially have KQo, Q8s, 89s, or any random two clubs with an 8.

This makes it an easy fold for me and JeSuisJP1963 takes it down.

High Stakes Hand #8: Melika vs Undemoni

undemoni0 open-raises 150 from the cut-off. I respond by 3betting to 550 from the small blind with Ah-Qd. undemoni0 calls.

The flop is 7h Js 9h, giving me a backdoor flush draw with my Ace. With a strong Ace high, I like to check out of position, especially on a wet board like this.

But now when I have backdoor nut-flush-draw I have a few reasons to bet. When another heart comes on the turn I can bet again and follow up with an all-in river. This is a great bluff line that I will likely get away with for the entire hand.

A good rule to remember is to at least bluff when you have a nut-blocker.”

With the nut-blocker, I’m blocking my opponent from hitting a nut flush, so I know I have a higher chance of getting a fold.

Also, I will end up on the river with the flush with a lot of other combos with suited hearts and I can’t only be doing this when I have value. It’s called being balanced, and a good rule to remember is to at least bluff when you have a nut-blocker.

undemoni0 calls my 1/3 size cbet of 400, and the turn is a Qc. I think it’s important to check here for the following reasons:

1. I won’t get 3 streets of value; maybe from Kd-Qd but we need to slow down the action now with only one pair
2. I can always call when our opponent bets the turn.
3. I have top pair and gutshot and will take down more pots on the river by check-calling the turn than by betting and then being forced to check-fold on a lot of rivers (i.e. a flush)

undemoni0 checks behind turn and the river is a 7c.

Now it’s clear that I more than likely have the best hand. I can bet-fold without worrying about getting bluffed out of the hand or facing a raise from anything other than a 7.

It’s a clear value-bet to get a call from a lower pair. I chose a 2/3 size bet of 1,350 and got a call and a muck. The pot of 4,600 went my way.

High Stakes Hand #9: Melika vs Urcoinsrmine

I minimum raise with pocket Tens to 50 from the button and urcoinsrmine 3bets to 150 from the big blind.

Pocket tens are good enough to 4bet and call off a 100 BB all-in shove. I expect to get my money in against both higher and lower pocket pairs, as well as Ac-Ks and As-Qh. So I 4bet raise to 425 and my opponent calls.

The flop is a dry 7c 5s 4h rainbow. I c-bet 275 into 850, which is a 1/3 size and my opponent calls.

The turn is a 5d completing the rainbow texture. urcoinsarmine checks and I bet 600 into 1,400. I’m leaving 1,200 left in my stack for a value-shove on most river options.

Here is where it gets interesting because urcoinsarmine decides to check-shove and is putting me all-in for the decision to call off my last 1,200 to win a pot of 3,800.

The problem with calling here is that I don’t think he can have any bluffs.”

It looks like he has slowplayed a hand like pocket Jacks, Queens, Kings, or Aces. He could also have a hand like 5h-6-h or Ah-5h for trips.

It’s not fun to fold here since I was planning on going all-in on the river and get a call and, in most scenarios, win. But it’s unlikely that my opponent is doing this with a worse hand or a with straight-draw.

I don’t recommend playing a lower pair than tens the way urcoinsarmine is playing this hand.”

It’s called overplaying your hand, and to check-shove on the turn with a pair lower than tens in this 4-bet pot would be devastating in the long run.

I’m happy to call with Queens or Jacks plus here, but with Tens, I have to let them go since I’m not beating anything. urcoinsarmine wins the 2,600 pot.

High Stakes Hand #10: Melika vs PokerAbuser

Short-stacked (40bb deep) PokerAbuser raises from the button to 1,800. I call with Js-Qc from the small blind, a hand I could have chosen to 3-bet instead.

Since my opponent is a bit short and might 4bet shove if I 3bet, I prefer to not make as many bluffs as I would if he were sitting deeper.

ennuye calls from the big blind and the flop cards are 7c 4h Jh giving a flush draw. ennuye and I check and PokerAbuser cbets 2,700 into 7,200.

I decided to check-raise to 8,400 here for the following reasons:

1. I am happy to get it in against the short stack with top Queen pair kicker here. I can expect PokerAbuser to fold some bluffs, call some weaker hands and shove with both weaker and better hands. I will get it in good against PokerAbuser’s range that contains a lot of high and low draws that are committed to going all-in when sitting with a such a short stack.
2. I can make ennuye fold a draw, like Queen Jack or Queen King and maybe Ace Jack. My play looks strong and Js Qc is one of the weakest value hands in my range that I will raise with on this flop. He will have to fold a few better hands and draws since he is sitting deeper with me.

If PokerAbuser wasn’t sitting short, then I think it would have been a lot better to just call the bet on the flop instead of a check-raise that would face the problem of being deep-stacked against better hands.

ennuye folds, PokerAbuser goes all-in with a pair and nut-flush draw. I snap-called for another 13,800.

It’s close to a flip, but this time the 50,000 pot went my way.

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