The flop came 9-5-2, two spades.
"I reckon if I bet out, I'm going to get called somewhere," said Beevers, a member of Britain's "Hendon Mob" who has won more than $2.4 million in tournament prize money. "If a spade comes or an overcard to a jack comes, I'd have no idea where I was at, so I checked to see what would happen."
The next three players checked. The player in the first seat made it $1,250. Ulliott folded.
"There are three people on my left," Beevers said. "I want to know if one of them has a real hand. So I made it $3,050. I didn't want to put a lumpy [check-]raise in and find out there's five-way action. By making it $3,050, I'll find out exactly where I am."
The next three players folded, as Beevers wanted.
"The guy who bet on the flop calls, which is fine because I think if he's got a set, he might re-raise me," said Beevers, a pro from the Full Tilt Poker online site.
"I don't think he has an overpair to me because he would have re-raised before the flop with kings, queens or aces. He looks like a pretty straightforward player. So, I put him on a pair between 5s and 9s, or I put him on 10s and 9-10 suited."
The turn came the 4 of diamonds.
"I still think I'm winning, and I'm out of position and don't want to give a free card," said Beevers, who bet $5,600. "It's just over half the pot, which makes it hard for him to raise unless he has me beat. He'd have to have a set here. I check-raised on the flop, so he has to give me some credit for a hand. But it's also a bet that he'll call with a lot worse hands."
His opponent folded.
"I believe I read it right," Beevers said. "I put maximum pressure on the weaker hands. If he had raised me, I'd have folded my hand.
"By doing it the way I did, you're not putting yourself in too much danger. If I lead at the flop and I get three callers, I might end up passing the best hand later on because I won't know where I am. Let other people tell me where they're at, and then I'll know where I am."
Table talk
Set: Three of a kind when your pocket pair matches one card on the board.
Steve Rosenbloom is a sports columnist for the Chicago Tribune and the author of the book "The Best Hand I Ever Played." He can be reached at
srosenbloom@tribune.com.
