I was browsing Twoplustwo.com the other day and saw this thread about Kenny Tran. They call him “Sick Call” Kenny because there’ve been several televised tournaments where he’s made some unbelievable “sick calls” with weak hands.
This hand from an old WSOP Main Event makes you wonder about Kenny’s live-read skills, though (although he could be a fantastic player, I don’t know anything about him.) In one of the tournament videos of him, he plays Q2 suited, hits a pair of deuces, and pays some amateur off all the way to the river, on every street. The amateur has pocket Aces (it’s one of those hands where they don’t show you until the end) and he displays some common tells for strength, so it’s worth discussing here.
In the video, Kenny raises with Q-2 suited. The amateur three-bets with AA. Kenny calls. The amateur, it should be noted, has very loose facial and body movements at this point. He also has a facial expression that looks kind of disgusted with the situation. The combination of these two tells; loose physical bearing and a somewhat disgusted/upset facial expression, is pretty significant. (This is always assuming you’re playing with pretty amateur competition.)
The flop comes T-3-2 rainbow, giving Tran bottom pair. The amateur bets and Tran calls. Now check out the super-obvious look of disgust on the amateurs face here, along with the physically loose shaking of his head in mock disgust and the licking of his lips. These are just things you’ll hardly ever see an anxious bettor do, especially if they’re an amateur. Most amateurs who are continuation-betting with air there will not be looking like that, especially with cameras watching them.
The turn comes a fairly innocuous-seeming 6, considering pre-flop action. It also puts two hearts out. The amateur again fires out a bet. Check out how loose his arm is when he bets, and check out the little aggressive push he gives to the chips when he fires them in. This is just something you will not see very often in bluffers. An amateur with a good hand feels free to get a little cocky and throw some chips around; the adrenaline rush of having a good hand and not being afraid of anything results in him tossing his chips in hard.
Contrary to what Mike Caro’s book will tell you, betting with a pretty aggressive forward motion makes it less likely to be a bluff. The more ostentatious-seeming behaviors associated with a bet will tend to make relaxation more likely, while bluffers will tend to be more subdued and less likely to want to attract attention.
Kenny Tran then asks the guy how much he has left. The guy counts out his chips and then does a little, weak-looking shrug at 1:15. Tran makes the call anyway.
The amateur then does a bunch of seemingly aggravated-looking faces, as well as rubbing his face in a pacifying way, and having his eyes go wide in a stereotypical fearful/uncertain face. It’s really a great example of the types of mock-sad expressions that will clue you into a player who’s betting with a good hand. If a player continues to bet after these kinds of behaviors, it’s a good sign they’re relaxed/stron
The river comes a 5 of hearts, putting a 4-straight and 3 to a flush out. While that’s a bit scary, based on pre-flop action it’s understandable why the amateur might feel Tran hitting those hands is rather unlikely, and even if we think it’s a mistake, we can understand why he decides to shove here. (We also should perhaps keep in mind that play was rather loose in old WSOPs.)
Then Tran contemplates for a while. Maybe he’s thinking about the value of making a super sick call here with bottom pair. He likely is thinking that if the opponent had a big pair, it’s unlikely he’d bet with a four-straight and the three-flush dropping on the river. While Tran is thinking, we see the most useful tell of the game. As Tran is thinking, the amateur looks over at Tran and stares at him for a while. The willingness to engage in eye contact after a bet is one of the most useful poker tells you’ll find. Contrary to popular knowledge, bluffers mostly do not stare you down after they bet; value bettors often do. (Although this can vary depending on player-specific patterns.) When you’ve got a mediocre player who is willing to give you significant eye contact, your alarm bells should ring a bit. This is especially meaningful here, because the amateur must be extra certain he’s good. He may have been worried right after betting, but when Kenny doesn’t call immediately the amateur likely feels more comfortable and thinks he’s likely good.
Again, I have no clue about exactly what occurred in this hand or what Kenny was thinking. I’ll give Kenny the benefit of the doubt that there was some history that would help explain this. Maybe the amateur was acting like that in past hands when he was really weak. Anything’s possible. But this video’s still a good lesson for how an average amateur looks when they have a good hand.