A Brilliant Razz Laydown?
Razz
Erik Sagstrom and James Van Alstyne just played out a rather intriguing Razz hand that has left Sagstrom in a little trouble. The boards were as follows:
Sagstrom: (X-X)
Van Alstyne: (X-X)
Two very impressive Razz boards, so you'd probably expect a big showdown? Van Alstyne led the betting on fourth, before check-calling on fifth. When play reached sixth street, Van Alstyne checked, Sagstrom bet but Van Alstyne put in a check-raise. Most of us novice Razz players are going broke holding a in that spot, but not Sagstrom, who flashed the five and mucked his sixty-five low without adding another chip to the pot, putting Van Alstyne on a superior holding.
Potentially a brilliant read, or perhaps a suicidal muck - an answer than only James Van Alstyne will ever know. Either way, it's left Sagstrom with just 130,000 in chips, but he's still alive, as Van Alstyne moves up to 420,000.