Spets Talks Himself to a Fold

Dick van Luijk raised to 22,000 preflop, and he got two callers, Age Spets and Scott Richey. The flop came , and Van Luijk continued for 30,000. Spets took a minute to count out a raise, and he made it 80,000. Richey then immediately three-bet to 200,000, leaving himself only 79,000 behind.

Van Luijk quickly folded, but Spets took some time to think. Spets has gained a reputation for talking through his decisions at this table, and that's just what he did here. He obviously wasn't happy about Richey's re-raise, and apparently wasn't expecting it. After Van Luijk folded, Spets took off his hat and glasses, ran his hand through his hair, and told Richey, "I wasn't playing you." After thinking for a bit more, he explained, "The only reason I'm taking so long is you've been very tight, so I know you have a very good hand." He then asked the dealer to pull in the 80,000 from his bet so he could see Richey's raise more clearly, and also asked the dealer how much Richey had left. The dealer explained that she's not permitted to inform him as long as the player's chips are neatly stacked. Spets then asked Richey himself how much he had left, and Richey simply pushed his stack forward so Spets could see it clearly. Richey hadn't spoken at all during Spets's performance.

Spets himself had about 285,000 after his 80,000 raise, so if Richey went all in on the turn, and if Spets called and lost, he'd be left with only 85,000. He thought and talked for over four minutes, then tossed his cards to the dealer, yielding the pot to Richey.