In a certain no limit tournament, we were down to 5 players from actually 20 players. As far as as I can remember, we were two there who have almost the same number of chips.

Well, I had 85 of clubs back then. Fortunately, I was given the chance to see the flop for free from the big blind before the flop came, which was 4s 5s 6h.

Because I was in first position, I acted first and placed a bet. For some reason, the smaller stack folded and the other chip leader called it as a result. Then the turn came 4s 5s 6h 7d. As a strategy, I placed him on a set. I feel I had the best hand so I placed him all in.

Quite unexpectedly, he called. And then to my surprise, the river came being 4s 5s 6h 7d 7c. In general, do you think I played very aggressively? Or else I was just unlucky?

Personally, I thought it was absurd, that the guy was so confident to call me but then later on, I realized what he did makes sense in a way because of the amount of cards he had back then that eventually could have given him full house.

By the way, do you think, the result could have been much better if I just simply bet it hard again? How about if I’ve taken the risk and then double up, what do you think might have happen?

Your insight/s please?

Thanks a lot.

Denver

Denver,

At the point you moved all-in, you had the best hand. While he had 10 outs to catch his hand, he was only 20% to win the hand. You got unlucky. However, that happens in poker. You played as well as you could given the circumstances.

I love poker. But just recently, I’m starting to get bothered because of a certain hand that took place in one of my NL, .10/.25 online games.

What I can remember is that I had pocket 5′s under the gun and I limped in with some of the players. Then, a player who is in 5th position raised about 4 times the big blind and so a result got a call from the player in 8th position. Right after, it was folded around to me, I called.

Finally, the flop came 5-6-7, 2 spades. Well, I hit my set back then, however, drawing potential was still very prevalent even for me. I then bet out about 80% of the pot, because I was thinking that I’d have at least one caller from two players behind me.

Afterwards, the person in 5th position re-raised me, the amount was really big. Because of that re-raise, I got into conclusion that he is keeping a very large hand or was trying to bet me out of the pot. For some reasons, the person in 8th position called that large raise, so somehow I was relieved from delight.

To be honest, I’m not sure of what I had back then. There was a chance for a straight and flush draw, but somebody at the table might be holding 7-7 or 8-8 so the way to winning wasn’t that sure yet for me. As a result, I went all-in.

In just seconds, both my opponents folded. Well, I’ve taken home the pot, and I was so happy then. But still at some point, I still feel I’ve messed up at the table. I don’t know if I was able to maximize everything, the hand, chance,etc. What do you think? Do you have any comments or advice for me?

By the way, I’m very open to suggestions and even for bad comments so you can say everything. You don’t have to worry.

Thanks!

David

David,

I’m going to go with the assumption you had the set of fives for this scenario. You bet 80% of the pot, was raised and another player called before action returned to you. I would say that there is a good chance that you were against a large pair such as Aces and maybe a draw. I am surprised that both players folded to your bet. My only guess is that they maybe thought you had flopped a straight.

After betting out 80% of the pot, I would have been concerned with a big raise and a call ahead of me. I would have at least put one of them on the straight, even if it seemed unlikely. With that being said, you still had a 40% chance to make a full house even if you were unlucky enough to run into a straight.

Moving all-in did seem like a bit of an overbet, but if I were you, I would be very happy with both players folding. If they were on a draw, you prevented them from outdrawing you.

I hope you have time to answer my questions. I badly need clarity. Thanks!

1. In one of my games, I have a pocket pair 7-7, and then I have a set because of the flop, it was one overcard and 2 suited cards. I guess it gave someone else a flush draw. Eventually, one opponent went all-in and I’ve seen he has more chips than me. As a result, I placed him on at least a top pair as well as a flush draw. Like at this instance, whenever your opponent is on a flush draw and went all-in, what do you normally do? Do you fold or immediately call his all-in instead?
2. In my game the other day, I had a top pair, top kicker. I had a A-Q and then the flop is Q-10-2 rainbow. I remembered that the game was very passive and loose then, having numerous calling stations. At some point, I longed to thin out the field to get at least 4-5 callers but I know it was a hard thing to do. Eventually, I started thinking of some stuff.

I wondered, if in the event you get called by someone, do you check the turn? And in case you bet the turn, is there a need for you to bet a large amount? If you have to and then he calls, does it mean you’re beaten and check-fold the river?

3. Oftentimes, I lose lots of money by just merely guarding my hand as well as doing the thinning out of the field stuff. Because of this, I thought of betting less to let everyone in. At some point, I also thought of betting just the necessary amount to thin out the field. I don’t know which is which.

Please help me.

Thanks!

Luis

Luis,

1. You are going to call his all in. You still have the lead and he is still drawing. Granted, they had a big chance to hit their hand, but they are still laying a heavy price to hit their draw. Also, you do have 7 outs on the flop, and 10 on the turn to make your full house which gives you around a 30% chance to resuck out on him if he hits. You have the advantage here. Take it.
   
2. In the scenario with A-Q your problem comes with there being so many people staying in. Are they on draws? Did they flop top pair with a worse kicker? Did they have pocket 2’s and flop a set? It becomes difficult to decipher sometimes. If the turn does not produce a third straight or flush card, you need to take charge and bet out. If they call again, you need to see what the river falls. Again, if it is unthreatening, you should be out and take the lead. If it does complete a draw, slow down.
   
3. Sometimes you will lose money doing this. Typically a bet of around 30% to 40% of the pot is sufficient to thin out most players. If there are potential draws on the board, you need to bet enough to keep them from having sufficient odds to draw. Don’t bet less and let more people in. When you let people into the pot, you are inviting them to outdraw you. You need to avoid this.

I just played recently at 2/5 NL in Atlantic City. For some reasons, early position player made it $15 to go. Eventually, there are about 5 callers.

Flop was 2 6 7 with two hearts, but before that I have 22. Then, I placed a bet $60. At the table, everyone else folded except for one. Then the turn is non-heart blank and so I bet $200. The remaining player at that time called. Then river was a heart and so he went all in. I called and he showed Kh with another heart. I believe all throughout the game he was just playing loosely. What’s your thought on this?

I believe opting for an all in on the flop was already a serious overbet. But I’m not sure. Also, let’s say a set of 2′s is a very good hand, but I believe it’s still not safe at all. What do you think?

Thanks!

Billy

Billy,

You did what you could to push your opponent out. Your opponent was calling along hoping to hit his flush and caught lucky against you. Going all in on the flop would have indeed been a serious overbet. The only way you would have been called is if you were beat. This is pretty much a situation where you got unlucky.

A set is indeed a good hand, but is vulnerable when three straight cards or three flush cards are on the board. You played the hand fine. These sort of things happen in poker.

I limped in with pocket 3′s in the middle position. In late position, a player raised to three times that of the BB ($70 stack). Subsequently, the button called $80 stack. Well, thinking that both players are having fairly deep stacks, I called the extra 2 bets for the huge implied odds.

Then, the flop came – 6 Clubs, 4 Hearts, 3 Clubs and so as a result I checked to the raiser who placed a bet out $10, button folded and I re-raised to $25. My opponent went all in which of course I immediately call.

Unfortunately, the turn was 7 Diamonds and river was 5 Clubs. Finally, he flipped over Ks and we divided the pot with the straight on the board.

Now, I’m wondering. Is that the way you actually play over pairs without fear of the set? And about my opponent’s options – fold, call, re-raise, or all in, how will you rank them and why will you rank them that way?

Well, personally I ranked his options as fold – call – all in – re-raise.

Thank you in advance.

Carl Vince

Carl,

In the scenario above, I would rank his options as re-raise, all in, call, fold. A player will only flop a set 11% of the time. Most players are not going to instantly give you credit for a set. The more likely option would be that you have a pair such as 10’s or jack, or a flush draw. I almost bet that he put you on a flush draw or a weaker pair. He wanted to try and make you pay to draw out on him. He didn’t realize that he was the one that needed to draw out.

I’m bothered of a certain hand that appeared in one of my games.

Well, to start off, I was standing on $750 when I was dealt Kk in late position. A guy at the table raised $6 in the early position and I made it $15 to go, he called. By the way, the guy has about $200.

Then the flop came 9s 5s 2s. The guy then went all-in with $33 in the pot.

Eventually, I tried to analyze things up. At some point I thought if he doesn’t have a flush yet, he might have an over pair which I could beat, or a small pair hitting a set. He might also be keeping a two over cards with one spade or a bad bluff. What do you think? Any idea about the guy’s cards?

Thanks in advance!

Tommy

Tommy,

I would put this player on a pair that has made trips or a hand with an ace and a big spade, maybe even the ace of spades with another card. In the case of the set, you are behind. If he has an ace with a spade, he has about a 52% chance to hit his hand. I think he is pushing a flush draw. The bad thing is that he pushed up to $200 when there was only $33 in the pot. You do not have pot odds to outdraw him with. If you call here, and happen to be in the lead, you are really in a glorified flip for your money. You are only in for $15. Let it go.

I know I’ve been a tight, aggressive player. But I also know that being tight and aggressive won’t really help at all. By being such kind of player, I know I can’t triple or quadruple my buy-in. Only those who are usually LAGs can get paid off big. What do you think, am I just playing too weak tight or what?

By the way, my real reason for dropping by is because of these questions:

1. At all positions, I played all pocket pairs and will call a raise whenever my opponent has stack size bigger than 10 times of his raise. Also, I raise with AK s/o, AQ s/o, and try to limp with AJ s/o, A10 s/o, and all Ax suited. Not to mention that I also limp with KQ s/o, and may be KJ suited as well as all suited connectors from J10 down to 54. Do you think I’m being too tight as a player?
2. Against a raise, I love to play small pocket pairs for if I hit my set, I’ll get off big. But one thing I notice is that suited connectors win over. For an instance, 78s vs KK is 21% again 79%, which 33 vs KK is only 19% vs 81%. In your opinion, should I just call a raise with any suited connectors? I am not sure about raising with any suited connectors because I know almost all suited connectors are net losers and the real big money makers are all pocket pairs.
3. Normally, when I’m dealt AA, KK or QQ, I feel my adrenalin rushing. But along with this is the worry that someone at the table might give me a bad beat or flop a set that eventually would cause me to lose big bucks. Do you have an idea on how can you be sure when to lay down your big pocket pairs? For an instance you get AA, flop 7 5 2 with two diamonds, and when you bet 2/3 pot, someone re-raise you twice or went all-in. What will you do next? Lay down your pairs? Do you think it’s the sign you are waiting for? Does it mean you should lay it down? But how about when they call your flop bet, and when you bet ½ or 2/3 pot at turn, they re-raise you all-in then?
4. I’m now wondering as it seemed to me that playing at full ring NL1000 like a tight “set miner” is still okay. Any idea or suggestion?
5. On a certain forum, I learned that once I can get to mid stakes like NL400+, the money would be very good. Any idea about this?

Thank you.

Loise

Loise,

1. In some ways you are playing tight and some too loose. I would stay away from suited connectors below 7-8 and add some face cards with 10’s to your hands such as Q-10 and K-10. The reason I say stay away from low suited connectors is that while sometimes you can win big with them, there are many times they will make a sucker end or a weaker flush and cost you more money when two players happen to hit.
2. Playing pairs on a raise can be profitable when you hit your set. Playing suited connectors are much more tricky. I would stick with calling a raise when you do choose to play suited connectors. The value in them is when they hit big and you can win a big pot. If you raise with them and miss, you are just giving away money.
3. For your first scenario with the aces, you will want to call them on the flop or put them all in. Chances are they are on a draw or trying to push you out. As far as knowing when to get out with a big pair, when you have an underpair such as kings or queens and an ace hits the flop, there are times that you will have fallen behind, especially if you raised preflop and was call or have multiple callers. Also, sometimes you will need to lay down a big pair when the board has straightened or flushed or even paired. Knowing when to lay down these hands depends a lot on what you put your opponent on and their style of play.
   The best thing to do is to try and thin down the field the best you can when you hold a big pair.
4. In the long term, a solid player will be a long term winner. To be really successful in NL, you usually have to open up your style of play a bit.
5. The potential amount of money is greater as players have more money on the table, but the success that you will have at a game is directly relative to your ability and the ability of your opponents. You should strive to play the game that is most profitable based on your style and your opponents. If that means playing at NL200, then play there.