Holding Back

"Playing back" means that you raise. I am referring to situations where you raise, reraise, or check-raise your opponents without having a big, made hand. Failure to play back can be a big leak in a player's game, especially at the middle and higher limits. Some otherwise decent players rarely, if ever, play back. Their opponents can bet or raise with impunity, knowing that their passive opponent won't play back without a big hand. This allows them to make moves like raising on the turn and then getting a cheap showdown if they like, or simply raising to get free cards, and so forth. Someone who doesn't play back is an ideal opponent. It means that you can control the hand and make lots of moves at little cost. You are also the one applying the pressure and forcing your passive opponent to make decisions.

The following set of hands discusses some of these situations where you may wish to play back. Since these hands were take from live play, not all of the actions leading up to the problem in question are necessarily correct, but most of them are reasonable.

Hand No. 1 ($30-$60 game): You are in the small blind with the A J. It is folded to the button, who raises. You reraise, since you have a good hand, the button is probably stealing, and you want to drive out the big blind. Only the button calls. There is $210 in the pot and two players. The flop is J 8 6, giving you top pair, top kicker, and the nut-flush draw. You bet and the button calls. There is $270 in the pot. The turn is the Q. You bet and the button raises. What should you do?

Answer: Three-bet. You may have the best hand and you have a ton of outs if your hand is not the best. On your lucky days, you might get the button to fold a better hand, such as a weak queen. This is a heads-up, steal-type situation. The button could be moving around on a flush draw, a straight draw, or even a weaker jack that includes a straight draw. The button's raise could be an attempt to discourage you from betting the river. Players will do this at the middle limits if they have a fair hand that can improve, but which they want to show down when they don't improve. For all the button knows, you may be on a draw (which you are, but you have a made hand, as well). From the button's perspective, a raise on fourth street may set up a situation where, if a blank comes, he may be able to bluff bet you on the river and win the pot. Even if the button has a powerhouse like 10-9, you have nine outs to the nut flush, so this reraise does not cost you much in expectation.

Hand No. 2 ($30-$60 game): You are in the small blind with the 10 9. A middle-position player opens with a raise and you make a dubious call. There is $150 in the pot and two players. The flop is J 9 8, giving you middle pair with an open-end straight draw. You bet and your opponent raises. What should you do?

Answer: Three-bet. This is another example of playing back at your opponent. He could be raising with a big diamond in his hand, trying for a free card. If he does not have a diamond, he may be raising on top pair or an overpair, in which case you are about even money to beat him by the river. It is very unlikely that he flopped a flush, especially considering his preflop raise. If he had flopped a flush, it would be the nut flush or something close to it. This means he probably would not raise you here on the cheap street, but would wait until later when the price doubles. You may have the best hand or the best draw, and he may even fold if he fears you have a flush. If a fourth diamond arrives on the turn, you should bet, and he would be hard-pressed to call without a diamond in his hand. You must give yourself a chance to win pots without always having to end up with the best hand.

Hand No. 3 ($15-$30 game): You limp in from middle position with the K J behind an early-position limper. The button and small blind also limp in. There is $75 in the pot and five players. The flop is K 7 6, giving you top pair, decent kicker. It is checked to you. You bet and the button raises. Everyone folds to you. What should you do?

Answer: Just call, don't three-bet. Neither your hand nor your drawing prospects are good enough to play back here. There are lots of cards that can come off on the turn that will ruin your hand even if it happens to be the best. You have very few outs if you are behind, and if your opponent is drawing, you can be easily overtaken. Three-betting will not win the pot for you even if your opponent is drawing. Furthermore, your position is bad, so if you don't improve, you may get bet out of the hand at some point, anyway. Call and see what comes off on the turn.

Hand No. 4 ($30-$60 game): A loose, aggressive player opens with a raise from early position. This guy is very aggressive post-flop, especially in heads-up situations. He normally plays pot-limit and told the table so when he sat down. You are in middle position with the 9 9. You three-bet in order to drive out the remaining players, plus you may have the best hand. Only the loose, aggressive player calls. There is $230 in the pot and two players. The flop is 10 3 3, giving you two pair. He checks, you bet, and he raises. What should you do?

Answer: Three-bet. It is important to play back at this guy. A 10-high flop does not figure to have helped an early-position preflop raiser. He could have an overpair, but he might play this way with just overcards, such as A-K, A-Q, A-J, or K-Q. Keep in mind that he checked to you because you showed some strength preflop by three-betting, so he knew you would bet. His check-raise does not mean a lot on the cheap street.

Hand No. 5 ($30-$60 game): You are in the big blind with the 6 5. An early-position player raises, and the cutoff, the button, and the small blind call. You call. There is $300 in the pot and five players. The flop is 7 4 3, giving you a straight. The small blind checks and you bet. The early-position player raises, the cutoff and the button both call, and the small blind folds. What should you do?

Answer: Avoid playing back and just call. Don't get too heavily involved when the board flops all of one suit and you do not have a card in that suit with multiple opponents involved. You not only must worry about already being beaten, but about being overtaken about a third of the time. I think a better strategy is to call and then bet when a blank comes, since there are many cards that can ruin your hand.

Hand No. 6 ($30-$60 game): You are in the big blind with the A 2. Two early-position players, a middle-position player, the button, and the small blind all limp in. You take a free play. There is $180 in the pot and six players. The flop arrives with the J 5 4, giving you a gutshot-straight draw and a backdoor-flush draw, as well as an ace overcard. The small blind checks. Rather than bet with a jack-high flop that also contains a two-flush into five opponents, you check. The first early-position player bets. The next one folds, and the other three players call. There is $300 in the pot and it costs you $30 to call, so your pot odds are 10-to-1. You are the last to act here, and call. There is $330 in the pot and five players. The turn is the 9, giving you the nut-flush draw in addition to your other outs. The small blind checks, and you check, and the early-position player now checks. The middle-position player bets, and the button and the small blind fold. What should you do?

Answer: Raise. A check-raise on fourth street would be an incredibly powerful move, as both opponents may well fold. Even if they both call, you have nine flush outs, three straight outs, and three overcard outs, for a total of 15 outs. You are getting 2-to-1 on your raise and you are about a 2-to-1 dog to improve. This is a wonderful semibluff opportunity, especially with a third player in the hand.

Editor's note: Jim Brier has co-authored a new book with Bob Ciaffone entitled Middle Limit Holdem Poker. It is available through Card Player.