Déjà Vu

Have you ever been playing a hand and suddenly realize that it seems very familiar – as if you have played it before?

While practicing my no-limit hold'em for the big June tournament in Costa Rica, I was one of three final players in a no-limit hold'em tournament. Each of us had roughly the same amount of chips – about $3,000. The player in front of me folded; in the small blind, I picked up the 9 7.

Since the big blind on my left was rather conservative and had folded to several of my previous raises, rather than fold or call for $200, I chose to raise $400, making it $800 to go. Unfortunately, he called. Obviously, he had a better hand than mine.

The flop came J 9 5. Hitting the pair of nines was good, as I now was a favorite to win this $1,600 pot (about two-thirds of what we each had left). You must understand that now that I had this significant winning potential for this large pot, I was committed – since it would be very difficult to picture a sequence in which I would fold. Note that even if I checked (not that I would) and he made a big bet (which might well be based on a smaller pair than mine), I would have a clear call (unless I knew something).

Once I realize that I am committed, it becomes a simple matter of playing slow or fast. Do I want him to call or would I prefer a quick profit. Since a pair of nines can easily be smitten, I would prefer to push him out. So, I pushed in my stack! But, unfortunately, he called.

So, this would be the deciding hand for me. Unless he had a jack, I was probably the favorite (with a pocket pair higher than nines, he probably would have reraised before the flop).

As we awaited the last two cards, my mind flashed back several years to a hand late in a limit hold'em tournament when I had "speculated" with a late preflop raise while holding 9-7 offsuit. I had been called by the big blind, and the flop came J-9-5, with the jack and the 5 both spades, as was my 9. It was almost the exact same hand as I was playing now, except the game was limit hold'em instead of no-limit, and there were two spades instead of two hearts in the flop.

In that hand, I had bet $400 after the flop, and was slowly called. The turn card was the 6, which gave me a flush draw and a gutshot 8 for a straight. So, I made the $800 bet, hoping that he would fold. But, he called. The last card was the 2 – the fourth spade on the board.

I had mixed feelings about making a flush with my 9, since my nines might have been the best hand and he might have a higher spade. I chose not to bet, because I had about $1,500 left. If I bet and called a raise and lost, I would be out of chips.

My opponent bet the $800, thinking I had no spade. I actually thought I was beat, but at that point I had most of my chips in the pot and I was totally committed. So, I made a crying call – and, lo and behold, his spade was the 8! He also had the J. Since he had me beat going to the river with a pair of jacks, it was I who had drawn out on him! Winning that hand propelled me into the money.

Returning to the present, I smiled as the dealer stretched to deal the last two cards. Amazingly, the 6 appeared on the turn! Was this spooky, or what? The dealer noticed that neither of us had tabled our cards and requested us to do so. I showed my 9 7.

Somehow, I already knew what his cards were. The J 8! His jacks had me beat, but I know how this one ends, I thought to myself. By now I was completely convinced that the great computer in the sky was replaying a previously used subroutine. Thus, I expected to see a fourth heart – and probably the 2.

The last card was indeed the deuce! It was the 2 – the same card that was in my flashback hand! But, unfortunately, in the present hand, a heart was the suit I needed for the flush. Tell someone to fix that dumb computer! So, his jacks held up and I had to settle for third place.

Note that these two hands illustrate some of the characteristic differences and similarities of limit and no-limit poker. In both situations, I, a normally "tightish" player, chose to "speculate" (take action with less than a sound hand) with a preflop raise while holding a mere 9-7 offsuit. But, of course, in the no-limit situation, many aggressive players would have done likewise.

In the limit hand, after raising before the flop, I bet after the flop and after the turn for the reasons indicated. Then, I made a "salvage" check after the last card, since I would be in great shape if I won but would have one last bullet in case I lost. In poker tournaments, saving that last bullet can pay off.

Then, in no-limit, with exactly the same cards, after seeing the flop I was quick to commit – which is clearly a big gamble. In no-limit tournaments, once the blinds/antes escalate to beyond 5 percent of the total amount of chips outstanding, every hand is significant – and most hands will be contested.