Two Aces Face Off Against a Baby Straight Draw By Tom McEvoy With T.J. Cloutier

My writing partner T.J. Cloutier is usually on the road when he receives e-mail questions from fans, but correspondent Fritz caught him at home at just the right time to get a personal response to his question about the play of a key hand in a no-limit hold'em tournament. Here is Fritz's letter and T.J.'s expert answer:

"T.J., it would make my day if you would give me your professional opinion of my play in the following hand. I started playing no-limit hold'em tournaments about a year ago. I've made it to one final table at the Taj, where I finished fourth, and was well on my way to making another final table at the Borgata when the following hand came up. I'd really like to know how you would have played it.

"There are about 24 players left in the tournament (three eighthanded tables). I'm probably among the top five in chip count. The blinds are $800-$1,600. I'm in the big blind and am delighted to look down at two beautiful aces. A middle-position player limps in. The small blind limps in for the extra $800. I raise $5,000. The middle-position player folds. The small blind, who has a stack of chips almost identical to mine, calls the raise.

"The flop comes 8-3-2 rainbow. I'm loving this flop! Just as I'm weighing my options on how to play the hand, the small blind very quickly announces, 'All in.' I am stunned.

"Obviously, he is representing a set. He is new to the table, so I don't have any kind of read on how he plays. I push my chair back and consider my options. If I call and lose, I'm out. If I call and win, I'm the chip leader with twice the chips of the next biggest stack. My opponent has either a set or a small straight draw, or he's on a bluff. Two pair is unlikely with that flop. Either way, he sure has me thinking. I finally come to the conclusion that he probably doesn't have a set, because he is playing the hand as though he doesn't want me to call. My reasoning is that if I had a set in this same situation, I would check to the raiser, figuring that he would lead at the pot. Then, I would come over the top with an all-in bet, hoping he would call, confident that my set is the best hand. But the way he played the hand told me he didn't want the call.

"Therefore, I announce, 'I call.' Immediately, the look on his face tells me I have made the right move. I turn over my aces and he turns over the 5 4, giving him an open-end baby straight draw. The turn card is an offsuit 3, giving me two pair, but more importantly, stealing two of his outs to make a straight. Only a 6 can save him now, I'm thinking. Guess what comes on the river?! He smiles broadly, and I head dejectedly for the door.

"After being knocked out of the tournament, I began to wonder whether I should have folded my aces after the flop when he went all in (before I knew the eventual outcome). T.J., what do you think of the way I played this hand?"

T.J.'s response: After reading your explanation of the hand at the final table at the Borgata, Fritz, I think the way you figured the hand was absolutely correct, so your moving in with pocket aces was a very good play. All you can do in a poker game is figure out your situation to the best of your ability, and then go with your instincts. The fact that your opponent caught a 6 on the river is just a case of bad luck. In my estimation, you played the hand perfectly. Keep up this type of analysis and it's a done deal that we'll meet one day soon in the winner's circle, as my writing partner Tom would say. Till then, good luck to you on the river.

Author's note: T.J. Cloutier and Tom McEvoy are co-authors of the Championship Series of poker books, including their best-selling Championship No-Limit & Pot-Limit Hold'em, which is available through Card Player. For more details about their books, visit www.pokerbooks.com. T.J. and Tom welcome you to e-mail your questions to them at [email protected].