Two Hands to Think About

I have such a hectic and crazy lifestyle these days, with everything that is happening in poker, that seldom am I home for any length of time at all. For the past four years, I have been on the road about 45 weeks per year, and I love every minute of it. Home for me is in Las Vegas, but rarely do I get the chance to play poker when I am there. Recently I was home for five weeks, the longest time in more than four years, so I took the opportunity to play some live poker. I had some interesting hands that I would like to relate. I played one extremely well, in my opinion, and thought I had played the other one correctly, too, but when I ran it by Barry Tanenbaum, one of my poker idols and a fellow Card Player columnist, he pointed out a better way to play it. Let me explain.

The first hand was in a $15-$30 hold'em game. I had been in the game only a little while and wasn't particularly paying attention to the players. I was busy saying hello to the other players and staff whom I hadn't seen in a long time. Anyway, the only comment I had heard at the table about another player was regarding the player in the No. 2 seat. He had slow-rolled another player and the comment was, "Why worry about it if he blows another rack?" So, I assumed I knew something about him; perhaps he was the live one. There were several players I knew at the table, so that helped. I was in the No. 6 seat, the button was in the No. 1 seat, and the alleged live one was in the No. 2 seat (the small blind). I was dealt the Au 3u. This is certainly not a premium hand, nor one I like to play from early position, but both the No. 4 and No. 5 seats called, so I called. One player behind me also called. So, now I was in the cutoff position. The small blind called for one more chip, and the big blind checked. The flop came 5-4-2! The only problem was that they were all clubs! Did I love or hate this hand? Well, I hated it, but figured that unless a club came, or something else scary happened, I would bet it and make anyone with a club pay to draw against me.

The small blind bet out $15. Everyone in front of me folded. I raised, the guy behind me cold-called $30, and the small blind called. Now where was I? I put the small blind on a draw to a flush or straight, figuring he would never lead out with a flopped flush. I gave the caller behind me a big club draw, most likely with the A. I knew that if a club came, I would be through with the hand. A blank came on the turn and the small blind fired $30 at the pot. I hated my hand but called, as did the guy behind me. Another blank came on the river. The small blind bet, I called, and the player behind me called. The small blind tabled the K J. I threw my hand into the muck. The guy behind me held his cards for a moment, showed his neighbors, and then mucked his hand. I thought I played this hand OK, as I was going to make them pay to outdraw me. Here is what Barry Tanenbaum suggested as a better way to play this hand: merely call the flop bet and if a rag hit on the turn, raise it then. Had I done this, I actually would have lost $15 more, but I clearly see that this is the proper play. I would have gotten away from the hand cheaply had a club come on the turn, and by raising on the more expensive street, it would have made it tougher for the guy behind me to continue to draw if a club was his only out. Anyway, thanks, Barry, for the good advice. I suggest that you never miss Barry's column; it always contains pearls of wisdom.

The other hand was in the World Series of Poker casino employees tourney, which was a $500 buy-in limit hold'em event. We were playing with $25-$25 blinds, and a $25-$50 limit, and I had about $325 of my initial $500 left. I was under the gun and had two black aces. I raised it to $50, got one cold-caller, and the big blind called. The flop came 10-10-6 with two clubs. The big blind bet. I considered a raise but decided against it. The player behind me raised and the big blind three-bet! Now what was I to do? I called for time. I probably had the worst hand at this point. Could I get away from it? It is so important to not only play your own cards in poker, but to size up the situation. Clearly, this is what I had to do in this spot. Two aces are the best hand in hold'em, there is no debate about that. That being said, sometimes the flop misses you and greatly helps an opponent. It was clear that was the case here. There was no way I could have the best hand with all of those raises. Yes, I had two aces, and it was time to throw them away!

I had put only $75 into the pot and still had $250 left. If I mucked it now, I could wait for another hand. If I called, I was pretty well pot-committed – in my mind, anyway. I could catch running clubs to make a flush, or an ace to make aces full, but certainly I was beat at this point. I laid the hand down. The turn was a blank, and there was a bet, raise, and call. The river was the A, and I felt sick to my stomach. The first player checked, and the other player bet and was called. He showed the A 10! The other player didn't table his cards. This was a case of the operation being a success but the patient dying. I would have caught the case ace to win this huge pot, but I had folded. I think I played this hand correctly and certainly got off as cheaply as possible. I don't like the A-10 suited cold-calling before the flop; at least I know I wouldn't have made that call. A-10 is a hand with which I want to either raise or muck. I don't call two bets with that hand. So, those were two losing hands for me, but I learned something from one, and the other, well, it was one of those days. Class dismissed.