$40-$80 Hold'em Hand at Wynn Las Vegas - A hand in which the proper play throughout is based predominately on the opponents' styles

This was an eighthanded $40-$80 hold'em game at the new Wynn Las Vegas. Since the hand involved actual players, I have changed their names to protect their identities. The hands are laid out in a question-and-answer format so that you can decide for yourself what you would do before seeing what actually happened.



Ed, a good player, was in the big blind with the A 10 . Another player, Jeff, had just posted a $40 big blind behind the button. Jeff plays a tight, quiet, and solid type of game. He plays somewhat loosely preflop in terms of his calls, but if he raises preflop, he has a solid hand. He plays conservatively once the flop comes. He does not semibluff or make any moves post-flop. A third player, Martin, was under the gun and opened with a raise. Martin is a weird player who makes a number of unorthodox plays. He often plays good hands passively and mediocre hands aggressively. He is extremely loose preflop and is capable of doing almost anything post-flop. It is tough to put Martin on a hand.



After Martin's raise, it was folded around to Jeff, who called. The button and small blind both folded. There were five and a half small bets in the pot.



Question No. 1: What would you do in Ed's position?



Answer No. 1: Just call. You have a decent hand but are out of position with an unpredictable player on your immediate left. Reraising would be overplaying your hand. Folding would be wrong, especially given the fact that it is Martin who raised. To digress, if Jeff had three-bet, you should fold, since your hand could easily be dominated and it is costing you two additional bets to play. Despite already being in for one bet, Jeff is not the type of player who would three-bet in an attempt to isolate Martin. Jeff's reraise would mean he has a big hand.

Ed called. There were six and a half small bets in the pot. The flop came 10 8 6, giving Ed top pair, top kicker.



Question No. 2: What now?



Answer No. 2: You must bet. Checking with the intention of check-raising is bad because you have a preflop raiser who is unpredictable and a tight player who may not bet. This is a big drawing flop, containing both a two-flush and three cards somewhat connected. Furthermore, you are vulnerable to overcards. Any king, queen, or jack at this stage could be bad news. Hands like K-Q, K-J, and Q-J are common. Even if after you check Martin bets and Jeff calls, a raise by you may not drive anyone out at that point. Ed bet. Martin raised, and Jeff thought for a while and called. There were 11.5 small bets in the pot.



Question No. 3: What is your action now?



Answer No. 3: Of course, folding top pair, top kicker is out of the question. Not only may you have the best hand, but you are getting great pot odds if you don't. The choices are between calling and reraising. I think calling is best for now. Martin could be raising with a wide range of hands, and Jeff probably has a decent draw. It is better to see the turn cheaply before committing any more money. A card like a club, a 9, or a 7 would be very bad, perhaps forcing you to check-fold if there was any significant action on the turn. Ed called. There were more than six big bets in the pot. The turn was the 6.



Question No. 4: What is your play?



Answer No. 4: You should bet. The bottom flop card pairing on the turn does not figure to have helped anyone. If both of your opponents are drawing, you are charging them to continue. Checking on the expensive street may result in just handing out free cards to two opponents. You would call if someone else bet, so take the initiative now. If you get raised, whether or not you continue will depend upon who the raiser is. If Martin calls and Jeff raises, you know you are badly beaten (probably by at least trip sixes) and should fold. If Martin raises and Jeff calls, you should call, since Martin is known to be erratic and there is too great a risk that you would be folding the best hand. In this scenario, you would put Jeff on a draw and hope Martin is semibluffing a draw. Even if Martin is not bluffing and has something like an overpair, you may have as many as five outs to win (an 8-to-1 shot), and your pot odds would be more than 11-to-1 at that point. Ed bet and both opponents called. There were more than nine big bets in the pot. The river was the K.



Question No. 5: Should you bet or check?



Answer No. 5: You must bet the river. This card did not complete anyone's flush draw or straight draw. No one raised your turn bet, so no one figures to have a better hand. Given the action up to this point, it is extremely unlikely that this river card helped anyone. For the king to give one of your two opponents a better hand, he would have to have two clubs headed by a king, or something like K-10 or perhaps K-9. This is too remote to seriously consider. Furthermore, even if this is the case, you are unlikely to get raised, and you certainly would be calling if you checked and someone else bet. Otherwise, this is a perfect spot to pick up some extra bets while having the best of it, since you will get calls from weaker hands with all of that money in the pot. Your opponents may be hoping that you were betting a draw yourself and didn't make it on the river. Ed bet, Martin folded, and Jeff called. Ed won, as Jeff showed the 10 9.



Ed played well. He correctly declined three-betting when raised on the flop, and then led out on the turn when a non-threatening card appeared. He avoided giving a potential free card and was able to correctly judge where he stood in the hand. He also picked up a crying call on the river. These calls add up to a sizeable sum over the course of a year.



Jim Brier has co-authored a book with Bob Ciaffone titled Middle Limit Holdem Poker. It is available through Card Player.