A $20-$40 Hold'em Hand at The Mirage

I was playing in a 10-handed $20-$40 hold'em game at The Mirage in Las Vegas when the following hand came up. Since the hand involved actual players, I have changed their names to protect their identities. Adam was in the small blind with the A 10. Sitting in the cutoff seat was Ward. Ward is one of those instinctive players who seem to have a good feel for the game once the flop arrives. His major weakness is his preflop play. He plays lots of strange hands preflop and has no conception of hand values. I think he is one of those players who likes to get involved in lots of hands because he thinks he can outplay his opponents post-flop. Carl was in the big blind. Carl plays $20-$40 like a typical low-limit player, even though this game is definitely not low-limit. Carl plays lots of hands in a very passive manner. He likes to play suited junk preflop and then simply check-call to the river to see if he can make anything.



It was folded to Ward, who limped in. The button folded.



Question No. 1: What should Adam do?

Answer: Raise. And he should raise even if Ward had open-raised. He has a good hand, especially in this situation. Adam's open-limp signals a mediocre hand, and A-10 suited is certainly better than mediocre. Furthermore, a raise puts pressure on Carl. A raise forces Carl to pay something if he wants to play. If Carl decides to fold, Adam's chances of winning the pot increase, since he has cut his opposition in half. It actually would have been better for Adam if Ward had opened with a raise. This would allow Adam to three-bet, forcing Carl to fold unless he had a decent hand. As an aside, Ward's open-limping from late position is strange, and almost always wrong. Some players would have a big pocket pair for this play. They want to slow-play, hoping to win a bigger pot. But Ward could have a wide range of hands, so you cannot put him on much of anything at this point.



Adam raised. Both opponents called. There were six small bets in the pot. The flop arrived with the 10 8 6, giving Adam top pair, top kicker with a backdoor-flush draw.



Question No. 2: What is Adam's play?

Answer: Bet. Checking with the intention of check-raising would be a serious mistake. Carl probably won't bet, but certainly will call if Adam bets and he has any piece of the flop. Ward merely limped in preflop, so there is no reason to believe that he will bet. Adam's top pair is very vulnerable to overcards (other than an ace), so giving a free card to two opponents is not wise. Even a 9 or a 7 could be bad news, since it would put four parts to a straight on the table (although it would be an inside straight). Adam raised preflop, so he is marked as having a good hand and should bet. If both opponents fold, there is nothing wrong with taking the pot right then. If they play on, at least they have to pay for the pleasure of chasing. There is no reason to surrender control of the hand.



Adam bet, Carl called, and Ward raised.



Question No. 3: What should Adam do?

Answer: Reraise. Ward would raise with top pair but a worse kicker, or even a draw, in order to try for a free card. It is unlikely that Ward has an overpair, since he did not raise preflop. Adam still should play his hand as the best hand at this point. Furthermore, Carl could be hanging around with any piece of junk, like bottom pair, middle pair, or even a gutshot-straight draw with any 9 or 7. Adam should make Carl pay premium prices to compete. If Carl decides to play decent poker and fold, this increases Adam's pot equity, which is a good thing.



Adam reraised. Carl called both raises, and Ward made it four bets.



Question No. 4: What is Adam's play?

Answer: Just call. Things now have grown ugly. It is beginning to look like Ward flopped a straight or a set, or at least two pair. Adam could have three to five outs against two pair, but be drawing dead to runner-runner if Ward has something better than two pair. With 16 small bets now in the pot, Adam should call and take off a card. It is almost certain that Carl will call, so the pot will be giving Adam 17-to-1 pot odds. Adam's backdoor-flush draw adds something to his winning chances.



Adam called, as did Carl. There are nine big bets in the pot. The turn was the 3.



Question No. 5: What should Adam do?

Answer: Check. At this point, Adam must respect the raising done by Ward on the flop. He almost certainly is trailing at this point.



Adam and Carl both checked. Ward bet. There were 10 big bets in the pot.



Question No. 6: Should Adam fold, call, or raise?

Answer: Fold. Only if Ward has two pair not including a 10 would a call be justified. In this case, Adam would have five outs, which is an 8-to-1 shot, and his pot odds are better than that. But in all other cases, he has either three outs or no outs. Overall, it is a losing play to be calling. The other problem is that if he improves on the river, he may lose additional money when he check-calls or bets and gets raised by a set or a straight. Finally, there is a slight chance that Carl, who has been hanging around with some kind of draw, may catch something on the river.



Adam called, as did Carl. There were 12 big bets in the pot. The river card was the 2. Adam and Carl checked. Ward bet.



Question No. 7: What is Adam's play?

Answer: Call, but the decision is close. Adam is almost certainly beat, and there is Carl still to act behind him. But the pot is offering 13-to-1 odds and there is a remote possibility that Ward is betting a busted draw of some kind. If Carl was drawing, this river card does not figure to have helped him.



Adam called and Carl folded. Ward won with the 9 7, a flopped straight.



It is easy to get frustrated in this game and blow off extra money on a hand like Adam did. He started with the best hand and caught a good flop, but got trapped when a loose player drew out on him. He wasted $80 by calling Ward down when it became obvious that he was beat with insufficient odds to chase. One of the hallmarks of a good player is that he learns to get off hands early.

Jim Brier has co-authored a book with Bob Ciaffone titled Middle Limit Holdem Poker. It is available here on our website. Jim can be reached at [email protected].