Flopping Quads

This was a 10-handed $20-$40 limit hold'em game at The Mirage in Las Vegas. It was a loose game, but on this hand only three players were involved. Since the hand involved actual players, I have changed their names to protect their identities. Danny was sitting in middle position and open-limped. Danny is the ideal opponent. He plays loosely and passively, and is totally predictable. You don't have to worry about any bluffs or semibluffs from Danny. It was folded to Frank on the button, and he raised. Frank is a tough player, just the opposite of Danny. Frank is also very familiar with Danny. It was folded to Steve, who was in the big blind with the 7 7.



Question No. 1: What should Steve do?

Answer: This is an automatic call, and any other play is wrong. Three-betting is wrong because the hand is not strong enough and Steve's position is bad. Furthermore, driving out Danny to get it heads up from out of position against a good player like Frank is very undesirable. Steve would need a much better hand, like pocket tens or better, to merit reraising in this situation. Folding is also incorrect. Steve will get paid off handsomely if he flops a set. If rags appear, he may be able to win the hand unimproved.



Steve called as did Danny. There were three and a half small bets in the pot. The flop arrived with the 8 7 7, giving Steve all the sevens.



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

Answer: Steve should bet, contrary to all published advice on the subject. I have read numerous articles and some books that advocate always slow-playing quads. But you have to look at the specific situation and the players involved. Suppose Steve checks. Danny will probably check to Frank, the preflop raiser. Frank will almost certainly bet. Now, if Steve raises, Danny may fold. If Steve just calls, Danny will probably call, so this line of play adds three small bets to the pot. But suppose Steve bets? Danny will probably call, since this is a great drawing flop, containing two connecting cards as well as a two-flush. Frank will raise if he has an overpair, top pair, or just a good draw. Tough players like Frank frequently get aggressive when they catch a good draw. The bottom line is that leading out is much more likely to build a good pot than slow-playing, given who the players are and their relative positions.



Steve bet, Danny called, and Frank raised. There were seven and a half small bets in the pot.



Question No. 3: What now?

Answer: Steve should just call. This is working out exactly as Steve planned. By calling, he will induce a call from Danny, who loves to call anyway. If Steve were to three-bet, he runs the risk of losing his market. Danny may fold rather than call two bets cold, especially with the possibility of more raising. If Danny folds, there is a remote chance that Frank may even fold, given the open pair on the table. Even if Frank calls after Danny folds, Steve may not get any further play from Frank once the turn card comes. Reraising simply kills the action.



Steve called, as did Danny. There were almost five big bets in the pot. The turn card was the 3.



Question No. 4: What action should Steve take?

Answer: Steve has to bet. This is a good card, since it makes a flush possible, as well as a flush draw. Checking would be a horrible play. It might get checked around. It would be a terrible mistake to surrender control of the hand to a tough player like Frank. Frank's flop raise might well have been done on a draw in an attempt to get a free card. Unless that draw was specifically a flush draw, Frank may decide to check and see the river. Now Steve loses collecting a round of double bets. By betting, Steve will get called by either Danny or Frank if either of them has a big spade. He will get raised if this card made a flush for either of his two opponents. This would enable him to three-bet. As in the earlier situation, betting has a much better chance of building a pot than checking.



Steve bet, Danny called, and Frank raised. There were about nine big bets in the pot.



Question No. 5: What is Steve's play?

Answer: Steve should three-bet. There is no point in slow-playing any longer. It is obvious that Frank has made a flush. Even if Danny folds, Frank will certainly call. But if Danny calls, Steve gets extra bets from Danny as well as Frank. Furthermore, it is possible that someone has a full house, which will enable Steve to get almost unlimited action.



Steve three-bet and both players called. There were 14 big bets in the pot. The river was the Q.



Question No. 6: What should Steve do?

Answer: Of course, Steve has to bet. At this point, no one will be betting the river for him.



Danny and Frank both called. Steve won as Danny mucked and Frank flashed the K Q before mucking.



It is a pleasant problem when you catch a monster hand and have to figure out how to extract the maximum value for it. Automatically slow-playing is not always the right course of action.

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