Another No-Limit Lesson for Roy

The Venetian recently sponsored a World Series of Poker celebrity poker tournament; 200 entrants put up $125 apiece to compete for five $10,000 WSOP main-event buy-ins. The Venetian kicked in the extra $25,000 for the WSOP seats, as a way of rewarding its regular customers, resulting in a nice overlay. It's a grand attitude for a cardroom to possess, one that I appreciate. The Venetian cardroom is a class act all the way!

We poker writers tend to write about situations in which we know our analysis was correct, and explain why. Occasionally, we write about our errors, and explain why. Well, like every other poker player in the world, we sometimes find ourselves in situations in which we just don't know; we know what our thoughts were during the play of a hand, but not whether they were any good.

The tourney was no-limit hold'em, $3,000 in chips, $25-$50 initial blinds, and the limits raised every 30 minutes. I'm almost exclusively a limit hold'em player, but the conceptual understanding that makes my game good in limit applies to other forms of poker. When I play other games, I find that my depth of conceptual knowledge carries me a long way. That said, I sometimes make errors from my lack of understanding of a given game's nuances and give up much to those who have a "feel" for the given game.

Still, I was happy for the invite, as it was an opportunity to play something a little different and have some fun. Plus, I had significantly the best of it, with the Venetian added money in the prize pool.

We were exactly a half-hour into the tournament, the first hand of $50-$100 blinds. I had picked up a few small pots in the first level without ever getting called, and had built my stack up to $3,700. I envisioned myself in the WSOP big one - at least in my fantasies! I looked down to see the 7 7 two off the button. None of my opponents had entered the pot in front of me, and I popped it to $300.

Unlike limit hold'em, in no-limit, you get to choose the amount to wager. In choosing that amount, you are offering odds to your opponents. Choosing the right amount is both one of the keys and complexities of no-limit. The size of an opening raise is related to what your purpose is, the styles of the opponents to act behind you, what kind of raises you have made in similar situations previously, deception potential, and many other variables. Obviously, the size of the raise will affect the price that both you and your opponents get on all subsequent decisions; therefore, it is key to the play of the entire hand.

I chose $300 for a couple of reasons. I wanted to give myself an opportunity to win the blinds, or at least put pressure to fold on my opponents. If I didn't win the pot preflop, at least I could get value from getting a pot started and show some aggression in the game. And, I might buy the button, which I always like because I'm a little more aggressive when in that position. I was surprised to get three callers - the button and both blinds. We took the flop fourhanded, with $1,200 in the pot.

The flop came K-J-8, all spades, not exactly my dream flop. Both blinds checked to me. Since my hand had little value, I checked along, and the button also decided a free card was in order. The dealer turned the 7, giving me bottom set. Both blinds checked to me, and now I was faced with the dilemma of whether to bet, and if so, how much. I wanted to make it a strong bet and perhaps win without a call, but I also didn't want to go broke with this hand. I chose $1,300, which in hindsight I question, feeling it was a strong enough bet to concern someone, and one with which I could get away from my hand with tournament chips if I knew I was beat.

The button folded, and the player in the small blind, who had more than $5,000 in chips in front of him, went into think-tank mode for more than a minute, and then raised to $2,600. The big blind folded and it was $1,300 more to me. I went into my patented thought huddle. I knew this hand was going to be key for me, and I wanted to make the best decision.

What did he have? I thought he had a flush; he hesitated, yet exuded confidence, subconsciously, I thought. I was pretty sure he had a flush. But, could he have other hands?

It was the first time I had ever played with this guy. I didn't have much in the way of information on him. He was young, played aggressively, and was trying hard. Could he have K-J and my hand was good? Could he raise with a hand like A-J with the A, thinking I might not have a hand to call a raise? I had seen him play an open-end straight draw aggressively earlier in the session. Could he have a bigger set? Three eights or jacks, or maybe even have slow-played wired kings preflop?

If he did have a set, I had the 7 and would be drawing live to the flush, as he couldn't have both the set and a flush draw. Could he have a hand like 10-9 suited and have made a straight? There was $5,100 in the pot; I was getting almost 4-1 on a call, so with 10 outs, the price was right to draw to the full house as long as it was good. That is, the price was right in a cash game, but this was a tournament! In a tournament, your real price is a function of your equity in the prize money. If I drew, would I fold on the river if I failed to improve?

I thought that if I called the turn, I was committed on the river. If I folded, I would be left with $2,100. Would I have a better chance to win the tournament by folding or calling? The truth be told, I wasn't sure. If I lost this pot, I would be crippled and likely done with the tournament, the old saying about a chip and a chair notwithstanding. But there was a good $40-$80 limit hold'em game going in the corner.

I chose to move all in, raising my case $800. I thought I was probably beat, but believed my chances to win the tourney were better served by taking the hand to completion than folding. I did not have either the tournament or no-limit knowledge or experience to get an accurate enough read on the situation to quantify if the raise was right or wrong; at best, it was an educated guess.

All else being equal, good readers of poker situations make more accurate decisions than those with poor reading skills. But in order to read well, you need to have experience in the game, and associate a player's knowledge level with the current situation.

That way, you can read opponents' minds and hands in specific situations accurately. That said, sometimes your information is limited, and you have to make the best educated guess at the time. In this situation, I was not confident that the play I chose was the correct one; it was just my best guess.

He quickly called and turned over the nuts, the A Q. The dealer turned a blank on the river, and I was off to the $40-$80 limit hold'em game.

This hand speaks to several issues. One is about creating and staying in your element. That said, there was not a lot of world-class competition in this tourney, so I don't think I gave up much of anything to the field with my decisions. Secondly, chip values in tournaments are different from ring games, so you must adjust your analysis accordingly. Quantifying your situation takes much in the way of knowledge and experience. The best player in the field has a better chance of winning with $2,100 left than the worst does (I'm not saying I was either). Thirdly, your betting amounts determine your risk; if you overcommit or undercommit, you can easily hit the door. Determining the right amounts in specific situations also takes much in the way of knowledge and experience.

I think my biggest error in the hand was that I overbet the turn. I could have gotten away from a smaller bet. But having made that bet, did I make the right decision when he played back at me? I think I did, but I'm not sure!

Should I have laid my set of sevens down, saved the $2,100, and seen what I could have done with it? Or, did I do the right thing by giving myself a shot at having enough chips to be able to get aggressive, possibly dominate the table, and put myself in position to get lucky and win the tournament? I don't know. Maybe you do. If so, tell me. Send your thoughts to [email protected].

I caught some hands in the $40-$80 game, made a nice quick score, and just loved playing at the Venetian, so the evening as a whole worked out well for me. But, I sure could see myself at the final table of the "big one"! Maybe next year.

Roy Cooke has played winning professional poker since 1972. He is a successful real estate broker/salesperson in Las Vegas. His books are available at www.conjelco.com/cooke. His longtime collaborator, John Bond, is a freelance writer in South Florida.