Pocket Rockets Lose Again

Mike, a longtime Card Player reader, sent me this situation and asked if he had misplayed his hand. Here is what happened in his own words: I was playing in the $1-$2 blinds no-limit hold'em game at the Borgata, and sat down with $140 in chips. After posting, on the fourth hand dealt, the following hand occurred. I was third to act and looked down to see pocket rockets. The two players acting before me had both limped in. I decided to make it $15 to play to thin out the field. To my astonishment, seven people called. Already, I knew my hand was no longer the favorite with that many players in the pot. The flop came J-7-2 with two hearts. I was third to act again – as only the two blinds had folded. It was checked to me, and I checked, too. I was positive there was a set out there somewhere. To my surprise, everyone checked around the table. The turn was the 3, meaning there was now a possible flush out there. I had the A in my hand, for the nut-flush draw, so I decided to throw out a small bet to see where I was at. I bet $15 after it was checked to me. The next two players folded and the guy after that made it $75. Somehow, I just knew that he had the flush draw, but what did he call my preflop raise with? The only heart hand I could think he might call me with was K-Q. I just didn't think he had that hand, so I suspected that he might have hit a set on the turn. I decided that with my nut-flush draw and rockets, I might be good after all, so I called. I had just under $50 left. The river was the 2, giving me two pair, aces and deuces. I checked, and he put me all in. I assumed he didn't flop two pair, a set was a definite possibility, and I didn't want to believe he had a flush, so I called. He showed me the 9 7, and I was broke. This whole hand seems to be entirely my fault. I should have folded on the turn, as I knew he had a flush, but I just didn't want to believe he would play those cards, especially with that kind of a raise preflop. My friends all agree that when the pot got over $120, it seemed worth a call, but was not following my instincts the only mistake I made? Can you really not help it when other people make mistakes and get lucky?



Well, Mike, where do I begin? You were without a doubt the architect of your own disaster. You saw a boogeyman behind every bush – or in this case, every card that came off the deck – and then didn't even follow your own instincts. Let's dissect this hand right from the start. First of all, your preflop raise was reasonable, although if the game was as loose as you seemed to indicate, I would have raised a little more – to around $20. Once I got seven callers, it was time to analyze the flop. True, there were two hearts on board, but other than that, it was not a very threatening flop for two aces. It was mandatory to bet on this flop. In fact, instead of checking, I would have moved all-in. This would have been a little more than a pot-sized bet – and would have made it a mistake for a drawing hand to call you, because it was not getting the right price. Instead, you checked and let everyone have a free card, falsely assuming there might be a set out against you. What in the world made you come to that conclusion? Yes, there could have been, but the odds were against it, so why not protect your hand? Then, after the flush card came, you made a small feeler bet that got raised. There is no doubt in my mind that you were now beat. You sensed it, too, but then decided to redraw against it, even though you were not getting the right price with one card to come. I will say that it was close, however, and perhaps that was not the worst thing you could have done at that point. Once the river card came, you didn't want to believe a set or the flush – both of which you originally thought were possibilities and then kept changing your mind. Finally, you simply paid the hand off. You deserved to go broke after playing this hand like a wimp. If you make a correct read of a player and then ignore it, you are asking to go broke. Whether you made a correct read of the other player or not is the question, since you kept changing your mind. A player of indecision is a lost soul at the poker table. The worst mistake you made was not moving in on the flop and making everyone pay to draw against you. As for the player with the 9 7, he got a very nice price to gamble in a multiway pot, and then you let him get there for free. I would have played his hand in that situation myself.



Well, if Mike starts following his reads and doesn't give away any more free cards with his pocket rockets, perhaps you can join us in the winner's circle soon.



Tom McEvoy is a representative of PokerStars.com. He is also the voice of ProPlay, a new and innovative way to learn winning poker strategy. Find out more at ProPlayLive.com/tommcevoys.