I was in the small blind ($20), playing $30-$60 hold'em. Four players called and it was to me. Getting 17-1, all hands are worth a call in that situation; I looked at my hand only to see if I wanted to raise. I peeked down to see 9-7 offsuit. I'd have played stuff much trashier than that in this spot, so I tossed in one chip to call. My friend Glenn, in the big blind, knuckled, and we took the flop off sixhanded.
Swish - nothing but net! The flop came 7
7
6
, giving yours truly three sevens, but putting both a diamond flush draw and a multitude of straight draws out there! Oftentimes, after flopping trips, I like to lead into the field. Many players will not read you for trips if you bet, thinking that you would check, thereby creating more action for your holding. Plus, I'd be happy if somebody raised, thereby giving my opponents a worse price on the draws they were sure to chase. I fired $30 forward.
Glenn in the big blind called. Andrew, a local pro who had limped in to open the pot preflop, raised, and was cold-called by a woman in the cutoff. The button folded and it was back to me.
I thought about flat-calling and check-raising the turn. I suspected that Andrew held either a medium wired pair or, more likely, a flush draw. But if I flat-called, Glenn almost certainly would call and Andrew, being the caliber of player who reads hands well, might get alarmed that a 7 might be out and check the turn, particularly if he held the flush draw and missed, taking a free card. Also, if I called, I might be giving Glenn a correct call to a straight draw. As a general rule, you don't want to give opponent chances to make correct calls against your holding unless you can make up the value lost on a future street. I chose to three-bet.
Bang! Glenn four-bet me. I knew he held a 7, and he could have any kicker, being in the blind. He almost certainly would have slow-played 6-6 or 7-6, so I pretty much ruled out those hands. Andrew and the lady called, as did I.
I hated the turn card, the Q
, which filled the flush draw that I believed Andrew held. I checked, Glenn checked, Andrew bet, and the lady raised. Now, I was indubitably beat. I thought about my draw: three queens, three nines, three sixes, or one 7, which was 10 outs. But - I knew Glenn held a 7, too, and he wasn't folding regardless of whether or not I called. I had nine outs, not 10; and the three queens and three sixes would get me only a split. I had six cards for the split and three nines for the win. There currently was $780 in the pot. Did I want to call $120?
What other issues might affect my price? Andrew, the pro who led the turn and whom I put on a made flush, is not a timid man. When he thinks he has the best hand, he presses. The likelihood of him reraising was high. There was some chance that even if I hit one of my cards, my hand would not be good. As pretty as the flop had been, and as much as I'd briefly loved my hand, the situation was not right to call. I tossed my hand into the muck. Glenn called the two bets cold, Andrew reraised to $180, and the lady called, followed by Glenn.
Damn! It wasn't my happiest moment when the 9
- one of my wins - hit on the river. The pot was more than a grand and still growing, and yeah, I know, you make the right decision and don't sweat the results, but, hey - that was my thousand bucks! Nasty thoughts filled my head. Even though I knew my fold was correct, I loathed the thought that I would have stacked the chips.
Glenn checked, Andrew bet, the lady called, and Glenn check-raised them both. The moment that he check-raised, I knew that he held the same hand that I had - 9-7 - and had filled up. Andrew and the lady both called, and Glenn turned over his 9-7. With the nut flush, Andrew was not happy that he wasn't stacking the chips, and playfully gave Glenn a little abuse about calling the turn. "You would have called 100 times out of 100 with my hand," Glenn responded. I chuckled inside, but didn't say a word.
While my fold was correct, the fact that I had folded made Glenn's call correct with the same hand, since he was no longer drawing to a split on six of his outs. If our seats had been reversed and he'd folded, I too would have called. In his position, facing a caller with whom I was likely to split the pot, I'd have folded. Given the situation I faced, I made the right play. Given the situation he faced, he made the right play.
Identical cards, the same pot, the same opponents with the same holdings, but one seat apart and significantly different results: Glenn was grinning from ear to ear, taking his time putting all of his chips into stacks; he was enjoying the moment much more than I was!
In calculating your chances of winning a hand, you always must include your read of your opponents' hands and play. The likely cards out against you and how your opponents will play their holdings can define your outs and price. Split-pot situations are common in hold'em, and drawing to them is a totally different proposition than drawing to win the whole thing. Most players are far too inclined to put in extra chips when getting half the price, a particularly significant high-low concept, but one that applies to other poker games, also!
By the way, Glenn - you're welcome. How about buying me lunch one day with those chips that could have gone into my stack? Then again, with that size of a pot, we could do Vegas' finest for dinner! Judging from the size of both of our bellies, we both love to eat!
Roy Cooke has played more than 60,000 hours of pro poker and has been part of the I-poker industry since its beginnings. His fourth book, The Home Poker Handbook, is available from www.conjelco.com/cooke. His longtime collaborator, John Bond, is a freelance writer in South Florida. Visit Roy's website at www.roycooke.com
