I recently went through my files and found a few situations, both cash games and tournaments, that I thought were worth discussing. The game is no-limit hold'em in all cases.
The first two questions came from Ed Burton, who attended a WPT Boot Camp in which I was one of the teachers.
The first one is a cash-game question with the following situation: The blinds are $1-$2 and I have $220 in front of me. I call a raise to $7 preflop with pocket eights. Three players see the flop, which comes 10-8-6 rainbow. Player A bets out $20 and player B raises to $150. I am now trying to decide what to do. I think there might be a set out, and if so, I am 50-50 to have the best set. I think 9-7 for a straight is unlikely in a raised pot with these players. Hands like a pair and a straight draw, such as 10-9, or even pocket nines are definitely a possibility, and I would be a big favorite over those types of hands. I made the call and lost to pocket tens.
Ed's main concern was whether middle set was a strong enough hand to call what would ultimately be an all-in bet against a player he considered to be a strong opponent. My answer was simple: I would have gone all in on the flop. That might be just enough to drive player A out of the pot and get me heads up with player B. If I am up against a set of tens or even the long-shot possibility of a straight, it's just too bad for me. Against a made straight, I still have outs. Anytime it is set over set and you have the smaller set, you are going to lose some money. Many players would have played an overpair the same way, or a pair and a straight draw. There are too many hands that you could legitimately beat to fold your set.
Ed's next question concerned a tournament situation: It's the first hand of the final table. The blinds are $4,000-$8,000 and there is no ante. I am in the small blind with a short stack of $24,000. The chip leader is on the button and has $160,000 in chips. The big blind is another short stack, with $28,000 after posting his big blind. Everyone folded around to the button, who limped in for $8,000. My hand was 9-8 offsuit and I decided to call. I was not sure if my call was correct, but I was getting 5-to-1 on my money. I could have folded and had another entire round to find a playable hand. The other alternative was to raise all in and hope the big blind folded and get heads up with the chip leader on the button, or hope he folded. If I raised and he called, I think I would have had two live cards, so that was another consideration. After deciding to call, the big blind checked and we were off to the flop. It came K-9-4 of mixed suits. I checked, but only to see what the big blind would do. I was prepared to call any bet from the button. The big blind checked and the button bet $16,000. A call would put me almost all in and certainly make me pot-committed for my last few chips. I went all in, and much to my surprise and sadness, the big blind also went all in. He also had expected the button to bet out and he laid the trap perfectly, snaring both of us. He had about what I expected, a set of fours, and I was out the door in 10th place. What are your thoughts on how I played this hand?
First off, I would have called from the small blind. You were getting a great price. I would not have moved in. You were too short-stacked to get the button to fold, not to mention that the big blind might wake up with a hand. Moving in with 9 high is just not a good option. The only thing I would have done differently is move in on the flop with middle pair, rather than risk a free card that could beat me. If you were prepared to call somebody else's bet, it is pretty standard procedure to bet yourself in this situation.
The last question came from Shaka Johnson, a student of mine: I was down to the last 14 players in a tournament, with 10 getting paid. I was slightly below average with $4,500 in chips. The chip leader had around $12,000. I had the K
Q
in the small blind. There was one limper, and the button, who had me covered, made a standard raise to $1,000. I called, and the limper called. The flop came 7-4-2 with one club, and it got checked around. The turn was the 9
, giving me a flush draw. I checked, hoping to get a free shot at the flush, and the limper checked, as well. The button then bet $1,000. I did not think that the 9 helped either of the other players. I decided that with my flush draw and two overcards, I would try to steal the pot; besides, I might even have the best hand, so I went all in. The button called the $2,500 more and turned over pocket eights. I didn't improve and went out in 14th place. In hindsight, I think I should have just called and seen if I hit my draw. What do you think?
Well, Shaka, I think your all-in move was definitely a mistake, for one simple reason: You did not have enough chips to force your opponent to fold for only $2,500 more. The pot was too big for him to fold any kind of hand. I think you made a marginally acceptable call preflop, and on fourth street, as well. That being said, I would have saved the $2,500 and had another entire round to find a decent hand to play.
In addition, I think the button made a mistake by not betting his pocket eights on the flop, as he gave his opponents a potentially costly free card.
Tom McEvoy is a representative of PokerStars.com. He can be found playing under his own name on PokerStars, and is happy to chat when he can.
