Between Joe and Jim

It was late in my session. Joe, a good local Las Vegas player, limped in from up front in a tightish $30-$60 limit hold'em game. It was then folded around to me in the cutoff, and I had the J 9. Even though I respect Joe's game and I knew that he had a superior holding to mine, it was the type of spot in which I like to take a flop.

Joe understands position well, and like all knowledgeable players, he plays many fewer hands from up front. His range of holdings when limping from up front rather than raising was small, which would give me a good feel for where he was on the flop, whereas he would rightly consider my range to be broad, giving him a weak feel for my holding. My positional advantage negated some of the superior hand-selection advantage he held over me; plus, the blinds would add additional value to my bet. I tossed in $30, hoping to put myself in a position to catch a flop or outplay Joe later in the hand.

One of the risks you take when trying to sneak in cheaply is that someone might raise behind you. Obviously, the fewer players there are to act and the lower their raising propensity, the greater the risks you can take. In this case, the risk seemed reasonable, as the button was a solid player and the blinds weren't particularly frisky. That said, there still are hands with which they will raise.

Damn! Jim, a solid local player, raised from the button. I knew he held a premium hand. Both blinds folded. Joe and I called. This wasn't the situation I was looking to find myself in - a raised pot, three-handed, with the worst holding, and a premium hand directly behind me!

But it's nothing a good flop couldn't cure, and the flop hit me square in the eyes: 10 8 7. I had flopped the nut straight. Joe checked, as did I, looking to check-raise Jim. But Joe beat me to it; when Jim bet, Joe check-raised.

I thought about the best way to play my hand. I put Joe's range on a bluff, 8-8, 7-7, or a suited paint with a 10. I thought he would have preflop raised with 10-10, so assuming my read was correct, he was a 2-1 favorite to hold a 10 over a set (12 combinations of Broadway suited tens and six combinations of 8-8 and 7-7). I also needed to include his bluffs in the equation. Jim could have an overpair, 10-10, 9-9, 8-8, or a hand like A-K or A-Q. If he had A-K or A-Q, I didn't want to blow him out, but instead give him an opportunity to catch a card and put more money in the pot while drawing dead. If I just called, Jim might reraise with an overpair and I would get three bets in without revealing strength to my opponents, giving me an opportunity to create more action later in the hand. Looking to get extra action out of Jim and disguise my hand, I called. Jim thought, and called. I wasn't sure if he held overcards or an overpair. I knew he was leery of the connected board.

The turn card was the 4, a blank against my opponents' range of hands unless one of them picked up a diamond draw. Joe led out. I thought if I raised, he might fold a 10 and likely just call with a set. Because of the way the hand would have played if I raised - with me flat-calling the flop and raising the turn - Joe would read me for having a strong holding. Jim still seemed interested in the hand. Now, I thought he likely held an overpair, probably one that was drawing dead and also one that he would fold to a raise. I chose to flat-call, thinking that I would get a dead bet out of Jim and possibly hit Joe on the river if the board didn't pair. If a card hit on the river that Joe knew couldn't give me two pair, I would probably just call, as Joe wouldn't three-bet me, and with Jim calling behind, the value would be the same.

Damn! The 8 hit on the river, pairing the board. Joe fired. I didn't like my holding, but the pot was laying me more than 10-1. I made a crying call, and Jim called behind me. Joe turned over 7-7 for the full house, and Jim showed A-A and tossed it in the muck.

This hand speaks to the greater-gain/smaller-loss concept in poker: playing your hand in a manner that acquires the best risk/reward value in the current situation by analyzing your opponents' hand ranges, including how strong those ranges are against your holding, and designing plays to obtain the most equity with the least amount of risk. You need to take into consideration how your opponents will play their hands, and not let them price-correctly draw at your hand. In this case, I built the pot with little risk and got away cheaply, considering the strength of my holding.

And in spite of the fact that it was putrefying to watch Joe drag in the chips, I knew that's poker and I had played my hand well, and that's what counts. All I could do was look forward, and play the next hand.

Longtime poker pro and author Roy Cooke's Card Player column has appeared since 1992. A successful Las Vegas real estate broker since 1990, his website is www.roycooke.com. Should you wish to inquire regarding real-estate matters - including purchase, sale, or mortgage - his phone number is (702) 396-6575. Roy's longtime collaborator John Bond's website is www.johnbondwriting.com. Find John and Roy on Facebook.