Mixed Game Strategies

Poker pro Matt Glantz has demonstrated high-stakes versatility by becoming the World Series of Poker’s most consistent performer in big money mixed-game tournaments. Since 2008, he has made four WSOP final tables in mixed-game events with buy-ins of $10,000 to $50,000. He has also earned a reputation as one of the top mixed cash-game players in the world.
Glantz is answering Card Player reader questions about mixed-game poker strategy. Readers can email Matt questions directly to [email protected] and also should check out his website, www.mattglantzpoker.com, for more strategy and updates from the tournament trail.
Question: In stud high, if you are dealt three to a suit, is that sufficient reason to see fourth street for a bet or two given that you don’t see too many of your suit out? Or, do you need to at least have one of your suited cards be a high card, to give you the extra outs at a big pair? I’m sure it depends, but what are your thoughts?
MG: The key to playing three-card flushes in stud high is live cards. In a full game, if more than one of your suit are dead (other player’s up cards), you can generally forget about playing the hand for value. That said, you can play any stud hand to steal the antes. If you are the last one to act with a king up with two suited cards in the hole, and no one has entered the pot, you need to complete (raise) the bet no matter how many of your cards are dead.
Three suited cards that also make a straight draw is a huge hand if your suit is live, your straight cards are live, and your pair cards are live. So, If you have two of those three things going for your hand, your holding is still worth entering the pot. For example, Q♣ T♣ 5♣ is a pretty good hand if no clubs and no cards that pair you are out. That being said, I wouldn’t necessarily want to be playing that hand against an early position raiser with a king as his door card. But, in another example, if an early raiser has a ten in the door, and I am behind with a K♠ Q♠ in the hole and a 4♠ up, I might make a play based on the dead cards out in view. I might reraise the opener with the 4♠ showing to rep a big pair, or I might elect to flat the opener and invite players behind me into the pot.
Question: In Omaha 8-or better, what role do hands like K♠ K♥ 10♠ 7◆ or Q♣ Q◆ 5◆ 3♥ have? Clearly they aren’t very good starting hands, but they can flop big hands, and if not you usually can fold relatively easily on the flop. Thoughts?
MG: Q♣ Q◆ 5◆ 3♥ can be a decent hand to three-bet an opener if you think you can get the pot heads up. Not a great hand multiway, but it is a favorite against most opening hands heads up and pretty easy to play in position.
K♠ K♥ 10♠ 7◆ is a hand you just generally want to stay away from. If you are in the BB and it’s one bet to you in a multiway pot, you can safely see the flop and pretty much set-mine or sometimes flop a straight draw. But if the flop comes 3♠ 4♠ 7◆, the last thing you want to do is hang in multiway to draw to the second nut-high when even if you have the best flush draw, you are only drawing to half the pot.
Question: What kinds of hands would you defend in Omaha 8-or-better from the big blind against a smart, relatively ABC player who open raises in late position?
MG: The better you are at reading Omaha 8-or-better hands, the more liberal you should be at defending from the BB in this situation. The real key for almost any skill level is to stay away from middle cards. If you have more than two cards in your hand between six and jack, then its an easy laydown. But a hand such as A-J-T-4 is a must call from the BB. Yet even here, you are mostly looking for high card flops.
Question: In a full-ring triple draw deuce-to-seven game, what in your experience is the average winning hand strength?
MG: In a six-handed game, the average winning hand seems to be an 8-7.
A full-ring triple draw deuce-to-seven game is six-handed. Some casinos will deal the game seven handed, but that creates the need for the dealer to reshuffle the deck in the middle of the hand quite frequently. The average winning hand would seem to be an 875xx in the six-handed games I play in. In a seven-handed game, I would think the average would tend to be around an 86xxx.
Question: Are small connectors ever profitable to play in limit hold’em assuming competent competition, or is the showdown value of big cards too important in that game?
MG: Any two-card hand can be played profitably in specific situations when your competition is weak enough. But when you have competent competition as you say, your range needs to tighten up quite substantially. In general, it will be profitable to play small suited connectors on the button or in the cutoff only when the blinds are folding too much of their range. If the blinds are big defenders, you can fold these hands and look for better spots. The showdown value of the high card can not be overstated when playing limit hold’em. ♠