Not Getting The Max

Poker is not just about patiently waiting for good starting hands that have a greater chance to win; it’s also about maximizing the value of the hands you play by playing them in a manner that gives you the greatest edge. That extra value will influence your edge substantially. And getting the biggest edge possible over time is what will make you a poker star.

It was Saturday afternoon; the $40-$80 limit hold’em game was a mix of tourists and local pros. A solid tourist open raised to $80 and was smooth called by two opponents. I peeked down at the 8 8 in the small blind (SB), and tossed in the additional $60. The big blind (BB) flipped in $40 and we took the flop five handed for $80, $400 in the pot.

The flop came down A A 4, not a favorable flop for my hand. Any ace or wired pair higher than eights, a likely large portion of an upfront solid opener’s range, left me with a two outer. Additionally, one of the callers’ holdings might have fit that same hand range. I knuckled, as did the BB. Mr. Preflop Raiser fired, folding the other two opponents.

Getting 11-to-1 current, I considered calling. Being 45-2 or 22.5-to1 to catch an eight, the price was shallow. But there were other factors. On the plus side, I was a big favorite to get additional action if I hit my hand. When calculating your pricing, you need to include the probability of receiving additional action as well as the possibility you may make your hand and lose. Additionally, if I called, and Mr. Preflop Raiser feared a check-raise on the turn, my call may freeze the turn action, creating the possibility he will check the turn and grant me a two cards-for-one small bet discount. Also, my eights had some chance to be good if Mr. Preflop Raiser held a hand like K-Q or J-10 suited. But even if my hand was good, I was in danger of getting played off of it or getting drawn out on, so I couldn’t ascribe much value to having the best hand.

On the downside, Mr. BB was yet to act behind me and might raise, both reducing my price and creating the possibility of a reraise, one which I couldn’t call, which would make my initial call dead money. Overall, I thought the call was close, and tossed in the $40. Mr. BB called behind me; I had no read on his holding.

The turn card hit me squarely, the 8, filling me up! I contemplated leading, but Mr. Preflop Raiser seemed anxious to bet, and I knuckled intent on check-raising. Mr. BB passed, Mr. Preflop Raiser fired, and I raised, folding Mr. BB who flashed the 10 as he chucked his hand into the muck. Mr. Preflop Raiser called my check-raise and my river bet. I turned my hand over, and he sighed, and then tossed his hand into the muck. There was little doubt in my mind, I’d sucked out big time.

But had I played my holding correctly? Yeah, I won the pot, but did I get the best equity on my hand? As I like to do, I scrutinized my play in hindsight looking to sharpen my decision-making skills. When I do these analyses, I make sure to examine my decisions in the context of the information I had available at the point of decision.

So was my turn check-raise the right play? How would it have played had I led? I thought things through. When Mr. BB called the flop, he might have had a wired pair, most likely below eights, a flush draw or an ace. If I led, I felt he would fold the wired pair, call with the flush draw and call with weak aces. Mr. BB may have raised with a strong ace, though I felt it unlikely he held a strong ace. If I check-raised Mr. Preflop Raiser, Mr. BB would call with any ace, but fold all other hands. There was some chance Mr. Preflop Raiser would reraise my check-raise with a big ace, but I thought he was wary of me and the reraise would be uncertain. Also, while I thought Mr. Preflop Raiser would bet, I didn’t have to be right.

There were multiple other scenarios to quantify, but the fact that if I led, Mr. BB would call with a flush draw, a hand that was drawing dead to my holding, made leading a better play. When opponents are drawing dead, the equity of their bet is zero percent, a situation you want to avoid yourself and manipulate your opponents into committing.
I not only failed to bring in that dead bet, but I may have lost additional bets by not leading. Yeah, I won the pot, and a nice one at that, but I had earned less than the maximum on my holding, an unforgivable sin in my poker world.

Playing poker well is complicated and filled with nuances. You need to train your mind to calculate the varying equities offered by poker situations so you can determine the best course of action. In most situations, exact determinations are impossible for anyone to calculate, but by understanding the equation conceptually and by doing some “rough justice” in your head, your poker decisions will dramatically improve.

And when your poker decisions are better than your opponents, the money is sure to flow to you! ♠

Roy Cooke played poker professionally for 16 years prior to becoming a successful Las Vegas Real Estate Broker/Salesman in 1989. Should you wish to any information about Real Estate matters-including purchase, sale or mortgage his office number is 702-396-6575 or Roy’s e-mail is [email protected]. His website is www.roycooke.com. You can also find him on Facebook or Twitter @RealRoyCooke