A Bad Hand Played Well

Most poker players play by set standards. They utilize a strategy that enables them to play on autopilot without putting much thought into their hand-selection decisions. As a general rule, the majority of the plays made pursuant to the prevailing general wisdom are correct. But, there is little edge to be gained by playing strictly that way. By playing in that manner, you miss opportunities to obtain positive expectation on bets that present themselves outside of those parameters. And small edges add up to significant expectation over the course of time, and are what separate the mediocre from the great – and, oftentimes, the losers from the winners.

An extremely loose, predictable player called from under the gun in the $30-$60 hold'em game I was playing. The field folded to me on the button and I looked down to see A-8 offsuit. Conventional wisdom, and my own standards, call for mucking this hand with an upfront caller. The likelihood of being outkicked by the upfront caller or being in trouble against a hand out of the blinds outweighs any positional advantages one might hold. However, as I have written before, each poker situation is unique, and I faced an unusual set of circumstances in this situation.

My hand was highly likely to be superior to the under-the-gun caller's hand. I had position throughout the hand. I would be able to read his hand with good reliability. The blinds were not tough players. These factors made my hand playable.

I thought about the best way to play my hand. Raising was an option, as it could create future situations in which my hand played better. But several of the reasons to raise in this spot were not applicable to the current situation. The blinds were not the type of players to fold, all of my opponents played in a passive and straightforward manner, which reduced the chances of my raise getting me a free turn card, and I already had the button, so raising would not improve my position in future betting rounds. I decided to just call. By calling, I could get away from my hand cheaply if I missed, since I had good reading ability in this spot. Furthermore, by keeping the pot small, I would reduce the price my opponents were receiving to draw if I hit my hand, which was a worthy consideration, as they were certainly the type of players who would chase any draw.

Both blinds called. We took the flop fourhanded. The dealer turned A-K-3 rainbow. The small blind led, folding the big blind. I was pretty sure the bettor held an ace, but not A-K or A-Q, since he would have raised preflop with either of those holdings. He would call with any ace in his spot, and was an ABC, straightforward player. He bet out when he held top pair or better, and check-called with any other pair or draw. The upfront caller called. I did not know what he held, although I was pretty sure it was an inferior holding to mine. If the bettor held A-J, A-10, A-9, or A-3, I was beat. If he held A-7, A-6, A-5, A-4, or A-2, I could be beaten. There were other hands he might hold that also beat me, such as K-3 or 3-3. If we were just heads up, I might just flat-call him down. That play is strong when the style of your opponent is such that he may bluff, or you would pay off a flop reraise to the river and you strongly question if your hand is beat. If you can get away from the hand if your opponent reraises, raising for a combination of value and information would be a play worthy of consideration.

But since we had a player in between us who was drawing, raising was the correct play. It charged the caller a higher price to draw. And while there was a chance that it benefited the bettor, there was also a good chance that it created value for me, too. With my raise, incorporating my read of the bettor into the equation, we both gained equity in the pot at the expense of the caller in between us. They both flat-called me.

The poker gods smiled at me, as an 8 came on the turn. I thought it certain that I held the best hand. Any holding that beat me would have been played differently by my opponents. I slid $60 into the center, and they both called.

The river brought a 4 without completing any flushes. The small blind fired $60 into the pot, folding the in-between caller. I thought the 4 helped his hand, and I couldn't put him on 5-2 or 4-4, because he led at the pot on the flop. I had him pretty much dead to rights on A-4, and raised him. He paid me off and showed me A-4.

Adjust your play to your opponents and use hand-reading skills to maximize your edge. There are no set, easy-to-learn strategies. Many playing decisions are close, and can go in different directions depending on the weight you give the different applicable concepts. Poker is a game of understanding concepts and reading a situation as accurately as possible, and applying them both to the given situation and pulling the trigger on the decision. Remember that most reading situation answers will be a range of hands.

And when in doubt, pray to the poker gods! Sometimes you'll turn two pair and it'll make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, especially when you play a bad hand well.

Roy Cooke played winning professional poker for more than 16 years. He is a successful real estate broker/salesperson in Las Vegas. If you would like to ask Roy poker-related questions, you may do so online at www.UnitedPokerForum.com.