Brother Alan Seeks No-Limit Advice From Wiser Sibling

My younger brother Alan is well-known as the author of several academic books, but far more important than his literary achievements is the fact that he is a recreational poker player who takes his online poker performance seriously. True student that he is, Alan overcame our lifelong sibling rivalry to ask my opinion on a hand he played in a one-table no-limit hold'em online tournament.

"Loath as I am to seek advice from my older brother, I shall defer to your card-playing expertise and tournament experience (though not to your presumed wisdom, which I know to be dubious at best)," he began. "It was the very first hand in the tournament, so each player had $1,000 in chips. I was in the big blind for $10 and was dealt the K Q. Seats No. 5, 7, and 9 limped in, as did the small blind. I checked, making five people in an unraised pot. The flop came with the J 10 6, giving me a flush draw and the nut-straight draw.

"The small blind checked, I checked, seats 5 and 7 checked, and seat 9 bet $125," Alan continued. "He could have been on a steal, but I gave him credit for having a legitimate hand that probably contained a jack. The small blind folded, I called, seat 5 called, and seat 7 folded, leaving three of us in action.

"The turn card was the Q, giving me top pair with an overcard, as well as the straight and flush draws. Decision time! There was $525 in the pot and I was first to act. Given the preflop limping, I thought I might be up against hands such as A-J, K-J, a straight draw, a low flush draw, or (gulp!) Q-J, J-10, or a set. Still, I had a strong hand with lots of outs. I decided to move all in.

"As I expected, seat 5 folded. If seat 5 had struck gold on the flop, I figured he would have raised. My real worry was seat 9. There was a long pause, followed by a call. He turned up J-10 offsuit. The river card was the 3. Busted!"

Even in defeat, however, Alan thought he had played the hand correctly. His main concern was whether his decision-making process was correct. "I could have put in a preflop raise of about $80 to represent strength and buy some information, and possibly even buy myself a small pot. Still, why risk someone coming over the top when I'm out of position and can see a free flop? My next decision was whether to bet or check the flop. Going to the center with my entire stack would have put everyone to the test, but that seemed rash since I was on a draw. As you said in one of your books, drawing hands are deadly in no-limit hold'em. A smaller bet of about $100 would have allowed me to represent strength, but I couldn't withstand a big raise, hence my decision to check.

"When seat 9 bet on the flop, given the pot odds and the implied odds, I thought it was reasonable to risk a call while hoping that no one would raise behind me. Then, if I got no help on the turn, I would check and fold if someone bet. Another person might have folded on the flop, losing only the big blind. Not me!

"When the queen came on the turn, I was confronted with a critical (indeed, fateful) decision. I thought about checking. If seat 5 or 9 bet, I could decide what to do, depending on the size of the bet. Obviously, checking was the safest option, but I thought checking at that point would be a weak play. Betting my entire stack, I reasoned, would afford me a reasonable chance to win the pot and thus take the chip lead. Into the center of the storm I went, and as luck would have it, I drowned in the whirlpool.

"So, dear older brother, how would you have played this hand?" Alan ended his snail-mail with, "Tell the truth – and remember that the wisdom of hindsight is often the wisdom of an – – -. With kind affection, your younger and better-looking brother, Alan."

Though taking offense to my sibling's closing sentence, I set pride aside and answered: "Dear Brother, I believe that checking before the flop in the big blind against four opponents was correct. Upon seeing the flop and having a big draw, checking was again in order. If you led at the pot and ran into a large raise, you would be better off folding this early in the tournament. Checking and calling a small bet seemed to be a better option at this point.

"The turn card queen, which gave you a pair, was also a potential trouble card, since it easily could have given one of the other two players a straight or two pair. Still, it was not terrible to make a move at the pot. In case your opponents were on a draw or had only one pair, they would have had to pay a heavy price to continue playing. Checking and then deciding what to do after your opponents acted was also reasonable.

"I agree with you that everyone has 20/20 vision after the fact; however, calling yourself better-looking than I am is completely contrary to reality. Your loving, older, wiser – and much better-looking brother, Tom."

If we all follow Alan's analytical process in playing small online tournaments, there's no doubt we will meet at the final table one day soon.

Editor's note: Tom McEvoy is the co-author with Brad Daugherty of Championship Satellite Strategy, now available through Card Player. For more details on all the books in the Championship series, visit www.cardplayer.com or www.pokerbooks.com.