Run it Twice -- Andrew BrokosBrokos Talks Us Through a No-Limit Hold'em Hand |
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Andrew "Foucault" Brokos is known for his knowledge of the game and experience in no-limit hold'em cash games. An instructor for Card Player Pro (powered by PokerSavvy Plus), Brokos is used to breaking down hands for strategy analysis, and here he discusses a no-limit cash-game hand with Card Player.
The Game
Type: Cash game
Game: No-limit hold'em
Blinds: $5-$10
The Lineup
Middle-Position Player No. 2: $2,916.40
Cutoff: $492.60
Button: $579.50
Small Blind: $1,813.20
Brokos (big blind): $2,057
Under the Gun: $1,002
Early-Position Player: $1,803
Middle-Position Player No. 1: $470
Run it Twice -- Review of the Hand
Preflop Action: The cutoff raises to $28. The small blind calls, and Brokos calls with A
7. The pot is now $84.
Kristy Arnett: What goes into your decision to call preflop, and did you consider squeezing here?
Andrew Brokos: One important thing to see here is that the cutoff starts the hand with only $500, which is 50 big blinds in this game, so he’s sitting on kind of a short stack. He’s definitely not one of the winning regulars in this game, because those guys are always going to play for a full stack. If this had been a really good player who was raising here, with a good player in the small blind calling, this is a spot I would often be looking to make squeeze play with a suited ace. But against a player who only has half a stack to begin with, I’m not going to try to move him off of a hand preflop. Those guys, they just tend not to fold as often. The reason why they are playing short-stacked is so they don’t have to fold, so, in general, I’m not going to try to bluff them preflop. Since he didn’t even raise three times the big blind, I’m getting pretty good odds to call with my hand to see a flop. As a result of him not having a full stack, I’m assuming he’s not a fantastic player, so I’m thinking there is a lot of value to see a flop against him.
Flop Action: The flop comes K
9 8. All three players check around. The pot is still $84.
KA: This isn't a great flop for your hand. At this point, were you planning to continue with the hand?
AB: Initially, I’m giving up on this flop. It’s a pretty coordinated board. With two other players in the pot, I’m not really expecting to be able to win. I’m ready to be done with the hand on the flop. When it checks around, it’s pretty likely that none of my opponents have a strong hand. It’s not impossible, though, because the short-stack; well, it’s not a good time to slow-play with as many draws as there are on the board. I generally think it would be a better strategy for a short-stack to bet if they make a big hand, but sometimes you will see that short-stacks will slow-play their hand. And the small blind could have a big hand that he was hoping to check-raise.
Turn Action: The turn is the 5. The board reads K 9 8 5. The small blind bets out $49. Brokos raises to $229. The cutoff calls, and the small blind calls. The pot is now $180.
KA: What made you decide to play your draw so aggressively?
AB: It’s a combination of things. My initial read his that neither of these guys has a big hand, since they checked the flop. I’m not throwing it out completely, but I think it’s unlikely. Even if they do happen to have a monster, I still have probably 12 or 13 outs. Any diamond that doesn’t pair the board will give me the nuts, and probably any diamond will give me the best hand. I think a 6 is a winner for me, also. So, if I happen to run into an unlikely big hand, I’ll still have a decent amount of outs. Especially since the small blind is betting out $49 into an $84 pot. I would expect him to bet more if he really did have a big hand, so I was hoping that this big raise would either let me get it all in against the cutoff, who didn’t have that much money to begin with, or just blow the small blind off his hand and win the pot.
KA: Did it surprise you when they both just called?
AB: It did surprise me, but at the same time, it told me that neither of them had a strong hand on the turn. I think it’s pretty likely that they are both drawing, especially from the cutoff’s perspective. Remember, he only started the hand with about $500, so at this point, more than half of his money is in the pot. I think if he had any hand that he thought was good, he would have just put all of the money in on the turn, both because he can expect to get called by worse since it’s not that much money left, so there’s no reason to slow-play, and because there are all of these draws at this point. I would think he would want to get all of the money in the pot. And from the small blind’s perspective, once again, there are two people who have put a lot of money into the pot, and if he’s got a monster hand, there’s no reason for him not to raise it again with all of these draws. He chose just to call. So, both of these players had a chance to put more money in the pot an didn’t do it.
River Action: The river is the J
. The board reads K 9 8 5 J. The small blind checks. Brokos bets $550, and the cutoff calls $235.60 and is all in. The small blind reraises to $1,100. Brokos folds.
KA: This river looks like a blank. Did you fire a bet on the river because you were continuing with your read on the turn that they were weak and possibly drawing?
AB: Exactly. From my perspective, it didn’t look like it completed any obvious draws. It looked pretty close to a blank. I thought I could potentially bluff both of these guys off of their hands. Somehow, the jack actually managed to complete draws for both of them.
Result: The cutoff shows J 9, and the small blind shows 10 7. The small blind wins the pot of $2,106 (after rake).
AB: I like trying to bluff into multiple players. Not only do I sometimes surprise myself with the fold equity I have, but it's also nice for balancing my ranges and helping me to get paid off the many times that I have big hands in these spots.
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