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| Poker Strategy Lessons and Tips by John Juanda Learn to play online poker from the best players in the world. Pro Poker Lessons and Tips, Learn Poker Strategy from John Juanda |
| Play a Big Pot with a Big Poker Hand Poker Strategy Lessons and Tips by John Juanda Poker Pro Lessons and Tips, Learn Poker Strategy |
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John Juanda
Lesson: 11
Don't Play a Big Pot Unless You Have a Big Hand
May 30, 2005
I'm at Foxwoods playing the $2,000 No Limit Hold 'em event. We all started
with $3,000 and now I've got $15,000. At my table is Richard Tatalovitch, a
player whom I've competed against many times.
I raise pre-flop from middle position with K-J offsuit and Richard calls from the
big blind. The flop comes 9-6-4 with two diamonds on the board.
Richard hesitates for a moment before checking, and I put in a pot-sized bet.
Richard thinks for a while and calls. All of a sudden, I don't like my hand -- so
much.
Imagine my relief when a non-diamond J hits the turn. Now I have top pair
and a pretty good kicker. Then Richard comes out betting. Uh-oh.
Now, let me back up a moment and mention that when someone hesitates
before checking, it's usually a huge tell. But Richard is the king of delayed
action, so I ignored his tell and bet the flop anyway. And his bet on the turn
just screams, "Raise me! I dare you!"
I go into the tank and my thoughts go something like this:
1. He flopped a set. That explains the smooth call on the flop - he's trying to
trap me into staying, hoping I'll bet the turn, too.
2. No. If he had a set, he'd have checked the turn and waited for me to hang
myself right then and there, or let me catch something on the river. He can't
have a set.
3. The jack helped him. I don't have the jack of diamonds. Maybe he does,
and he called the flop with a jack-high flush draw. If so, I like my kicker and
my hand.
4. He's betting on the come with a flush or straight draw and is hoping to buy
the pot right there.
I run through these possibilities and reach no conclusion.
Normally, I would just call here. We both have a lot of chips, and I don't want
to put them all in with nothing but top pair. Then, I have the misfortune to
remember a hand from a month earlier at Bellagio:
Richard had been running bad and was complaining about a string of horrific
beats. I saw him check and call with top boat because he was afraid of
quads! A guy that afraid of monsters under the bed isn't going to check-call
top set on the flop with a flush draw out there.
"All in!" I declared.
Oops. This is now a Big Pot. And rest assured, top pair doesn't even
resemble a Big Hand.
In the four years I've been playing with him, I've never seen him call so fast. I
am drawing dead to his perfectly-played 9-9.
Sometimes, we all forget that big cards don't always equal a big hand and
that the smart move can be to play conservatively instead of going for the
quick kill. As for Richard - he had the good sense to be in a Big Pot with a Big
Hand, and the patience to make it pay off.
In Depth Review of Full Tilt Poker
Lesson: 11
Don't Play a Big Pot Unless You Have a Big Hand
May 30, 2005
I'm at Foxwoods playing the $2,000 No Limit Hold 'em event. We all started
with $3,000 and now I've got $15,000. At my table is Richard Tatalovitch, a
player whom I've competed against many times.
I raise pre-flop from middle position with K-J offsuit and Richard calls from the
big blind. The flop comes 9-6-4 with two diamonds on the board.
Richard hesitates for a moment before checking, and I put in a pot-sized bet.
Richard thinks for a while and calls. All of a sudden, I don't like my hand -- so
much.
Imagine my relief when a non-diamond J hits the turn. Now I have top pair
and a pretty good kicker. Then Richard comes out betting. Uh-oh.
Now, let me back up a moment and mention that when someone hesitates
before checking, it's usually a huge tell. But Richard is the king of delayed
action, so I ignored his tell and bet the flop anyway. And his bet on the turn
just screams, "Raise me! I dare you!"
I go into the tank and my thoughts go something like this:
1. He flopped a set. That explains the smooth call on the flop - he's trying to
trap me into staying, hoping I'll bet the turn, too.
2. No. If he had a set, he'd have checked the turn and waited for me to hang
myself right then and there, or let me catch something on the river. He can't
have a set.
3. The jack helped him. I don't have the jack of diamonds. Maybe he does,
and he called the flop with a jack-high flush draw. If so, I like my kicker and
my hand.
4. He's betting on the come with a flush or straight draw and is hoping to buy
the pot right there.
I run through these possibilities and reach no conclusion.
Normally, I would just call here. We both have a lot of chips, and I don't want
to put them all in with nothing but top pair. Then, I have the misfortune to
remember a hand from a month earlier at Bellagio:
Richard had been running bad and was complaining about a string of horrific
beats. I saw him check and call with top boat because he was afraid of
quads! A guy that afraid of monsters under the bed isn't going to check-call
top set on the flop with a flush draw out there.
"All in!" I declared.
Oops. This is now a Big Pot. And rest assured, top pair doesn't even
resemble a Big Hand.
In the four years I've been playing with him, I've never seen him call so fast. I
am drawing dead to his perfectly-played 9-9.
Sometimes, we all forget that big cards don't always equal a big hand and
that the smart move can be to play conservatively instead of going for the
quick kill. As for Richard - he had the good sense to be in a Big Pot with a Big
Hand, and the patience to make it pay off.
In Depth Review of Full Tilt Poker
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