Don't Play a Big Pot Unless You Have a
Big Hand
Pro Poker Tips - John Juanda
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.
John Juanda
These pro poker tips are brought to you
by the professionals at
FullTilt Poker.
More Pro
Tips
|
