Richard Brodie
September 6, 2005 When I started playing poker, I would get so excited when I flopped a
big monster poker hand that I forgot my main goal: Win as many chips
as possible. When I had marginal hands, I would think
hard about what my opponent had and whether I could beat
it. But when I had a big hand, I just wanted to get all
my chips in the middle.
Big mistake.
Big hands can mean big pots. But, with a big hand,
it's even more important to strategize and figure out
how strong your opponent is. If you think he's weak, you
can slow play the hand, perhaps getting him to call a
bet thinking you're bluffing or, better yet, inducing
him to bluff himself. If you think he's strong, you can
let him bet your hand for you, raising on the turn or
river to extract maximum value.
In the 2003 Borgata Poker Open, I mixed it up with a
small under-the-gun raise with Ten-Nine of Diamonds. I
got two callers, including Bobby Thompson in the small
blind. The flop came Eight-Seven-Six, giving me the nut
straight. Bobby led out with a pot-sized bet and we both
called. The turn was an Ace and he bet again. I still
had the nuts and, with my inexperience, didn't think
enough about what my opponents could have. Instead, I
got greedy and just called again, hoping to get a call
from the third player.
If I had thought about it, I would have put Bobby on
at least two pair and the third player on a straight
draw with something like Jack-Ten. I should have moved
in at that point, pricing out the straight draw and
figuring Bobby would have to call. Instead, I just
called and the third player folded. When a second Ace
came on the river and Bobby pushed in, I had a very
tough decision and ended up putting my chips in dead as
he turned over pocket Sixes for the full house.
If I had put my money in on the turn, the results may
have been different. By putting Bobby to the tough
decision to call an all-in, I might have priced him out
of the hand.
The next year in the same event, I had the very
aggressive Jimmy-Jimmy Cha on my right. He made a
late-position raise and I re-raised with pocket Tens. He
called and we were heads-up. The flop came Ten high with
two Spades, once again giving me the nuts. This time,
though, I thought about what he might have. Nines,
Jacks, and Queens were definite possibilities. If not,
he could easily have over cards. Jimmy checked - not an
unusual play given that I had taken the lead before the
flop. I decided because he was so aggressive, I'd go
ahead and bet the hand rather than slow play it. Sure
enough, he check-raised me all in and I called. This
time I went broke the right way, with all my chips in as
a three-to-one favorite against his flush draw.
Then there's always the chance you're beat with an
even bigger hand. In a televised tournament at the
Plaza, I raised with pocket Tens and got called by the
big blind. The flop came Queen-Queen-Ten, giving me a
full house. But my opponent check-called my flop bet
with such a Hollywood act that I put him on at least a
Queen. A King came on the turn and he check-raised me. I
could beat Ace-Queen or Queen-Jack but not King-Queen or
Queen-Ten, so I slowed down and just called. When he
made a small bet on the river I just called, suspecting
I was beat and, sure enough, he turned over Queen-Ten
for a bigger full house. I had flopped a monster and was
drawing dead! By analyzing his play and getting a read,
I saved valuable chips and went on to the final table.
So don't let the excitement of flopping a monster
make you forget about putting your opponent on a hand. A
lot of chips move around during these hands and you want
them moving into your stack.
Richard Brodie
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