Andy Bloch
January 23, 2006
I'm writing from Tunica, MS, where I've played in several World Series
of Poker Circuit events at the Grand Hotel and Casino. A
couple of days ago, I played in a $2,000 No-Limit Hold 'em
tournament, and I saw some of my opponents make some
pretty odd plays. For this tip, I decided to highlight a
couple of these strange decisions and describe why you
should avoid making similar plays.
A Curious River Raise
Midway through the tournament, I saw King-9 in the
cutoff (the seat to the immediate right of the button).
I raised to put some pressure on the blinds, and I was
called by the big blind. The flop came T-5-2 rainbow, so
it was no help to me. My opponent checked, and I checked
behind him.
The turn was a 9, giving me a pair. He checked, and I
made a small bet that he then called. The river was a
King and I now had two pair. After my opponent checked
and, thinking that I had the best hand, I made a
substantial bet. At this point, he surprised me and made
a large raise. I was reasonably sure I was up against a
set or Q-J for the straight, but still, I made the
crying call.
He showed pocket Aces and I took a nice pot.
What should my opponent have done?
For starters, he could have re-raised pre-flop,
though calling pre-flop was certainly reasonable. He
also could have taken the lead in the betting on the
flop or the turn, not allowing free cards to hit the
board. However, his real trouble came on the river.
When he check-raised, he failed to ask himself a
critical question: What hand can I call with that he
could beat? His river check-raise showed a lot of
strength - so much, in fact, that I probably wouldn't
have called with any one pair. By the river, he really
had no idea what I was holding. For all he knew, I could
have had Queen-Jack or any sort of two pair. If I held
the straight, he'd be facing a very large raise, one
that would certainly be a mistake to call.
In this sort of situation, his best play was to
check-call on the river. By the time the river card hit,
he should have been looking to showdown the hand with
the hope that his pair survived.
While here, I've seen many players make similar
mistakes on the river. They bet or raised with any hand
that they suspected was best, including marginal cards
like second pair. But their big mistake was that they
failed to consider their opponent's hand. When you hold
marginal cards, you should ask yourself two important
questions: Do I have the best hand? And, if I do, does
my opponent hold a hand that he's willing to call with?
If you can't answer "yes" to both questions, just check
the river and showdown the hand.
Trouble on the Turn
Later in the tournament, I raised pre-flop in late
position with King-6 and the big blind called me. The
flop came Ac-As-7s. I didn't have an Ace, but I bet
anyway when my opponent checked. After he smooth-called
and a 6h came up on the turn, my opponent bet big.
This play makes no sense because it doesn't tell a
coherent story. A check-raise on the flop would be
reasonable - my opponent would be representing a big
hand, maybe trip Aces. A check-call on the turn would
make sense, too. In that case, he probably holds a
monster like a full house or he could just have a seven.
As it turned out, my opponent had A-7 (that's what he
said, anyway), and by betting he forced me to fold. That
wasn't very smart. If he checked, I might have continued
with my bluff (though that-s unlikely).
In any case, it's almost never a good idea to
check-call a flop bet, and then bet the turn if a blank
hits. A play like that might confuse your opponent
momentarily, but you're unlikely to gain much value.
Your flop and turn bets should be related – they should
tell a consistent story.
If you think carefully about your turn and river bets
and what you're trying to gain, you're sure to improve
your results. You'll get better value on the turn and
avoid drowning on the river.
See you at the next tournament stop.
Andy Bloch
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