Playing your big hands fast
The Theory of Poker states that anytime you play your hand differently than you would if you knew what all of the cards are you lose money, and any time your opponents play their hand differently than they would if they knew all the cards you make money. Your job as a poker player is to read your opponent so that you don't make a mistake, or deceive your opponent into playing differently than they normally would.
I was playing in a low limit 7 card stud cash game the other day when I forced my opponent into making a big mistake. I was dealt a split pair of jacks with a nine kicker, and the player to my left has to bring it in with a two for his door card. In typical low limit fashion, everyone calls the partial bring-in without completing the bet. It gets back to me and I decide to just call the bring in as well. My thinking here is that can't eliminate anyone by raising, and if I do everyone will know I have the second jack in the hole.
Fourth street brings me another jack. With the highest hand showing the action is on me. A lot of people would be tempted to check here but I feel this is a bad idea. You run the risk of giving someone a free card to make a straight or a flush, especially in an eight way pot, and you miss out on a round of betting if it gets checked around. Most people would make a single bet here, not wanting to scare people away from their big hand. The problem with this is it could get called all the way around and you risk getting drawn out on again, and with all the money in the pot they will probably be getting correct odds to call all the way to the river. That's not what I am looking for either.
Being paired on fourth street gives me the option of making a double bet, and I take it. This serves two purposes, driving out anyone on a draw that might make a hand to beat me, and trapping a good hand into calling me. Most people would not make the double bet here with three of a kind, but they would if they only had a pair. I can probably get someone with aces, kings, queens, or two pair to call me all the way and I will win a monster pot. The action goes fold, fold, fold, then ding ding ding, we have a winner. A player with an unsuited eight-seven raises me back. I put him on a lower three of a kind, four cards to a straight, or two pair. One player between us calls and when the action gets back to me I cap the betting and both players call.
Fifth street brings everyone blanks and I bet right out again. The eight-seven raises again and player #3 decides he has seen enough and folds. I reraise again and the other player puts on the brakes and just calls.
Sixth street does not appear to help either of us and I bet out again and the eight-seven just calls again. I am pretty sure my jacks are good, but I would like to fill up just in case.
Seventh street is another down card and I catch the case jack. I know my quads are good. I bet out and get called. I show my four-of-a-kind and the other player mucks his hand. I am allowed to see his cards in the hand history because the hand was showndown and I see that on fourth street he had made two pair, eights and sevens.
He obviously did not think I would make the big bet on fourth street with such a big hand in fear that I would not get any action. I was risking everyone folding to my bet and ending up with a tiny pot. Instead, I built a huge pot by making the other player think he was ahead. I did this by being very aggressive when most people would have slowplayed the hand. I made a player with two pair raise me when I had trips. I could have played it slow and let someone make a straight or a flush to beat me. I don't know how many times I have started with a strong hand like a pair of aces and when all the cards where dealt I still had a single pair of aces and lost to someone on a draw.
Don't be afraid to play your big hands fast. Most people won't even see it coming.
I was playing in a low limit 7 card stud cash game the other day when I forced my opponent into making a big mistake. I was dealt a split pair of jacks with a nine kicker, and the player to my left has to bring it in with a two for his door card. In typical low limit fashion, everyone calls the partial bring-in without completing the bet. It gets back to me and I decide to just call the bring in as well. My thinking here is that can't eliminate anyone by raising, and if I do everyone will know I have the second jack in the hole.
Fourth street brings me another jack. With the highest hand showing the action is on me. A lot of people would be tempted to check here but I feel this is a bad idea. You run the risk of giving someone a free card to make a straight or a flush, especially in an eight way pot, and you miss out on a round of betting if it gets checked around. Most people would make a single bet here, not wanting to scare people away from their big hand. The problem with this is it could get called all the way around and you risk getting drawn out on again, and with all the money in the pot they will probably be getting correct odds to call all the way to the river. That's not what I am looking for either.
Being paired on fourth street gives me the option of making a double bet, and I take it. This serves two purposes, driving out anyone on a draw that might make a hand to beat me, and trapping a good hand into calling me. Most people would not make the double bet here with three of a kind, but they would if they only had a pair. I can probably get someone with aces, kings, queens, or two pair to call me all the way and I will win a monster pot. The action goes fold, fold, fold, then ding ding ding, we have a winner. A player with an unsuited eight-seven raises me back. I put him on a lower three of a kind, four cards to a straight, or two pair. One player between us calls and when the action gets back to me I cap the betting and both players call.
Fifth street brings everyone blanks and I bet right out again. The eight-seven raises again and player #3 decides he has seen enough and folds. I reraise again and the other player puts on the brakes and just calls.
Sixth street does not appear to help either of us and I bet out again and the eight-seven just calls again. I am pretty sure my jacks are good, but I would like to fill up just in case.
Seventh street is another down card and I catch the case jack. I know my quads are good. I bet out and get called. I show my four-of-a-kind and the other player mucks his hand. I am allowed to see his cards in the hand history because the hand was showndown and I see that on fourth street he had made two pair, eights and sevens.
He obviously did not think I would make the big bet on fourth street with such a big hand in fear that I would not get any action. I was risking everyone folding to my bet and ending up with a tiny pot. Instead, I built a huge pot by making the other player think he was ahead. I did this by being very aggressive when most people would have slowplayed the hand. I made a player with two pair raise me when I had trips. I could have played it slow and let someone make a straight or a flush to beat me. I don't know how many times I have started with a strong hand like a pair of aces and when all the cards where dealt I still had a single pair of aces and lost to someone on a draw.
Don't be afraid to play your big hands fast. Most people won't even see it coming.
posted by Chris at
1:17 PM
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