Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Check or Bet
Suppose a person in middle position raises three times the big blind, which is standard for the table. You're on the button, and you look down to King-Queen suited, a pretty good starting hand. You decide to call. The rest of the table folds and now you're playing heads up.
The flop comes x-x-Q (x=small card). A good flop for you: you have top pair and a strong kicker. Your opponent bets half the pot and you decide to call. The turn is a 4. Your opponent bets out the same amount again, and you call. The river is a ten. Your opponent checks. Should you bet to try to win more chips or just check?
Before you make your decision, imagine you did bet, and then your opponent raised you, maybe even going as far as raising you all-in. Now you're in a tricky situation. Your pair of queens with king kicker doesn't look so good anymore. What if your opponent had initially raised you with pocket kings or aces? What if your opponent raised you with a small or middle pair and made a set? What if you're outkicked; in this case it could only be Ace-Queen but it's still a possibility. All these scenarios mean you end up the loser in the hand. But if you bet and your opponent has a weak hand, more than likely he'll just fold and you haven't made any more money. The only thing you did with this play was jeopardize your stack and winning the pot by giving your opponent the opportunity to move in on you. My advice is to check in this situation. It's just not worth the risk with a simple high pair if your opponent decides to go after more of your chips by going over-the-top of you if you decide to bet again. Why put yourself in a position that requires you to make such a difficult decision? The pot is already a good size and if you're beat, you're beat and you didn't lose any more chips, and if you won, your stack got bigger without endangering your place at the table. Don't get greedy when you can be knocked out from the table with one poorly played hand.
The flop comes x-x-Q (x=small card). A good flop for you: you have top pair and a strong kicker. Your opponent bets half the pot and you decide to call. The turn is a 4. Your opponent bets out the same amount again, and you call. The river is a ten. Your opponent checks. Should you bet to try to win more chips or just check?
Before you make your decision, imagine you did bet, and then your opponent raised you, maybe even going as far as raising you all-in. Now you're in a tricky situation. Your pair of queens with king kicker doesn't look so good anymore. What if your opponent had initially raised you with pocket kings or aces? What if your opponent raised you with a small or middle pair and made a set? What if you're outkicked; in this case it could only be Ace-Queen but it's still a possibility. All these scenarios mean you end up the loser in the hand. But if you bet and your opponent has a weak hand, more than likely he'll just fold and you haven't made any more money. The only thing you did with this play was jeopardize your stack and winning the pot by giving your opponent the opportunity to move in on you. My advice is to check in this situation. It's just not worth the risk with a simple high pair if your opponent decides to go after more of your chips by going over-the-top of you if you decide to bet again. Why put yourself in a position that requires you to make such a difficult decision? The pot is already a good size and if you're beat, you're beat and you didn't lose any more chips, and if you won, your stack got bigger without endangering your place at the table. Don't get greedy when you can be knocked out from the table with one poorly played hand.
# posted by SBP : 11:08 AM
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