The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

This was probably the most stressful hand I played. It was against a tough opponent with a mediocre holding. I did lose the pot, but...still felt okay with it.

I am the small blind and there is one caller. I look down at 10-7 off suit: A pretty crappy hand. The big blind is a tough, aggressive player. What would you do?

I decide just to complete the blind, hope for the big blind to check and see a flop for cheap. The limper could have anything, but he has been playing a lot of pots so I don't think he's trying to conceal a monster or anything. I also need to demonstrate my willingness to play mediocre hands from time to time to the table, or they'll run over me. Completing a small blind pretty much lets the table know you don't have anything special, especially with one limper already in.

Flop is Ace-7-4, all diamonds. I'm holding the ten of diamonds and first to act. What would you do?

I need to define my hand now. The big blind may have an Ace, but since he's been so aggressive, I think he would have raised pre-flop with any Ace. The limper might have one...but maybe not. Betting out now could also give the impression I'm holding an Ace, and not something as weak as a pair of 7s with a lousy kicker. I don't want any action...I want to take the hand down now as my hand is very weak. Since I'm holding then 10 of diamonds, I figure if I get called, I have some backup, drawing to a flush. I decide to bet 1/3 of the pot. The big blind calls and the limper folds.

Next card is the six of clubs. What would you do?

Not crazy about that call. I think he may be drawing, or he might be waiting to see what I'll do now and try to take the pot away from me with a bet. I don't think he has an Ace...again, he's aggressive and didn't raise pre-flop.

I don't want the pot to get out of control. I'd prefer to keep the pot small and feel I still have the best hand, and I don't want to check and have him take control of the betting. So I bet the same amount I did after the flop, about 3x the big blind, mostly to show him that I have a little something and with the hope he'll just fold. After my bet, he pauses for a few moments and raises me three times the bet. What would you do?

Not happy with that raise. I'm holding a weak hand and could easily be beat. But I've seen this player run over the table a little, and not too many have stood up to him. Against another player, I'd probably fold, but not this guy. Can't quite explain it, but I think it's a "testing" raise: testing to see how confident I feel about my hand. I consider that my turn bet, betting the same amount as I did on the flop, probably gave the notion I was weak (which was partly true). I decide to call. Don't want to raise; the pot is getting big and I don't want to commit more chips than I need to. I do have a diamond and can make a flush on the river (although not the best flush) and I'd certainly be happy to see another seven or ten. On the chance I could be beat already, a flat call may allow me to see a card that could beat him.

The river is the Jack of spades. What would you do?

Didn't hit any other card that may have helped me, and seeing an overcard to my pair of sevens isn't good. I've put in more chips than I want to already, mostly on a feel than anything else. I'll just check and see what happens. If he bets, I'll make another decision.

He immediately checks and turns over a King and a Jack, thus pairing his Jack on the river and winning the hand. He was holding the King of diamonds, thus another diamond would have given him a flush bigger than mine.

He certainly played the hand well, and while he did get lucky on the river, he had a decent amount of outs after the flop and it certainly wasn't a bad play to try to raise on the turn to see if I'd fold with the fear he might be holding an Ace or maybe already made his flush. Although I lost the pot, I was proud of the fact that I made a read on the player that was correct and played accordingly. At the same time, knowing the result of the hand, it perhaps wasn't a bad idea to just throw away the hand to begin with, pot odds and table image be damned. This is why playing mediocre hands can be so difficult: it's hard to know where you stand, and even if you do hit your hand, it can be easily outdrawn down the line and you've lost a lot of chips in the process.

But, this is what makes poker interesting and fun!