Tag Archives: betting

Never Had Regrets Though I Never Had the Flush!

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Hello,

I played no limit holdem with some friends early this evening. Back then I was short stack and was only getting not so good yet not so bad cards.

At some point, almost everyone folded. The player with the big stack went on his way differently. He was loose then actually but was betting aggressively. I remember the first bet was the minimum BB and I had a 7h Js then. Eventually, two of us have seen the flop, three more hearts. Well, to a flush, I had one, however not that huge.

Later part, my opponent placed a bet first – $2,000. With $3,200, I called him all-in. Next thing happened was he has seen the all-in. Then, it was finally revealed that he had a King in hand and one on the flop. Well, I’ve taken the challenge to bet as I was hoping then that I could improve the situation I was into. Unfortunately, I never had the flush but on the flip side I don’t have any regrets for betting.

Any comment?

Thanks,
Mankin
Mankin,

What you had there was a semi-bluff raise all-in. The only problem I see with this was the fact that you were against a big stack that played loose. In this case, I think he is calling with any sort of reasonable hand. You should have reserved this move to use against someone that would have given you credit for a hand and that would have folded.

At a Small Tournament

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Hello,

I joined a small tournament the other night. I admit it, I was actually out first hand. I believe we started with $4,000 in chips.

At some point, there was moderate betting pre-flop that trimmed us down to three. Just an information, I sat on snowmen -pocket 8s. Flop came and was K-8-A. Then I started making trips as well as placing bets. I remember there was a guy who has been raising significantly big amount of money while the next to him re-raised all in.

Later part, I called and so as the other guy. He then showed pocket king. I followed then with my 8s. Guy had pocket rockets. All of us flopped trips back then. By the way, the turn and river were J-3.

Any thoughts with regards to the tournament?

Thanks,
Powell
Powell,

You ran into a rare situation. Sometimes you have a situation where two players flop a set, but three is pretty rare. It does happen. You saw a flop with a pair and hoped to hit a set. In most cases, this hand would have won you a lot of money. Unfortunately you were against two better hands.

The only thing that I can comment on beyond this is whether you should have been in the hand. When you say that there was moderate betting, what do you mean? Do you mean there was a raise and two callers, or were there multiple raises. If there were multiple raises, you should have gotten out the hand as you were probably behind. You were hoping to get lucky. You did, but your opponents got lucky too.

Casino Tournament

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Hello,

Just last week, I got the chance to play my first ever casino tournament. Honestly, I wasn’t that sure of all the moves, decisions, etc. I pushed through so I want to hear straight from you. Consider the following facts:

  • Was third round of no limit texas holdem tournament
  • Blinds $10/$20 and for every 15 minutes will be doubled
  • $200 was my starting chip stack
  • $300 my present chip stack

Blinds were moving fast and I’ve foreseen that they’ll become a large proportion of my stack. I believe I have played just right as I have already won some pots though just small pots actually. Of course, when I only have $300 or more in chips, I don’t want blinds to go up, specifically to the $100 mark.

In second position, I was dealt pocket Jacks, UTG then folded. Later, I raised to $60 then except for the button who called, everyone else folded. Slowly, I started gathering some readings on my mind about a certain player whom I believe was my opponent.

Eventually, flop came and was Q-6-2. Then I placed $60 as my bet and he raised to $150. Afterwards I re-raised all-in due to some reasons. First, I believe he was a bit of a pot stealer and that he didn’t had a queen or a set. Second, almost half of my chips were in the pot already, it would be difficult for me to go on in the event I fold. Third, he would have folded already if he was on a steal. Fourth, quite the same thing, he would have called in case he was on draw.

What’s on your thoughts? If you were on my shoes at such situation, will you do the same thing?

I know you’re the one who could help me. Thanks in advance.

Andre Boudrias
Andre,

You were in a tournament that offered a small amount of chips and a very high blind structure. After betting on the turn, you had 120 of your 300 in the pot. If you folded here, you would have lost nearly half of your stack. After raising to 150, you had to call 90 in a pot of 330, which is 3.5 to 1 on your money. If you call here, you are going to be pot committed. Your choices are really go all-in or fold.

With the bad structure of this tournament, I would have pushed and hoped that the player did not have a queen, although it was likely. In a tournament with a bad structure, you must get lucky early and get some chips. To do so, you either have to play like a maniac and get lucky, or push your big hands as hard as you can.

Flipping Cards Over to Another Player

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Hello,

Me and some friends played holdem the other night. A dispute appeared because of a certain move.

If I could remember it right, after the flop of the river card, a bet was made. Then there was player 2 who paused for some time as he doesn’t know what to do next. Few minutes passed and he then took his cards and put them in the hand of another player to show off his strength. Consequently, he announced that he was apprehensive as he may lose to a higher full house or the like.

At some point, player 2 never had his cards back to him. Well, the cards were actually in front of the player who was not in for the pot anymore. The cards were faced down. Player 3 then intruded and asked what should happen next. I then explained that player 2 folded and so as player 3 therefore player 1 should win the pot.

Player 1 as a reaction then showed his hand to inform everyone he wasn’t bluffing ever since the game started. Player 2 after knowing what player 1 had said that he’d be betting, therefore we we jumped over him without any doubt.

Personally, I believe that in the event player 2 flipped his cards over to another player, he will be disqualified from the upcoming betting rounds as well as from taking home the winnings. Am I right?

Thanks!

Peter Chik
Peter,

You were mistaken. Player 2 showed his card to a player that is not in a hand. While this is an ethical violation, it is not one that will cause his hand to be dead. The hand should have been played out. Player 1 showing his hand does not kill the action either. Player 2 still has the option to bet if he so desires.

Also, the player should not be asking advice of other players. While this does not affect the hand he is in. He may receive a penalty for doing.

A simple way to alleviate this in the future would be to institute a house rule that players may not show their hand to anyone while the hand is still in play.

Revealing Cards

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Hello,

I’m just wondering, can a player reveal his cards in the event he has already went all-in before the end of the hand and is just waiting for the other players left in the side pot to finish betting? Say there were three remaining players, player A, player B, and player C. Player A has $20, player B has $30, and player C has $5. At some point, player C went all in before the flop while player A and C opted to call. Do you think because he was into betting and was just waiting for the betting to finish, he can then flip his cards over?

Thanks!

Regards,
Polk
Polk,

When a player goes all in and two or more players are in the pot, the all-in player must wait until the end of the hand and the side pot, if any, is determined between the other players.

Questions Regarding All In

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Hi,

For the flop, four players were in. The player who was behind in terms of money went all in while three others called.

Now I have two questions:

  1. Does the player who went all in have to show his cards after he’s done betting or else he has to wait until the end of the game when other players were actually done betting?
  2. In the event the player who went all in has the best hand, do you think the additional bets must go back to their bettor/s? If not, then should they go to the player with the second best hand?

Thanks for your time.

Regards,
Feeney
Feeney,

  1. The all-in player must wait until all action is completed between the other players.
  2. The side pot will be determined and awarded between the players that have money in the side pot. The all-in player is not eligible to win any side pots since they do not have any money invested in them.

On Cards Out of Turn

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Hello,

Say flop was dealt and then round of betting followed and so as the 4th street. There were two players left, player 1 and player 2. Player 1 checked while player 2 said loudly he’d check or call and then threw his cards down. Player 2 thought that it was over, however, the river card was not yet dealt.

Now, what do you think of player 2′s hand?

Your help will be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Voellinger
Voellinger,

If the player mucked his hand and the hand had not hit the muck, the dealer can remind him that the player checked and the play can continue. If it hit the muck, the hand is dead.

About the Remaining Cards

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Hello,

There’s one thing I notice, in a couple of games, the remaining cards of the player are turned over and revealed by the dealer after the flop while in other games the cards are kept safe till the final betting round on the river is finished. I don’t understand why this is so? Can you please explain to me? I’m really troubled.

Hope to hear from you.

Thanks,
Voellinger
Voellinger,

In the first example, someone is all-in and only has a single caller. Both players expose their cards and the hand is dealt to the river. In the other case, there is more than one player still in the hand besides the all in player. In this case, the all-in does not show until all action is complete between the other two players.

Newbie-Like Questions

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Hello,

Just a couple of months ago, I’ve started playing poker. As of the moment, I really love no limit and limit poker.

Well, I must admit, before I started out playing, I totally don’t have any experience playing the game however maybe my advantage was that I like gambling a lot. Back then, I was also very open to suggestions on how I could improve my playing potential. Also, I even checked on some sites that have lots of tools that could help me understand basic poker concepts, rules, feel and strategies. However, of course, there were still some stuff that were not so clear to me.

I hope you could help me.

  1. About showing of hands, who do you think is oblige to show his/her hand first? And is there any order to follow? I believe when you fold, you don’t have to show your hand however what if everyone at the table called the bets?
  2. I heard some issues about poker sites juicing the pot to rake huge pots. What’s your insights on this? Well, mine were more on three fold.

In an online event, the randomness is closer to true randomness compared to a brick and mortar game as it takes almost 58 shuffles to randomize a deck of cards entirely. Unfortunately, not all players shuffle the deck as many times as such.

Well, a home game is not a clear picture of poker with completely random settings unlike online poker which is with true settings.

I noticed that players usually play and see more blinds playing online rather than playing in brick and mortar game, therefore probability for all players to have a good hand at an an instance is much better.

Players who believe there’s cheating in brick and mortar games are just bitter losers.

By the way, the stat regarding card shuffling has a basis. I’ve taken up statistics course in a certain university.

Thanks!

Gill
Gill,

  1. The last person that makes an aggressive action (betting or raising) is the first person to show his hand. If the hand is checked around, then the person closest to the button must show first. If you fold without calling a bet, then you are not obligated to show and nobody has any rights to see your hand. If you call however, you are obligated to show and a player has the right to see your hand.