Tag Archives: hand

At a Live NLHE Tournament

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Hi,

I am very bothered now. Evey time I try to make my game work, it seems that I have all the reasons in the world not to be able to do so.

Just recently, I joined a live NLHE tournament and I was short stacked. At first, I believe I can use my situation to my advantage. However, a certain player who has more chips than I do, limped in after a fold and changed some stuff. I was in the small blind then.

Later, I pushed into the pot content with confidence while hoping I’ll be able to have additional amount to my stack. Luckily, just as I hoped for, I’ve gained enough chips to play someone else’s stack.

Next thing that happened was, big blind folded. The guy who limped in earlier then called. I was right on my readings about him, he had a weak hand. But the surprising thing was that I lost despite of him having a weak hand. Maybe because of his call.

Any piece of advice for me?

Thanks in advance!

Best regards,
Mike Becker
Mike,

Your opponent clearly outdrew you at some point during the hand. Even if you start with pocket aces, 7-2 offsuit will still win if a 7 and a 2 hit the flop and the aces do not improve.

Might Have Folded the Turn

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Hello,

I played a $69+6 Double Stack online tournament with 3k starting chips just the other night. At some point, I just found myself in the BB with KK. By the way, blinds were 50-100.

There were three players left, player A, player B, and me. Back then, I had 4.9k, player A who was the small blind had 13k and player B who was in the second position had 5.6k.

At near mid-part, player B was leading with a 350 raise, player A called, while I raised to 700. Eventually, two players called. Flop came and was 8-3-t rainbow. I then placed a bet 1800. Two Players again called. Later, I just found myself bothered thinking of the set of 10s. In the end, I just decided to call due to some factors/reasons like the poor possibility that a certain player has a straight, the chance that I might lose to a set, etc.

Afterwards, player B pushed through while player A called. I remember player B had JJ and player A had 88. Quite surprisingly, I ended being the chip leader therefore I knew then that I’ve made justice to the hand. However, I’m wondering if you were on my shoes, could you have folded the turn? How about in a cash game?

Thanks!

Regards,
Berner
Berner,

If I really thought I was behind to a set of 10’s on the flop or if there was an all-in and a call before me on the turn, I would think my A’s were no good. I would have folded too. Probably would have done the same in a cash game too. Although, I would have probably reraised on the flop.

On Scary Flop

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Hello,

Just the other day, I joined no-limit tourney. From 1183 players, we were eventually trimmed down to 5. Unfortunately, I can’t exactly recall the stack sizes. But somehow, I believe they were 700K 500K 325K 297K 112K.

On the other hand, blinds were 8 to16K, and moving up to 10 to 20K in roughly 5 minutes or so.

In middle position, I have pocket AAs. Well the table was fine then but only with many limping and folding and all. At some point, I raised two times the blind to get me heads up. However, it was folded to the big blind, who eventually opted to call. Flop came and was 10-10-9 rainbow. I then placed 40K as my bet however my opponent re-raised me in an instant to 80K. Thinking that I’ll be more or less the underdog, I called. Turn then came and was a blank. My opponent placed 45K as his bet into a pot of 232K and so I folded. Afterwards, he showed J-9 off suit.

Now, as I look back, I know I misplayed the hand. Somehow, I’ve stumbled on these stuff:

  1. I know for a fact that raising with AA is always a balance between narrowing the field down to a heads up situation and determining the kind of hand range you are up to. Badly, because I have given him the chance to call, he was then obliged to do so.
  2. Supposedly, I should have placed more bet on the flop to better specify the situation. On the flip side, I was more into re-raising.
  3. I realize I should have called the turn, though it was a value bet. Also, I should have considered the odds which was 6-1 then, it was already so good actually.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

Jon Jablonski
Jon,

My thought is that if you are going to call on the flop, you would be better off raising to make him either commit or to push him off the hand. If on the turn you thought you were behind, folding to his be is the right move. If you called his all in and he had trip 10’s or a full house, then you 5% to win. You would not have odds. I would have put him all-in on the flop.

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.

Card Dead Issue

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Hello,

I have two questions.

  1. In online NL tournaments, I am usually card dead. My starting hands are typically like 73o, J3o, 92o hand after hand. I remember I oftentimes fight till the end however most of the time I am short stacked. Any advice? Or it’s just a normal thing?
  2. Say in a certain event, a player who is in first position calls succeeding raises. On the board, AK24 rainbow. Later, he then catches a 2 on the river and with 72o beats the other player on the button. By the way, the player on the button has AK.

I’m wondering if the sample situation is just a normal stuff in poker? How about online?

Thanks!

Roman Bajorek
Roman,

  1. You have to figure out spot where you can pick up chips while being card dead. Raising in position, seeing cheap flops and hoping to hit with garbage hands, and stealing blinds are some ways to do this. Card dead runs happen. You will need to wait them out. Eventually things will even out.
  2. This is an example of a bad online player getting lucky. You see this sometimes in lower limit poker or someone trying to be cute in a higher stakes game. I see this more online as people can play silly hands without actually seeing people mock them for their poor play.

Not Sure On How They’ve Played the Game

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Monday night, I played in a multi-tourney. I believe I played a really bad hand back then. At the start, well, I was playing just right. Maybe I got a little carried away that’s why the ending was not so great for me. Just an information, the tourney started with 791 total players and I was on 149th place when it ended.

To start off, player A had 54004, player B had 35460, and player C 18562. Player E had 29195, player F 16515, and player G had 9210. Player H had 35430 and player I had 40893. The numbers are all in chips by the way.

At some point, player B was dealt Td Jh and player C folded. Players E, F, G followed and also folded. Player H then raised 1000 to 2000. Player I called 2000. Later, player A folded and player B called for 1000. Flop came and was 7h Th 3c. Player B then placed 1000 as his bet. Player H raised 5999 to 6999 while player I folded. Player B then called. Turn came and was 7h Th 3c Tc.

Eventually, player B placed 12000 as his bet. Player H then called. River came and was 7h Th 3c Tc 4d. With 4000, player B opted to bet. Player H then raised 10331 to 14331 and was actually all-in. Player B then called.

When showdown came, player H had Ts 7s, a full house, Tens full of Sevens while player B had Td Jh, three of a kind, Tens. Later, player H started collecting the winnings.

Any thoughts about how players have played the game?

Hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks!

Regards,
Nick
Nick,

Player H did a great job of extracting maximum value for his fortunate flop and turn. Player B flopped top pair and was being aggressive. Player H had flopped two pair. He raised, but when player B hit a set on the turn, all the money was going to go in. I think that if the board would not have paired the 10 on the turn, player B would have probably been bet out of the pot on the turn or river by player H. As it turned out, B bet out on the turn and H smooth called. On the river, H’s trap was sprung, and B couldn’t get away.

Creating Sidepots

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Hi,

I love playing poker on this one particular site. I remember it doesn’t ask for any money. But what’s quite surprising is that it awards some prizes for tournament plays.

One thing I notice is that because players don’t give any amount, they typically just place obviously low value on their chips, therefore I see many all-ins along the way as well as multi-way pots by which short stack is all-in.

I’m just wondering, is building a side pot sensible and in what circumstance? Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Gary Punell
Gary,

It depends on your hand. If you have a really strong hand and think you can build a side pot, do so. If you think you can push people out, do so. You really want either maximum value for your hand in this type of situation or thin out the field to give your hand the best shot to win.

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.

About the Money

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Hello,

I played poker the other night with two friends James and Matthew. James had an Ace with two aces on the board back then while Matthew had pocket jacks with a jack on the board. Matthew eventually discovered that James had the ace and so put up his cards.

James had 3 aces while Matthew had a full house jacks full of aces. However, Matthew haven’t discovered this until later on when James took the chips and placed them in pile.

By the way, the situation looked like:

James- A 3 Matthew – J J Board- A J 8 6 A

Do you think Matthew should give James the money? Or else he should just keep it safe as James had an error?

Thanks,
Haarstick
Haarstick,

If this was in a casino, the dealer should have divided up the pot and sent the money to the other player. If your friend discovered the error during the hand, then James should pay back the money. If the error was discovered or thought about later, there really isn’t much that can be done since the next hand has been played.