Answers to the Poker Quiz

Answers to the Poker Quiz

Here we go to the answers. I will explain later why I think this is such a stupid article on poker. Hey, maybe you'll think I'm the dummy after reading this post!

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You and I have entered a $10,000 buy-in event. It is early in the event. The blinds are $50-$100. We both have $12,000 in chips. You are in the cut-off. I am in big blind.

A player in early position raises pre-flop to $300. You have 2h-2d and call. I am in the big blind and call as well. The pot is $950.

The flop is Qs-10c-2c. You have a set.

I check, the other guy bets $600, and you just call.

(My comment: Please note that in this major tournament the player who hit the set on the flop did not raise. With that flop, not raising can be asking for trouble. Anyway, back to the quiz...)

Question 1:
If I make a big check-raise to $2,500, would you:
a) Fold
b) Call
c) Raise

Question 2:
If you called or raised in question 1, is there any action I can take to get you to fold your set?
a) Yes
b) No

Answers: If you hit a set and I check-raise, you can not fold your hand. Yes, I may have a set. But if I do have a set, you are just going to lose a bundle here. Frankly, the correct answers to me is to move all-in and there is no action to get you off your hand.

In this article, though, the poker author/expert is going to show how smart this player is by just calling....?

The turn is a 3c. Possibly completing someone's flush. I check, the other guy checks, and you check.

The river is a 4s. The pot is $2,750.

Question 3:
How big a bet do I need to make on the river to get you to fold your set?
a) I bet a small amount, $1,200.
b) I bet the pot, $2,750
c) I over-bet the pot, $4,000.
d) I move all-in putting all your chips at risk.
e) You are going to call me, no matter what I bet.

Answer: I believe even if I move all-in, you will find it tough to fold. However, if I move all-in, and the next player also moves all-in, folding a set of deuces would make much more sense.

Conclusion

I selected this poker quiz because this syndicated article is so stupid. This hand was selected to demonstrate how smart the player who hit the flush was in 1) just calling on the flop to hide the strength of his hand and mostly 2) overbetting the pot on the river to suck his opponent into calling.

The facts are that calling on the flop is a typical play and maybe the wrong one. This player has to know he has 14 outs and probably a slight favorite. Getting all-in in this situation is a way to double up early on or get knocked out. You've got to be willing to die to survive...and thrive in tournament poker!

More importantly, the article does not demonstrate that overbetting the pot is some brilliant play because the guy with a set of deuces is not folding to an overbet--except perhaps in the situation I mentioned above. In fact, moving all-in on the river looks a lot weaker to me than an overbet of $4,000 and therefore, even more likely to be called thereby winning a bigger pot.

I hope you enjoyed the quiz!

You may find this interesting:

Yesterday I entered the local tournament. I was late, again. I had $2,500 and it was the third hand. I had Ah-Kd. I raised the $50-$100 blinds to $300. Two players called.

The flop came down 9h-6h-2h. I checked. The next player bet $600. The other player folded.
What should I do?

I figured I had 15 outs, so I moved all-in. My opponent insta-called. He had a set of 9's.

The turn was a Jc.

The river was a 4h. I hit the nut flush and doubled up early.

When the event got down to 40 players, I was one of the chip leaders. I was dealt A-K suited 3 times in the space of 6 hands. I lost against 7-7, K-K, and J-J....I'm out.

The player with 7-7's took 20% of my stack.

The player with Kings re-raised me, and it only cost me less than half the original size of my bet, so I had to make the call.

The last player was desperate and moved all-in first. I was now desperate as well and called.

Oh well...that's poker.