Tournament Poker Quiz: Let's Try Something Different To Improve Your Game

And now for something completely different..

Let's see what you would do with this hand. There are going to be two different tracks on this hand to help you to learn more about your game.

It is the $25,000 buy-in event at the WPT Championship in Ls Vegas. Since it is only $25,000, you overslept and arrived late to the event.

It is still early on, and you have $49,100 in chips...lots of chips. You take a seat.

Hand #1. Now don't get yourself knocked out on your first hand!

The blinds are $100-$200.

You are in the hi-jack position--which is the position to the right of the cut-off. I also have seen it called the power position.

Image by Soul Safari via Flickr

Since you are late, you don't know anything about your opponents.

A middle position player raises to $600. He has $50,000

You have J-8 suited with spades and call. It is heads-up, with $1,500 in the pot.

The flop is 10c-9c-3s.

Question 1: Your opponent bets out for $800. What should you do?

a) Fold
b) Call
c) Raise and to what amount?

If you selected a. Bad choice. You have an open ended draw and a chance to win a big pot.
If you selected b. Go to Question 2.
If you selected c. Go to Question 3.

Question 2: You called your opponent's bet. Why was this the right move? If you call the bet, I think that is because you have a draw and you believe you could win a big pot if you hit your hand. That is the typical play. It is not wrong, but it is not aggressive enough.

What if you raised here? What can happen?

1. Your opponent re-raises you and you would have to fold your hand.
2. Your opponent could fold and that would be a good thing.
3. You take control of the hand. Are you a bold enough player to make this move?

While b is not an incorrect answer. The result of the call is that your opponent is still in control of the hand. And the pot is now $3,100.

The turn is the Kh. Your opponent bets $2,400. What should you do?
a) Fold
b) Call
c) Raise, and to what amount?

See what happened here. Now you missed your straight, and you can't control the pot size. That call may have been a typical play by most players, but it may have been the wrong play. That call resulted in putting yourself in a difficult or unpleasant situation.

Question 3: You raised your opponent. Why? Did you make that raise because you thought your opponent was weak? Did you make that raise for another reason?

Raising here to get a free card is the reason the Pro player gave when asked. Or, he said if a scare card hits on the turn, he could win with a bet on the turn.

He raised to $2,200. He was called. The pot is now $5,900.

This is a bold play, and one you should consider adding into your game.

Question 4:

The turn card is the Kh. Your opponent checks and you decide to check. It's a scare card, but the Pro said he didn't think his opponent would fold to a bet here.

The river card is the Ac. That completes a potential flush. Your opponent checks.
What should you do?

a) Check
b) Bet and how much?

Answer tomorrow.