Poker Quiz and Answer: You've got pocket Aces and your opponent has what?

Poker Quiz: You've got pocket Aces and your opponent has what?

You are in a MTT tournament with $25,000 buy-in. You won the money playing at Fu

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ll Rush poker...lol. And you decided to come to Vegas play in this event at the Bellagio.

Poker Quiz

It's in the early rounds. The blinds are $50-$100. You have about $23,000 in chips.

You are in seat 3. The player under the gun limps and you find pocket Aces. You want to get paid off with pocket Aces, and raise only $300. I would raise bigger myself, since everyone is deep stacked, but you play your way.

A player in late position calls as does the big blind and the limper. There are 4 players in the hand and the pot is $1,250. Pocket Aces against four players is not an ideal situation...but....

The flop is Ks-6d-5h. Excellent flop for Aces, I think.

There are two checks to you and you bet $800.

Everyone folds but the big blind calls. There is now $2,850 in the pot.

It is heads-up.

You should be thinking: What does your opponent have in this situation? What range of hands do you put him on?

My thinking: There are no flush draws. He may have top pair. He probably would have raised with two pair--but I don't see anyone calling a pre-flop raise with K-6 or K-5. 6-5 suited maybe, but no check raise so I don't see two pair. What about a set? A set is always possible, but I don't like assuming the worse.

Most likely hands to my thinking is probably K-10, K-Q, or K-J. I could be wrong.

The turn is a 9c. I like that card, unless my opponent has K-9 or 8-7.

He checks. You bet $1,800. A good bet. It controls the size of the pot. Oops. Your opponent check raises to $4,000.

Let's think this through...Let's start with the pot. It is $8,650. It will cost you only $2,200 to call.

What do you know about your opponent? Nothing, except he is in a $25,000 buy-in event, so he must know how to play the game.

Maybe he has K-10, K-Q, or K-J...or maybe he just hit two pair with K-9. You do have outs against two pair. You call.

The pot is now $10,850.

The river is an 8s. I don't see that changing anything. Either he had you on the turn or not.

Your opponent bets $7,500. Is that a value bet? A continuation bet? A pure bluff?

What should you do?

Poker Answer

This was an actual hand at the WPT Championship.

The player with pocket Aces went into the tank. He finally called.

His opponent showed K-10 and lost the pot.

Some players think it was a bad call since there were so many ways that his opponent could have two pair. In general, it is tough to get any player to fold with pocket Aces.

Some Limit Cash Games

Last night, I decided to play some limit poker. It's been a long time.

I was watching this one hand and was quite surprised by this play. It was heads-up and the board was Kh-5h-9s-9c-2h. The player in position kept betting and being called. On the river, the player in position bet again, but this time he was check-raised.

He went into the tank, and folded, showing his 9. His opponent took down the pot and laughed as he showed pocket Aces. That is a bad play, because his opponent had shown a few bluffs already and it is only going to cost you one big bet.

Here are two hands that I were in last night. The learning for you is don't muck your hand, no matter what your opponent says he is holding.

#1. I had a set on the flop and was betting to protect my hand against two opponents. On the river one of these guys, check raises me. The board looked like he had a straight on the river. Still, I had to call. My opponent doesn't turn his cards over. Instead, he says, "I've got the straight." I kept waiting for him to show his hand. Finally, the dealer asks the player to show his cards. He has top pair, that's all. What a jerk.

#2. Here I am up against a different opponent. We are heads-up all the way to the river. I have A-2, and the board is A-A-4-J-4. On the river after I bet, my opponent raises me, I re-raise, he re-raises, and I call. He says "I've got a bigger full house." I'm thinking A-J and I get ready to muck. What does he show? A-4. Another jerk.

My warning to you, especially if you have been playing mostly online, is that when you go to the card room and someone tells you what they have on the river. Don't muck. Wait till you see the hand.

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Answer to "What Would You Do With Pocket Aces Here?"

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Tournament Poker--Playing Pocket Aces

It is the WPT $25,000 buy-in event at the Bellagio. Everyone has $50,000. The blinds are $50-$100.

Only a few hands have been dealt at your table, when this hand is dealt:

A player in early position limps. You are sitting next to this player and you find pocket Aces--Ad-Ac (an Ace of diamonds and an Ace of clubs).

You raise to $300. The button, the big blind call, and the limper calls.

There is now $1,250 in the pot.

The flop is Ks-6d-5h.

The big blind and the limper check. That looks like a safe flop so you bet $800. Only the big calls.

There is now $2,850 in the pot.

The turn is a 9c.

You like your hand but you want to keep the pot small. You bet $1,800.

Your opponent raises to $5,800.

What should you do?

The pot is $10,450 and it will cost you $4,000 to call the raise. Can this guy have hit a set or two pair? Can he be trying to muscle you out of the pot, especially since your turn bet was small?

You decide to call. There is now $14,450 in the pot.

The river is the 8h.

You check and your opponent bets $7,500. What should you do?

Answer--Call. Your opponent has Kh-10h. However, here is the actual thinking of your opponent in this hand:

Pre-flop, he is thinking you have a big hand like pocket Aces because the raise is to only $300.

On the flop, with an $800 bet, he is thinking you an have aces, kings or queens. He does not raise you since he doesn't want a big pot.

On the turn, the $1,800 bet signals that you either have three kings or two aces. However, he is thinking that his check raise with the 9c on the flop, will make it look like he has a straight or two pair. He feels it is a good bluffing situation. (My comment: If you think your opponent has a set, do not try to bluff him off his hand because it's not going to happen!!!) When his opponent called, he knew his opponent only had aces. (My comment: What was he going to do if he got re-raised? Fold, of course. Good grief...sometimes I don't get what these pros are thinking.)

On the river, with an 8s, he feels that the board looks dangerous and that the $7,500 would look like he wanted to get paid off with a value bet.

But to this player's dismay, his opponent called and he lost the pot. He comments that against a weaker player you need to make a bigger bet so they get the message.

Did you call the river bet or did you fold? I would have made my decision on the turn. That is, if I called on the turn I really have to call on the river...especially with a bet that could be a value bet or a bluff....and that big of a pot. In fact, one of the mistakes I try not to make in these situations, is to always consider the size of the pot at the river. If I fold on the river with a big pot and I get bluffed out, it is a disaster.

Poker Answers to Quiz: Inside the Mind of Greg Raymer

How to approach a poker hand the Greg Raymer way: Questions and Answers

See if you can you figure out why Greg does what he is does each step of the way in th

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is hand:

It's a major event and the blinds are $300-$600 with a $75 ante. Greg is in on the button with $55,000. The cutoff has $50,000. The blinds have $80,000 each.

It's folded to the player in the cutoff who raises to $1,600. Greg finds Ah-10s. Greg calls.

Question 1: Why does he just call?

a. He identifies the player as being loose.
b. The blinds are deep stacked.
c. He doesn't want to be re-raised.
d. He wants to see a flop in position.
e. All of the above.

Answer: e. All of the above. He identified the player as loose, but he calls since he is concerned with one of the the deep stacked blinds or the original player re-raising which would force him to fold. He wants to see the flop in position.

After Greg calls, so does the big blind. There is $5,775 in the pot.

The flop is Ad-10c-9h.

The pre-flop raiser bets $4,000 and Greg re-raises to $13,000.

Question 2. Why does Greg re-raise here?

a. The board is coordinated and he wants to eliminate players.
b. He flopped 2 pair.
c. He wants to see where he stands in this situation.
d. He wants to have the lead on the turn.
e. All of the above.

Answer e. All of the above. Greg did not mention c and, so I added them in so answer e was best.

After Greg re-raises, the big blind folds but the initial raiser calls. There is now $31,775 in the pot.

The turn is the Jc.

After the cutoff checks, Greg pushes all-in for his remaining $40,000+.

Question 3. Why does he push all-in here?

a. He puts his opponent on a hand like A-K or A-Q
b. There are so many river cards that can beat him.
c. He believes he is in the lead at this point.
d. If he makes a big bet that is not all-in, he will have few chips left.
e. All of the above.

Answer e. All of the above. He does not put his opponent on A-J. He puts him on A-K or A-Q. Again, he doesn't want to get rivered.

After Greg moves all-in, his opponent calls.

His opponent actually thought there was only $20,000 in the pot, and that Greg made a huge overbet as a bluff. He turned over A-5. The river was a rag, and Greg won a big pot.

Congratulations to Johnathan Gelling for getting all the right answers

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

Tournament Poker Answer: 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.

Image by Dominic's pics via Flickr

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.

Hijack Flyer (back)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

With his opponent checking, and you having Jack high, you can't check. The pot is $5,900 and you want your opponent to fold. The Pro overbet the pot to $7,000 and his opponent folded. The Pro stated that the raise on the flop was the key to winning the hand.

I think the learning from this quiz is that the call on the flop resulted in a lot of "wishing and hoping" on the turn. While the raise on the flop allows you to take the lead and control the pot size and the action. In this hand, here are many scare cards that can come on the turn. Frankly, I think the Kh on the turn was one of them. Although the Ace of clubs is a lot easier for your opponent to figure out your flop raise was a flush draw to get a free card.

If the club doesn't come on the river, I wonder if the Pro gets his bet called. Also, I don't know if over betting the pot on the river is the right sized bet. When making a bet that is larger than the pot it signals to me either a big hand or a bluff. A pot size bet or even a slighly less than pot sized bet signals to me "I want a call." Of course, a real small bet on the river will often get called given the odds.

Overall, the next time you have just a straight draw on the flop and your opponent bets into you, see how many scare cards can hit the board which can win you the pot. In this example, there are the flush cards (9), straight cards you really need (8-2 clubs), and cards that look like you hit a straight (8-2 clubs), or more...so maybe 23+ cards to give you a win.

In fact, with this line of thinking you can forget about your cards! Just learn to look at flops and see what you can do to take the pot away from your opponent based on scare cards alone. Always put your opponent on a range of hands, and see if he indicates strength or weakness to your play. In this example, his opponent did not show any strength, so he was ripe for a bluff. Of course, there are times your opponent will slow play you into a bigger loss--but that does not happen often.

Things to think about and try at your next tournament. For me, this hand got me to think about raising on the flop because of a potential scare card on the turn or river AND a reminder of getting a free card in no limit. Usually, I will think about calling the flop and deciding if the turn card is a scare card I can use to get my opponent to fold. The reason is to control the size of the pot. Now, I need to test this play out. If you do the same, please let me know how it turned out.

Thanks!

Poker Quiz & Answer: River Play-What should you do?

Poker Quiz and Answer

It is the 2008 World Poker Tour Championship. You buy-in for $25,000 and you get $50,000 in chips. Sounds like a deep stack tournament to me=)

Because of the deep chip stack players are coming in with all sorts of hands. Including you!

Blinds are $100-$200, two players limp and you have the 6c-3s. A power house of a hand. Instead of raising or folding, you call. There are lots of callers. Seven see the flop. The pot is $1,400.

The flop is Qc-6h-3c. You hit two pair. There is the potential flush draw.

After three checks, the solid player in front of you, bets $1,200. You call.

The real loose player next to you, raises to $4,200.

Everyone folds back to you. What does your opponent have? He is a loose player, so who really knows for sure. But, I'd guess anything from a set, two pair (doubtful), a flush draw, and maybe even a straight draw--after all it is a loose player, with players coming in with any two cards.

You don't fold. You just call to see the turn. The pot is now $11,000.

The turn is an Ah. You call. Your opponent bets $10,000. What does your opponent have?

Hmm...maybe a set, a flush draw, a straight draw...what about if the Ace helped his hand..maybe A-Q? At this point, I am thinking that I can either fold, or move all-in and just go home. I don't really want to see another card because if it is a club, it will be a tough decision.

Instead you just call. The pot is now $31,000.

The river is the 7d.

What should you do?

Answer

This is an actual hand. You are playing Marcel Luske's hand in the WPT event at the Bellagio Las Vegas.

Image via Wikipedi

Marcel bets out on the river for $5,000. He says it is a value bet as he puts his opponent on a flush draw. His opponent folds.

Now this is one of those hands which I think is being played poorly. I truly don't get it. If Luske puts his opponent on a flush draw, move all-in on the turn. You are an 84% favorite, and those are nice percentages if your opponent is crazy enough to call. If he folds, you win the same amount. (Maybe he calls if he has the nut flush draw since you would be moving all-in with such a big overbet?)

Could Marcel's opponent have pocket Q's, 6's or 3's? Yes. If so, you are going to be losing a ton of chips on the river anyway.

Risk is good.

By just calling on the turn, what was Marcel going to do if the club hit on the river? Fold? That is a big loss in chips even with a starting stack of $50,000.

Also, if you do call, why not check the river and see if you win more from your loose opponent? Or maybe it wasn't really a value bet. Maybe it was a blocking bet that didn't get called.

What do you think? What did you decide to do in this situation? Were you right or wrong? Is my thinking right or wrong?

It is interesting that I read so many poker articles that try to present an idea, but just doesn't work for me. At least by turning them into quizzes, it helps to demonstrate whether the thinking in these articles are right or wrong.

Poker Quiz and Answer: An Excellent Poker Challenge

Poker Quiz and Answer

This quiz question is taken from an actual hand played at the 2008 WSOP Main Event. The player is Jordan Morgan (that is a different Jordan in the photo) and he is faced with a difficult decision when his blocking bet on the river is raised.

Here is the situation again:

Image by Vedia via Flickr

You are down to $15,000 in chips from the starting stack of $20,000.

The blinds are $150-$300, and you are in the small blind with Kc-7s.

Everyone folds to the player in the cutoff position. He is a passive player and just limps into the pot. The button also limps. You decide to call for a half-bet. The big blind calls. There is $1,200 in the pot.

The flop is 7c-3s-2h. You have top pair with the second best kicker.

You bet out $600. After all it's doubtful anyone has a big pair, your opponents probably have calling hands like mid-rank suited connectors, and you only have to worry about a big blind special.

Only the player in the cut-off calls.

The turn is a Jd.

Now what? This kind of overcard is expected on a flop 7 high. You check.

Your opponent bets $750 into the $2,500 pot. What does that bet mean? It doesn't look like much of a bluff. Your opponent could have a monster or he could be making a small value bet with a hand like...what range of hands do you put him on?

It's such a small bet, you call.

The pot is $4,000. This pot is starting to get rather big relative to your chip stack. You don't want to be crippled with a pair of 7's.

The river is a 6s.

You don't want to make a call of a big bet, so to control the pot size you make a blocking bet of $1,000.

Your opponent raises to $3,000.

Have you figured out what hands your opponent may have?

Based on what you are thinking here, what should you do?

a) Fold
b) Call
c) Re-raise
d) Move all-in

Answer

Jordan called the bet on the river since he couldn't put his opponent on a hand that beat him.

Let's review. His opponent called his small bet on the flop. When the Jack hit on the turn, he check-called a small bet bet by his opponent.

If his opponent had a better hand on the flop, he would have likely raised. For example, A-7 or a pair higher than the 7's He would not want Jordan to get lucky on the turn and he'd want to know where he stood on the hand.

When the turn was a Jack, his opponent bet like he had something but nothing he was too proud about. My thinking would be that he has a hand like A-3, A-2, or a pocket pair between 4's, 5's and 6's. A $750 bet into a $2,500 is one that tells me he fears a raise since his hand can't beat top pair. If he had a set, he may bet this small or bet more for value. And if he had a Jack, he would most definitely raise--but J with what other card to call on the flop?

When the 6s comes on the turn, I like the blocking bet. The raise is a small one which could mean his opponent rivered a big hand, but you have to make the call for two reasons:

1) you are priced in to make the call for another $2,000 into a pot of $6,900 and

2) you need to think about what your opponent is probably thinking about your hand! You bet out small which could mean you may only have hit second or third pair on the flop. You check-called the small turn bet which would confirm that thinking. And now you are making a small bet on the river which again suggests a hand like second or third pair was hit on the flop. In all those cases, your opponent may think he has you beat with A-3, A-2, pocket 4's or pocket 5's.

Well Jordan Morgan called the raise and his opponent showed pocket 5's to lose the pot. The answer was b to call.

You can't play poker always fearing your opponent's small bets means he has the nuts. In fact, it is usually better to think the opposite and take him at his word that he is not strong. Monster hands don't come along that often--well, at least not for me, so why assume that they happen more often for your opponents?

Poker Quiz & Answer: You Are Johnny Chan

Poker Quiz and Answer

In this quiz, you are going to be Johnny Chan. You are playing in the WSOP main event. You started with $20,000 in chips and you just sat down at your starting table.

The tournament director says, "Shuffle up and deal."

It's the first hand. Yes, you bought in for $10,000 so make sure you don't lose it all on hand #1=)

Blinds $50-$100. You are under the gun and find Ah-Ac. You are Johnny Chan, so it makes sense you'd find pocket Aces, right? And, since you are Johnny Chan you are going to raise, right? Wrong. You limp with Aces.

Four players call as well. The pot is $550.

The flop is 4d-3d-2h. No you don't have the Ace of diamonds.

The big blind checks. You bet $250. There are three callers. The pot is $1,550.

The turn is a 9d. The big blind checks, you check, one player bets $4,750. The big blind calls. What should you do?

a) Fold
b) Call and go for a straight.
c) Move all-in. You are Johnny Chan, and players fear you.

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The answer is c) you are Johnny Chan so you move all-in and everyone will fold. Not!!

The answer, of course, is to fold.

Chan bet the flop to see where he was in the hand. But once he got called in three places he knew he was in trouble. With three diamonds on board, and not having the Ace of diamonds, it is an easy fold.

Frankly, it was an easy lay-down. I wonder how he would have played the hand if he had the Ace of diamonds. It seems to me that he would have made the call especially when the big blind called that overbet.

What do you think?

The Rest of the Story....

What happened in this hand was that the first caller had Qd-Qh. The second caller and the one who made that big bet on the turn had 6d-4h. The big blind had Jh-Jc.

The hand went to the river with the player with 6d-4h and the player with Jh-Jc. Chan folded as did the player with the pocket queens.

The river was the 8d. Both player checked, and the player with the 6d won with his flush. The player with the pocket queens would have won, since he had the Qd.