Two Pair on the Big Blind with a Weak Kicker

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Today's edition deals with what to do when you land two pair out of position (with one pair being on the board) and are facing an opponent who confidently three-bets you. Let's take a look:

We're dealt a pretty awful starting hand, Kh 2d, in the big blind. The only way we're calling this is if nobody raises, which they don't. So, we're on our way to the flop.


This is a potential disaster. We've made top two pair, but our kicker looks awful. We check to see what happens, and the player in Seat 6 makes a nominal bet, $1.50. We're going to call to see if he slows down, given the strength of our hand. Let's look at the turn:

It's a blank, and I'm checking again to see what he does. He elevates his bet a little bit and makes it $2.50. Again, I'm going to call and see if he gets discouraged by the river.



It's another blank, and I'm checking again. This time, he comes out with $3.50. The fact that he's confidently continued to escalate his bets, regardless of our calls, seems to indicate that he wants a call here. I don't put him on the six, as I figure he would have checked the flop and played it slow. He must have a higher king, which is bad news for us.

How Would You Hold 'em?

By not holding them at all. His betting suggests that he wants to be called, and if he wants to be called, then don't call him.


Sure enough, he's got a nice little high king. You've just saved $3.50.

Alright guys, see you next time.

Calling a Bluff In Position after Opponent misses a draw.

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Click on the link below to view the video for this hand, complete with audio narration. Click the full screen button in the lower right-hand corner if you want to expand it.



Today's edition deals with a pretty common situation: how do you spot someone who's trying to buy the pot after they miss their draw on the river? Fortunately, for most of the players online, this isn't too hard. Lets take a look at the hand.


As you can see, we've got a decent starting hand, Ad Th, in middle position, facing no raises in early position, so I'm going to go ahead and shoot out a moderate raise, say $1.75. I get three other callers.


Now I've flopped top pair, so naturally I'll need to follow up my pre-flop bet with a post-flop raise, especially with the flush draw showing. I get two folds and one check-call from the guy in early position. That should immediately set up some flags in your head: he may have a flush or straight draw, or he might be slow-playing a monster. I'm going to bail out of this hand if another spade comes. Let's see the turn:


It's a blank for drawing hands, which means I'm going to turn up the pressure even more and bet $3.50 to try to get him out of this hand. He still calls.





It's another blank, but this time he's opened and bet $5.50. I'm not buying it. This is a pretty textbook example of trying to buy the pot after he missed his draw. His constant calling either indicates a slow-play or a draw, and I'm feeling the draw based on the nature of his river bet. I'm gonna call.

How Would You Hold 'em?
I'm gonna call this every time. I put him on a draw, and I'm going to stick with that read.


Let's take a look:


Sure enough, he was trying to purchase that pot with his failed spade draw.

See you next time!

Facing a Probable Flush In Position

Click on the "Play" button above to see a video replay of this hand, complete with audio narration. You can also full-screen the video by clicking the button in the bottom-right corner.

Hey guys. Today's hand deals with something that we all run into all of the time when playing online or in live games. It involves the infuriating reality of dealing with a probable flush when you're sitting on a decent hand in position. We'll use a ring game with $.25/$.50 stakes as an example. Let's take a look:
As you can see, we've got a decent hand, Ad Jh, in middle position, with no early position raises in sight. We're going to make a standard raise, about three or four times the big blind. Three other players behind us are going to call, making this a pretty decent-sized pot. Let's take a look at the flop:
What we see is a very painful sight: we've got our top pair and probably have the best hand right now, but there's also an obvious straight and flush possibility. The player in front of us in Seat 2 checks, and we make a bet, around $2.50 (but it could be larger if you really want to push them out.) Two players fold, but the player in Seat 2 calls.

This should immediately raise some red flags. Check-calling usually either indicates a slow play or a draw, and given the flop, we can safely put him on some kind of draw. Let's look at the turn:


Disaster! The straight AND the flush falls, making our hand kind of dead in the water. However, the player in front of us still checks, trying to display weakness. We're still very cautious about his hand's potential, so we'll check as well. Here comes the river:
See, now we've got a card that could give us some trouble. We've got two pair, and might reconsider our read given our strengthened hand. However, he goes from checking to making a large bet, $5.50. It may be very tempting to call, given that we've got top two pair and his check on the turn might mean that he's weak. However, this large bet on the river indicates that the player didn't want to scare you out of the hand by announcing his flush as soon as it fell. One of the most common ways to play a flush is to check when it lands and then try to make a large bet that may appear like a bluff on the river. Don't fall prey to his tricks. He's definitely got the flush.

How Would You Hold'em?
Even though we've got a decent hand, I'm folding in this situation every time.

See you next time!

How Would You Hold 'Em?- Middle Pair A-Q in the Big Blind

Welcome to "How Would You Hold 'Em?", a poker advice blog that puts the reader into a theoretical hand and then asks "How Would You Hold 'Em?" Players can gain valuable advice and insight into common situations, and learn how to take their game to the next level.

Let's take a look at today's hand:


Let's assume that you're sitting in Seat 2, up there in the top-right corner, and you're dealt a good starting hand, Ad Qs. You're on the big blind. The player in Seat 4 makes a nominal raise to $1.50, and the player in Seat 7 calls. Every other player folds to you. Given your starting hand, you call the extra dollar.

The flop comes a painful Kh Qd 2s. While you've got a decent hand with middle pair and highest kicker, you're out of position and the king is pretty scary. You check. The player in Seat 4 bets $2.50, and the player in Seat 7 folds. Given that the player in Seat 4 is pretty aggressive, you call and see if he slows down the turn or if you improve to two pair or trips.



The turn comes a blank, and you check to be cautious. Just as you thought, the aggressive player in seat 4 slows down and checks as well. You assume that if he checks the river, you'll have him beat, and you wait for the river.



You check the river, thinking that you've figured him out and called his flop bluff or that you have his weaker queen beat, and he makes a large bet, $3.50. So.....

How Would You Hold 'Em?

Well, I'm not going to hold them at all. While this player might be trying to buy the pot, I just don't see this player making this bet unless he's got a king. He checked the turn because his kicker was weak and he interpreted your call on the flop as a sign of strength. Then, when you checked the river, he assumed that you either missed a draw or didn't hold the king, and will come out betting for maximum value.

I might have thought that he was bluffing if the bet was smaller, say another $2.00 bet. But the size of the bet on the river (relative to the size of the pot) gives away his king, as he's trying to get a sizable chunk from you and he's putting you on a hand weaker than his.

Here's a video of how the hand plays out. If you'd like to expand it to full-screen size, simply click the icon in the lower right hand corner.