BIG-BET HOLD’EM QUIZ

           Problems one through eight have their setting in money-game play; problems nine through twelve are taken from poker tournament play. The first six problems can be considered to be in a pot-limit game, although the answer would be the same at no-limit. The final six problems are in a no-limit format. Assume unless otherwise stated that the game is nine-handed, using blinds of $15 and $25, with everybody in the game having at least a couple of grand in chips. Pay chose attention to the size of your stack, as in this form of competition the amount of money involved is even more important.

1. You are in the blind with 9♠-9♣. Everyone folds around to the button, who opens the pot for $100. The little blind folds and it’s up to you. What is your action?

Answer- raise (10)     call (7)        fold (0)

Explanation- There in no way to know if 9♠-9♣ is the best hand. It is clearly too good a hand to fold when the button raises, as he may be simply trying to pick up the blind money on a very modest holding. My advice is against most players you should reraise. If he calls, bet half a grand on the flop no matter what comes. The chances are very good that he won’t be able to stand the heat. But use your head. Don’t make this play against a calling station or someone who likes to smooth-call a reraise when holding a big pair. As you can see, I have an aversion to calling a decent-size raise heads-up out-of-position when holding an intermediate strength pocket pair. The odds are over 7-1 against flopping a set, and it’s often difficult to double through the opponent from in front of him when you do hit trips. If you flop an overpair, it is still hard to know where you stand. My advice is to take a firm position on the hand before the flop. If your rival poker player is a solid player who raised in early position, then fold. If you think the opponent may lack solid values for his raise, and then play back at him. But avoid simply calling when you are heads-up out-of-position with this type of hand.

1. You pick up pocked aces I middle position. The player under-the-gun opens for a raise, the next couple of opponents fold, and it’s up to you. Do you figure to get a better result by reraising or smooth-calling?

Answer- raise (10)    call (5)    fold (-100)

Explanation- If you simply call, your position will be abysmal if other players enter the pot behind you. A bet by the raiser will run you into a lot of trouble if those aces get out-flopped. The better play is to reraise before the flop. There is a decent chance of getting called, or even played back at. After all, an early position raiser figures to have a good hand.
            I remember a deal many years ago where this exact situation arose. I smooth-called with the against an under-the-gun raise by Robert Turner. Everyone else folded. The flop came ace-rag-rag. I won the pot, of course, but made nary a penny after the flop. As it turned out, my opponent held pocket kings. He was annoyed at that ace coming on the flop- until I showed him my hand. A reraise before the flop would have won me a big pot, perhaps even a double-up. Until this deal, I didn’t fully realize how bad a play using aces to smooth-call an early-position raiser was. 

Answer- Check (10)     bet (7)

Explanation- With this texture flop you should vary your game by sometimes poker betting and other times checking. Checking shouldn’t mean the opponents have a green light to steal. For example, if I had raised with A-K, I would vary my action with this type of flop, perhaps betting about two-thirds of the time. If I check the flop because my hand is less than top pair, I would be more likely to hold Q-Q or J-J than A-Q or A-J. Generally, it is better to bet when you do not have even a pair to show down, and to check when you have a little something. I would normally check a pair of queens here. Not many free cards are going to beat me. If someone bets, there is a good chance I’ll fold. If the opponents both check the flop, it will look as if the coast is clear for me to bet on fourth street.

Answer- fold (10)    raise (5)    call (0)

Explanation – Your position relative to the raiser is the worst possible. An ace suited with a middle-sized or low card is not a strong hand. It is basically a drawing hand requiring very favorable position to playing in a raised pot. You have a clear fold. A reraise is preferable to a call.

Answer- fold (10)    call (3)    raise (0)

Explanation- You must think about what the opponent is likely to hold. With an overpair of jacks through aces, it seems probable that he would have raised a preflop, as a player had opened the pot ahead of him. With a pair of nines or tens, if he did not raise preflop, he would likely have made a larger raise in this spot than $110 more with a $240 pot, as he’d want to shut you out. Two pair such as eights and fives looks remote. I decided that my opponent had probably flopped a set, and mucked my three deuces. After the session, I told Gary about my laydown, and he said I had done the wrong thing.

Gary then kind of dropped out of sight for quite a while. About five years later I ran into him at a poker tournament. He said, “Hello, remember me?” and I replied that I did. He continued, “There is something I’ve been meaning to tell you for a long time. Remember that deal up at The Lake where you folded trips against me? I didn’t tell you the truth afterwards. I had flopped top set and you made a good laydown.” I smiled, and thanked him for being honest with me. You don’t have to get broke every time you flop a set and it is no good.