The big blind checked and as it turned out had the 10c-9c. So we have a four way pot and the flop comes Jc-6h-2c giving our hero a flush draw. He checks being first to speak and so do the first two limpers, the final limper bets and our hero calls which is fairly straight forward as does one other player.

This is purely a pot odds call as it seems likely that one of his opponents has made a decent pair. The turn card is the 3d and the big blind and the other limper check again. The flop bettor bets again on the turn and once again our hero is getting a decent price to call. The other limper folds and the river card brings a ten to give our hero a pair.

He checks and his opponent bets again, this time he check-raises and his opponent thinks for a few seconds and calls. The result is that his opponent wins with J-9. Now here our hero did everything perfectly until the river where he went a little crazy and lost an extra big bet. Folding was really not an option and he had to pay off.

Too many players who are at the intermediate level or beyond try to make great laydowns all the time but this just doesn’t get the job done in limit hold’em. Most of the time in situations like these then the simplest play is usually the best.

Limit hold’em is simply about making a series of correct decisions over a very long period of time, quite often poker software can help make many of these decisions for you. If you can make many small correct decisions in limit play then you should do very well. In this example then it was perfectly obvious that his opponent had a hand that could beat a pair of tens and even if their hand was marginal then because of the pot odds that they were getting then they were always going to shrug their shoulders and stick their money in.

I simply do not know that this guy was doing, if he was raising a bluff then why did he raise when all he had to do was check-call? Also if he thought that his opponent had a stronger hand then he must surely have suspected that they wouldn’t have laid it down at this form of online poker with the pot odds that they were getting.

Maybe our hero just lost focus or discipline or whatever but he certainly threw a big bet away here. This just proves that with online poker you really have to keep on top of your game all the time. This requires focus and discipline and hard work unfortunately. It is this gradual bleeding of small and big bets in limit play that literally blows the vast majority of players out of the water in the long run.

This article was written by Carl “The Dean” Sampson

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The other night, I played with my friends. There was player A, B, and so on and so forth. Player A went all in and I called the all in as player B. Then next was player C who raised and player D called.

Later on, I tried to check but some did told me that I have to call or fold player C because of having some chips. I was hesitant to do any of the two for I only wanted to compete for the all in and not the side pot actually.

If you were on my shoes that time, what will you do?

Gian
Gian,

Since player C had more chips than you, you had to either call their raise, or fold. The side pot is still part of the original hand. You cannot only compete for the main pot.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Well, as I could remember, there was a small blind which was 30 and 60 as the big blind. The first player to supposedly act had only 61 chips, therefore with 61, he went all in.

In your opinion, how many chips should the next player possess to act out? Well, at first instance I thought it should be 61, but eventually I became unsure. Most people at the room fought out it should be 120. At that point, I heard somebody saying that since the hand was actually raised, the minimum raise therefore should be 120 to those with adequate chips.

Any comment will be much appreciated. Thanks!

By the way, nice site.

Keith Johnson
Keith,

In the situation above, the next player only has to call 61. If they want to raise, the minimum raise is to 121. The players raise to 61 is not considered a full raise since it was less than half the minimum.

If this was limit holdem, this changes. Since the all-in raise was less than half of a bet, the players can only complete the initial raise and make it 120.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Well, three players were left in the pot and at the turn the 1st player to act bet. Eventually, the 2nd player to act called and then the 3rd player raised. After which, the 1st player called and the 2nd player re-raised. Someone at the table who was not in the hand called a foul for he thought a re-raise after a call was not supposedly possible.

Personally, I thought it was a check raise so I haven’t reacted.

What do you think?

Regards,
Jayden
Jayden,

A check-raise is when a player checks the betting to another opponent, that opponent bet and then you raise. What your opponent did was known as a limp-raise. This is perfectly acceptable. When a player raises as opposed to calling a bet, they are reopening the action to other players. The players have the same options to call, raise, or fold. Would your opponent objected to your other opponent calling and then folding to a raise? Not likely.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I have a question, it’s something about what happened to me in a no limit game online. I’m actually heads up and by the river, there is an A high straight up on the table. Well, there aren’t three card to a flush, therefore the nuts are still on. Then, my opponent called for a check so I go all in. Suddenly, he made a call and we divided the pot.

After that, I received a message from that player telling me that what I did just increased the rake so the casino ended up making more than we do. Well, I believe I did the right thing for it was a split pot and we are in a low limit type of game.

Any comment about what happened?

Thanks!
Norman
Norman,

Your opponent was saying that there wasn’t any reason to bet since there is an ace high straight on the board. He is correct. You basically increased the pot and gave the card room more money. When a nut hand is on the board, betting will usually only put money in the casino’s pocket. There isn’t any point to it.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Before I lay down my question, I would like first to share something about myself. I have moved up to $100NL ($2, $1 blinds) and fortunately still hold my own. Little by little, I win and never lose remarkably. But still I want to improve.

Is there any tips, tricks or the like you could share to me? How about something related to discipline? I know I play too many hands but I never chase usually. But at times, I call a preflop raise with trash, typically late just to see the river. I hate this actually, so is there anything you could advise to me?

Best Regards,
Lee
Lee,

It is just like the patient that tells their doctor, “Doctor, it hurts when I do this.” The doctor says, “Well don’t do that.” The same applies here. If you have habits you know that are bad, then don’t do them. Make a point to fold hands that you know you should.

When you are making a decision to play your hand, consider how often that said hand might win without significant improvement. Also, consider how much money you stand to lose opposed to the amount you might win.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

At times, I call a preflop bet to see the flop actually, opposing to what I’ve said beforehand which is a river. I won’t run after that bad hand if I feel I never made a hit, like for example in instances involving hands like A6 or higher kicker, 79s, 89o etc. I believe that calling typically up to $5 with such hands, and not catching, takes up a lot of cash. Am I right playing these hands late? Any suggestion?

By the way, what is the value of an Ax call, less than 2x blind, late to see the flop?

Thanks and sorry again for my question before.

Best regards,
Lee
Lee,

Calling with hands like the ones you are describing will end up being long term losers if you play them regularly. Some hands such as a suited ace or suited connectors can be good late position hand but I wouldn’t call many raises with them.

An Ax unsuited hand isn’t worth a call. An Ax suited hand may be depending on how many players are in the hand.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Well, about my starting hands, I play about 20% of it, at times even higher, between 20% and 30%. And whenever I feel I have the best hand, I always push it through till the end.

In a way, I believe I am an aggressive player. But I’m not sure if others see me the same way I see myself. Based on what I’ve shared to you, what kind of player do you think am I?

Thanks for the great site by the way. I’m a regular visitor, particularly of your FAQ’s section. And I love using the 4/2 Rule for calculating odds! Thanks a lot for sharing this to us players.

All the best,
Jeff
Jeff,

It sounds like that you are somewhat tight, but I don’t know how aggressive you are. Aggressive implies that you are raising a majority of your hands that your coming in with. Without knowing more about the hands you are limping in with, I can’t really classify you as aggressive. I would look more into raising with your strong hands as opposed to limping. Limping in with strong hands invites other players to enter the pot and potentially outdraw you.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.