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HEADLINE:
Inside Poker
Body:
Hard poker fact:
You're going to be dealt a lot of junk hands.
Hard poker corollary: You're going to have to learn how to play
them.
One of the best at maneuvering with garbage is John Juanda, the
talented, unflap- pable pro associated with FullTiltPoker.com,
who in this hand displayed his abilities to read his opponent
and the texture of the board, along with betting smartly after
the flop.
With blinds at $100-$200 during the main event of the 2005 U.S.
Poker Championship, Juanda picked up 9-5 offsuit in the small
blind. One player limped, Juanda called another $100 and the big
blind checked.
The flop came 9-7-3, two clubs, giving Juanda top pair/no kicker.
"I put in a feel bet of $500," Juanda said. "The
first guy folded. The last guy, who has been in a couple pots,
called. I put him on a draw. He could have a flush draw or a straight
draw."
The turn came the queen of hearts, an overcard to Juanda's pair.
"That wouldn't have made his draw," Juanda said. "If
he has a flush draw, then he needed a club. If he had a straight
draw, then he needed a jack or a 10, something like that.
"I bet again -- $1,100 -- because I wasn't afraid of the
queen. He called me again. Of course he has to call if he's on
a flush draw."
The river came an offsuit ace. Juanda checked, but not because
he was concerned about the board coming another overcard to his
pair of 9s. Juanda believed that if his opponent held an ace-
high flush draw, he would've bet earlier in the hand, so he didn't
think the ace on the river helped his opponent.
"If I had bet there, he would've folded," Juanda said.
"I wouldn't have won anything. But by checking, I gave him
the chance to bluff at the pot, which he did.
"Plus, I had been playing with the guy all day. He usual-
ly bets when he has a hand, but he wasn't sure what to do. He
took a little bit of time and decided to make a big bet at the
pot, so I decided he was probably on a bluff. He bet $3,200, the
size of the pot. I was pretty sure I had the best hand, even though
I had a lousy pair of 9s with an ace and a queen on the board."
Juanda had read it right and took down the pot with his "lousy
pair of 9s." His opponent mucked his cards.
"I wasn't going to lose much money unless he flopped something,"
Juanda said. "If there had been a lot of players in the hand,
I wouldn't have wanted to get involved because I might flop a
bad straight. But it was only me and the big blind and the other
guy. I might flop two pair.
"If you're an inexperienced player, then you probably shouldn't
be playing junk hands like that because then you have to make
a lot of tough decisions after the flop."
TABLE TALK
Overcard: A card that is higher than one or both of the cards
in your hand.
Steve Rosenbloom's e-mail address is srosenbloom@tribune.com.
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