Copyright 2005 Full
Tilt Poker
May 30, 2005
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Poker Lesson: Don't Play a Big
Pot Unless You Have a Big Hand
Author: John Juanda
I'm at Foxwoods playing the $2,000 No Limit Hold
'em event. We all started with $3,000 and now I've got $15,000.
At my table is Richard Tatalovitch, a player whom I've competed
against many times.
I raise pre-flop from middle position with K-J offsuit
and Richard calls from the big blind. The flop comes 9-6-4 with
two diamonds on the board.
Richard hesitates for a moment before checking,
and I put in a pot-sized bet. Richard thinks for a while and calls.
All of a sudden, I don't like my hand -- so much.
Imagine my relief when a non-diamond J hits the
turn. Now I have top pair and a pretty good kicker. Then Richard
comes out betting. Uh-oh.
Now, let me back up a moment and mention that when
someone hesitates before checking, it's usually a huge tell. But
Richard is the king of delayed action, so I ignored his tell and
bet the flop anyway. And his bet on the turn just screams, "Raise
me! I dare you!"
I go into the tank and my thoughts go something
like this:
1. He flopped a set. That explains the smooth call
on the flop - he's trying to trap me into staying, hoping I'll
bet the turn, too.
2. No. If he had a set, he'd have checked the turn
and waited for me to hang myself right then and there, or let
me catch something on the river. He can't have a set.
3. The jack helped him. I don't have the jack of
diamonds. Maybe he does, and he called the flop with a jack-high
flush draw. If so, I like my kicker and my hand.
4. He's betting on the come with a flush or straight
draw and is hoping to buy the pot right there.
I run through these possibilities and reach no conclusion.
Normally, I would just call here. We both have a
lot of chips, and I don't want to put them all in with nothing
but top pair. Then, I have the misfortune to remember a hand from
a month earlier at Bellagio:
Richard had been running bad and was complaining
about a string of horrific beats. I saw him check and call with
top boat because he was afraid of quads! A guy that afraid of
monsters under the bed isn't going to check-call top set on the
flop with a flush draw out there.
"All in!" I declared.
Oops. This is now a Big Pot. And rest assured, top
pair doesn't even resemble a Big Hand.
In the four years I've been playing with him, I've
never seen him call so fast. I am drawing dead to his perfectly-played
9-9.
Sometimes, we all forget that big cards don't always
equal a big hand and that the smart move can be to play conservatively
instead of going for the quick kill. As for Richard - he had the
good sense to be in a Big Pot with a Big Hand, and the patience
to make it pay off.
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