Copyright 2005 Full
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September 6, 2005
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Poker Lesson: Flopping
a Monster
Author: Richard Brodie
When I started playing
poker, I would get so excited when I flopped a big hand that
I forgot my main goal: Win as many chips as possible. When I had
marginal hands, I would think hard about what my opponent had
and whether I could beat it. But when I had a big hand, I just
wanted to get all my chips in the middle.
Big mistake.
Big hands can mean big pots. But, with a big hand,
it's even more important to strategize and figure out how strong
your opponent is. If you think he's weak, you can slow play the
hand, perhaps getting him to call a bet thinking you're bluffing
or, better yet, inducing him to bluff himself. If you think he's
strong, you can let him bet your hand for you, raising on the
turn or river to extract maximum value.
In the 2003 Borgata Poker Open, I mixed it up with
a small under-the-gun raise with Ten-Nine of Diamonds. I got two
callers, including Bobby Thompson in the small blind. The flop
came Eight-Seven-Six, giving me the nut straight. Bobby led out
with a pot-sized bet and we both called. The turn was an Ace and
he bet again. I still had the nuts and, with my inexperience,
didn't think enough about what my opponents could have. Instead,
I got greedy and just called again, hoping to get a call from
the third player.
If I had thought about it, I would have put Bobby
on at least two pair and the third player on a straight draw with
something like Jack-Ten. I should have moved in at that point,
pricing out the straight draw and figuring Bobby would have to
call. Instead, I just called and the third player folded. When
a second Ace came on the river and Bobby pushed in, I had a very
tough decision and ended up putting my chips in dead as he turned
over pocket Sixes for the full house.
If I had put my money in on the turn, the results may have been
different. By putting Bobby to the tough decision to call an all-in,
I might have priced him out of the hand.
The next year in the same event, I had the very
aggressive Jimmy-Jimmy Cha on my right. He made a late-position
raise and I re-raised with pocket Tens. He called and we were
heads-up. The flop came Ten high with two Spades, once again giving
me the nuts. This time, though, I thought about what he might
have. Nines, Jacks, and Queens were definite possibilities. If
not, he could easily have over cards. Jimmy checked - not an unusual
play given that I had taken the lead before the flop. I decided
because he was so aggressive, I'd go ahead and bet the hand rather
than slow play it. Sure enough, he check-raised me all in and
I called. This time I went broke the right way, with all my chips
in as a three-to-one favorite against his flush draw.
Then there's always the chance you're beat with
an even bigger hand. In a televised tournament at the Plaza, I
raised with pocket Tens and got called by the big blind. The flop
came Queen-Queen-Ten, giving me a full house. But my opponent
check-called my flop bet with such a Hollywood act that I put
him on at least a Queen. A King came on the turn and he check-raised
me. I could beat Ace-Queen or Queen-Jack but not King-Queen or
Queen-Ten, so I slowed down and just called. When he made a small
bet on the river I just called, suspecting I was beat and, sure
enough, he turned over Queen-Ten for a bigger full house. I had
flopped a monster and was drawing dead! By analyzing his play
and getting a read, I saved valuable chips and went on to the
final table.
So don't let the excitement of flopping a monster
make you forget about putting your opponent on a hand. A lot of
chips move around during these hands and you want them moving
into your stack.
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