Close Calls

Let?s say, for example, that you have amassed a few hundred dollars in this Baby No Limit game. Maybe it?s well into the evening or maybe you?ve just been uncannily lucky early on and have doubled up a few times. For whatever reason, you have $300 or so let?s say. Similarly, your opponent has been a chip magnet as well. He has a stack nearly as big.
You were dealt the same A-Q suited in late position. The $2 large blind wasn?t raised until it came to you. Two callers. You raise it to $10, a standard raise in this game. You get two callers, including the other mammoth stack.
The flop is as it was described earlier. An Ace, a suited card, and a blank. Your opponent checks. The pot has about $35 in it. You bet $35, doubting that anyone is playing A-K or has trips or two pair, since they checked to you. The first player folds. The other player calls you.
The turn is a Queen. Only this time, it?s suited to the other two suited cards on board, making a Flush possible. Your opponent checks. Now had either you or your opponent only had $40 or so you would have just thrown in whatever remaining chips you had after he checked, not giving much credit for the Flush and not wanting him to draw another flush card cheaply. But seeing as you have an enormous stack that he can call you with if he actually is slowplaying the made flush (or Trips for that matter), you don?t want to be so cavalier as to put all of your chips at risk. So in this situation, since you are both still very deep, just bet the size of the pot or so, now at a little over a $100. If he has Trips or the Flush he?ll most likely raise you all in ? and you?ll have a tough decision to make based on the type of player he is and what type of player he thinks you are (the type of decisions that are often made in the higher limit games with better players). If he just calls your bet you can see the River. If he bets all in when a Flush card hits you?ll have to size him up and decide whether he?s bluffing. Similarly, if he checks you?ll have to decide whether he?s trying to induce you to bet a losing hand. If you think he may be you can check behind him and showdown with your top two pair.
Position is critically important precisely because of close calls like this on the Turn and on the River. Consider a similar hand when you are in early position. With that A-Q up front your decisions are much tougher. First of all, when the action comes to you ? let?s say you?re in the four seat?you?ll have to worry about what action all of the players will take after you. So though you may bet the pot on the Turn after having raised and gotten called pre-flop, it is a tougher decision to make because you may be raised by someone who hit the hand more strongly than you. Though your two pair on the Turn is still a large hand, without your opponents acting before you with a check, there is a greater chance that they have a stronger hand. Your bet is riskier.
Here?s a different hand to consider. Let?s say you are in early position with a pair of 9s. You raised pre-flop in mid-position after a couple of players called the $2 big blind. Let?s say you raised to $10. You got a caller after you and a caller in front of you (a frequent situation in these games). The flop came 2-7-10 rainbow. The player before you checked. You bet $30. The player after you thought long and hard and then called. The player in front of you folded.
Now it?s the turn. The card is a Q. What do you do?
This is tougher than being in late position because you don?t have the advantage of seeing how your opponent bets his hand before you act. You have to either push a hand that may well be second best or show weakness by checking which may well induce him to bet even if he doesn?t have a hand.
My suggestion is to avoid the temptation to bet for information ? something many players recommend. I tend to follow the more conservative route in these low limit games ? trying to get my reads from the action of my opponent without committing money to the pot. I would check this hand unless my opponent was showing great weakness and I was fairly sure a large bet would get him to fold.
As you can see by this exception, when there?s serious money at risk on the Turn or the River you have to take your betting actions more seriously. But most of the time, in these low limit games, when you believe you are in the lead you?ll make the most money by betting whatever you or your opponent has left in front of you.