Limiting damage can be a win
A hand recently played by one of my students illustrates a skill that you must master if you want to succeed at poker.
Early in a $1,000-buy-in tournament, with blinds at 25-50 and effective stacks of 18,000, my student (we’ll call him “Hero”) raised to 125 from second position with 4s 4d. Two players (the cutoff and hijack) called.
While I am fine with Hero’s preflop raise with a small pair, I would prefer that he make it three times the size of the big blind (150 in this case) due to the very deep stacks. In general, you want to build a pot early so that if you flop a premium hand, you can invest more money later.
The flop came 8c 5c 4h. Hero bet 350 into, and the player in the hijack seat raised to 1,200. The cutoff folded, and Hero called.
Hero’s continuation bet with a set is excellent because it builds the pot without making him look obviously strong. Once the hijack raises, I think calling is the only play that has any merit for Hero. While there is an obvious flush draw available that Hero wants to protect against, there are a few made hands (8-8, 5-5 and 7-6) against which Hero wants to minimize his losses. If Hero reraises the flop and his opponent continues, either by calling or reraising, Hero will have essentially turned his set into a bluff catcher in a gigantic pot. The best play is to go into a defensive mode and simply call.
The turn was the As. Hero checked, his opponent bet 2,800, and Hero called.
As on the flop, Hero should play defensively in order to lose the least amount possible if he happens to be up against a better made hand, while also allowing his opponent the opportunity to bluff. Hero’s main objective is not to protect his hand from the various draws, but to instead protect his stack in case he happens to be crushed. Folding to the turn bet is not an option because Hero will often have the best hand in this situation, and if he happens to be up against a straight, he has 10 clean outs to the effective nuts.
The river was the 7c. Both players checked, and Hero lost to his opponent’s 7d 6d.
Luckily, one of the scariest cards arrived on the river, saving Hero a significant river bet. If the river was not a club, 7 or 6, Hero simply would have had to call a river bet, because his hand is drastically under- represented and the opponent could easily have been bluffing with any of his missed draws. Of course, if you are playing live poker and get the vibe that your opponent clearly thinks he has the best hand, you can perhaps justify folding.
While some players would look at this loss and be unhappy, Hero played great to not go broke. Many amateurs in this spot would raise the flop or turn and pile their stack into the middle, only to find themselves quickly on the rail in a deep-stack event.