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Hi, I have a question regarding a funny situation I encountered today that went as follows:

5 players see a flop of Ac 5d 7d. I am pleased as i hold Ad 3d and bet 1/3 the pot. All but one folds.

The turn is 4d, i have hit my flush and check to trap. Sure enough he makes a small bet which I call.

River is 6d which means he probably hit the flush that i put him on. He bets 2,000 but just before i re-raise him i realize that a straight flush is on the board. I called and lost the pot to his straight flush.

My question is, when should you put someone on a hand such as this? It seems to me that this is a prime opportunity to bluff as well and i couldn't get away from this hand.

Thanks for your reply and for such a great site.
/Randy

Answer:

Hi Randy,

You are right, you can't always go around being afraid that your opponents have straight flushes or your game will be way too tight. In the situation you describe, the river gives you the low straight flush. There is only one card that will beat you; the 8 of diamonds. I think it is close to impossible to get away from this hand. Your opponent can definitely be bluffing here, as you said, or even bet a weaker flush.

I don't know how large the 2,000 bet is in relation to the pot, but you made a good decision when you chose to call instead of raise. You have the low straight flush and the ace for the nut flush, so there are probably not many hands that you can beat that your opponent will call a raise with (only if he's a player that will overplay a weaker flush in this situation). So I definitely like your call instead of a raise here.

Regards Clark
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