07-22-05, LearnTexasHoldem:
Trouble Playing Monster Hands
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When they fold to my raise I will show them I had a good hand. I have flopped quads and bet some guy so strong on the turn that he just threw away his pocket Kings (after i'd flopped 4 jacks) - I quickly showed him the Jack in my hand as I took a pretty small pot. On the way home that night I knew I coulda had taken him for a huge pot, but was more interested (at the moment) in getting him to realize I had quads and how dare he bet into me...
It's times like this when I don't make any money on my hands - I find myself explaining to someone how another player hasn't played a hand in 2 hrs and that was why i quickly folded when he raised - I think what it is is that I want respect when I'm at a table, but the times i've made the most money is when i've made some boneheaded mistakes at a table. 1st hand 1 night I had pocket 10's with 1 being a club - 4 spades ended up being on the board and I misread my hand telling my opponent (who i'd been raising and raising) that I had a 10 high flush - The dealer told me i had a club and not spades - I made more money that night than any other single session, and I didn't even misread my hand on purpose.
I try to play looser than the books say to..I've been at a table when I make a preflop raise and the table folds...those are no fun - this only happens at live tables - online I am good at slow playing, and often get a player to commit all their chips when i've got a monster. Maybe it is entitlement that makes me try for respect. Whatever it is, it's killing my live play.
thanks-
Paul
Answer: First of all, let me ask you this: Do you think you make more money if everyone is afraid of you at the table? It's kind of funny because when I first started playing poker, part of me wanted to prove to everyone at the table that I was a "good" player, but now as I've progressed to much larger stakes, I work to show the opposite image. Make no mistake, you want to get action. The only advantage you have by keeping a super tight table image is that you can sometimes steal a small pot here and there.
The problem is, though, that you can't make much money just stealing. You need players calling down your big hands; that's how you make money in poker. Whenever you have a strong hand, you should be thinking about two things; first, how can I maximize my winnings with this; how can I play it in such a way that I will eke out every chip I can from this; secondly, and to a lesser extent, you think about how to protect the hand.
The larger the pot, the less willing I am to get fancy and slow play -- for two reasons as well; one, large pots already have many people committed so there is no reason to slow play; two, when the pot is really big, I prefer just getting it over to me as quick as possible.
One thing that I think will help you play these big hands better is if you learn to be a little more deceptive. When you flop something really strong like top set, quads, the nut flush or straight, the last thing you want to happen is chase away your business. If you can play the hand a little differently than normal, you'll occasionally give a free card that sucks another player into calling. With four jacks and the preflop raiser betting into you, you have options. This is a perfect setup situation since he actually has a hand. (Most of the time when you flop the nuts, the opposition doesn't have anything.)
There are two options for the flop betting that you could have done to maximize your winnings -- both of which are deceptive. I think the first, and most obvious, option is just to smooth call and let him do the betting and pull the trigger later in the hand when he has more money committed. I think a better option, and one I would use, is to raise him on the flop -- the minimum raise. Then you check the turn card or make a small bet into the flop. What this does is show weakness.
Most people slow play their biggest hands. When you put in a little raise on the flop it tells him that you probably don't have a jack. Then weak betting on the turn card seals the deal. I wouldn't be surprised if you busted him for all his chips if an Ace didn't hit on the turn or river. If this were limit holdem, I would have raised him on the flop and bet it down the rest of the way. The reason is because a raise on the flop is usually a weak play.
Again, if I really did have the jack, I would have usually raised him on the turn after just calling the flop -- that gives the hand away though, playing it straightforwardedly actually creates deception. As you move up in limits, you'll need to learn how to mix up your play more so that you can keep your opponents guessing.
Yesterday when I was playing, I got into about 6 big hands against one really aggressive guy. I was playing pretty tight solid poker, since he was so loose and aggressive. He wasn't a bad player, I think he just assumed that he could run over me and I wouldn't know how to play with him. He soon found out that I indeed knew how to play against him and every hand that I won against him, I intentionally played differently than what he anticipated, to maximize the damage. Soon he turned from the loud guy at the table to very quiet. Next time you have a monster, think back on your previous big hands and how you played them, then mix up your play in the current hand.
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