andyfox
12-27-2004, 12:20 AM
Really great to see Jim Brier back here.
On Hand #3, Jim makes several points in favor or raising, rather than folding, among them, the following:
[Big blind has 9-2o. There are two limpers plus the small blind in an unraised pot. Flop comes 9 /images/graemlins/club.gif8 /images/graemlins/club.gif3 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif. Jim is giving arguments in favor of raising when the small blind bets the flop.]
A) No one raised preflop so no one figures to have an overpair.
B) Many low-limit players will bet any piece of the flop in this situation (unraised pot, small field, non-threatening board). When this happens, the range of hands for the small blind is enormous. The small blind could have bottom pair, middle pair, a pocket pair, a flush-draw, or a straight-draw. Your top pair beats all of these hands.
C) A raise will force the other two limpers to call two bets cold making an overcard call very unlikely. Even so, those with overcards are making a mistake by calling when you consider the pot odds.
D) You are risking two bets with five bets already in the pot. You don't have to be right every time to make the risk worthwhile.
On point A): I've played a bit of low-limit hold'em lately (at Commerce and at The Bike) and one thing I notice that there is limping done a fair amount with pocket tens, pocket jacks, and even pocket queens. The players are generally not as aggressive pre-flop with these pocket pairs as in the mid- and high-limit games. So while it is indeed unlikely there is an overpair out, it's more likely in this game than in higher limit games.
On point B): It seems less likely to me that there's an exploratory or on-the-come or off-the-wall bet in a lower limit game than in the mid- or high-limit games, where the players are generally trickier. So while it's indeed possible the bet comes from a worse hand than 9-2, it's less likely that this is the case than is would be in higher stakes games.
On point C): Seems to me that the lower limit players call a lot for two small bets on the flop. In this case, they might well call two cold with a singleton ace of clubs, with Q-T and, of course, with J-T.
On point D): This argument could be made with any call: since there is already money in the pot, you never have to bet win every time. If you just call, then you're only putting in one bet to win five: does this mean calling makes more sense?
Terrific articles by both Jim and Ed. Thanks to 2+2 for this excellent addition to the 2+2 Forums.
On Hand #3, Jim makes several points in favor or raising, rather than folding, among them, the following:
[Big blind has 9-2o. There are two limpers plus the small blind in an unraised pot. Flop comes 9 /images/graemlins/club.gif8 /images/graemlins/club.gif3 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif. Jim is giving arguments in favor of raising when the small blind bets the flop.]
A) No one raised preflop so no one figures to have an overpair.
B) Many low-limit players will bet any piece of the flop in this situation (unraised pot, small field, non-threatening board). When this happens, the range of hands for the small blind is enormous. The small blind could have bottom pair, middle pair, a pocket pair, a flush-draw, or a straight-draw. Your top pair beats all of these hands.
C) A raise will force the other two limpers to call two bets cold making an overcard call very unlikely. Even so, those with overcards are making a mistake by calling when you consider the pot odds.
D) You are risking two bets with five bets already in the pot. You don't have to be right every time to make the risk worthwhile.
On point A): I've played a bit of low-limit hold'em lately (at Commerce and at The Bike) and one thing I notice that there is limping done a fair amount with pocket tens, pocket jacks, and even pocket queens. The players are generally not as aggressive pre-flop with these pocket pairs as in the mid- and high-limit games. So while it is indeed unlikely there is an overpair out, it's more likely in this game than in higher limit games.
On point B): It seems less likely to me that there's an exploratory or on-the-come or off-the-wall bet in a lower limit game than in the mid- or high-limit games, where the players are generally trickier. So while it's indeed possible the bet comes from a worse hand than 9-2, it's less likely that this is the case than is would be in higher stakes games.
On point C): Seems to me that the lower limit players call a lot for two small bets on the flop. In this case, they might well call two cold with a singleton ace of clubs, with Q-T and, of course, with J-T.
On point D): This argument could be made with any call: since there is already money in the pot, you never have to bet win every time. If you just call, then you're only putting in one bet to win five: does this mean calling makes more sense?
Terrific articles by both Jim and Ed. Thanks to 2+2 for this excellent addition to the 2+2 Forums.