Pot limit 5-stud declare hand...

[ElSapo]

This hand came up in my Wednesday-night home game. We're playing 5-stud declare, pot limit. Game is relatively passive and the stacks are not too deep, but everyone can call the bet in question plus another $30 maybe.

Player A: [X]-2-4-A
Player B: [X]-Q-9-8
Player C: [X]-J-8-5
Playr Me: [7]-6-8-9

Player A, first to act, bets $20, all-in, making the main pot about $50. I put him on the current nut-low, with an outside chance of aces. However, the player is tricky and agressive and doesn't actually need the nut-low to make this bet. He could easily have paired something and is getting all-in.

Player C is third to act. He bet pot ($2) after the first cards came out, and I suspect he has jacks. Player B, usually fairly conservative, called C's bet earlier -- it's possible he has queens, or just another big card underneath.

Anyway, Player A goes all in, and it's $20 on me, one card to come.

Your move?

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

The problem is, you can't force out any of the obvious high hands, and you can only win low if (A) either has an A in the hole or pairs on the river. Essentially, you're chasing in both directions.

Fold.

[ElSapo]

I thought about folding but ruled that out. Instead I reraised to create a side pot I could win half of against the high hands.

I thought there were too many good things that could happen in this situation. True, I'm middle of the road right now but I thought I had outs, and the opportunity to hedge my losses on one side of the pot while creating a chance for a big win.

If it worked, I felt like I was essentially freerolling to a potential big win, and otherwise just winning some back on the side pot.

As it worked out, only one high hand called (maybe I should have seen that), the low man paired and I choped the side pot and main pot with the high player.

I think I got lucky on the result, but I thought the idea of creating a side pot had merit. But I guess the problem is I need to be sure both high hands will call.

[Phat Mack]

I agree that's A's move is suspicious. There's no reason to make this move if A has a 3 or a 5--he would have too strong a hand. Unfortunately, you have a big draw for both ways, but do not have a made hand.

Are there any twists (exchanges) in this game? How is the declare made? You may have the only hand that goes low if A has paired an ace...

[ElSapo]

Declare is with chips, no tiwsts or trades...

Yup, he was paired.

[Phat Mack]

For some reason, I started to think about your hand tonight while I was waiting to catch a hand in an omaha game. Originally, I had thought your hand was no good because you didn't have anything. Then I thought, "Everybody's paired. He's freerolling." There's 39 unknowns. 9 pair your hand and kill it. All eight of your straight cards are live (I don't know about folded hands). Everything else let's you make a low and escape with half the pot.

I like your side pot idea. You're laying 2:1, but it 3:1 that you at least escape. I don't know if the best time to make the side pot was 4th street or 5th street, though. If might have waited for 5th street, but there is a chance that you would have lost one of the high callers. On the other hand, you would have known if you had paired.

Interesting hand. Thanks for posting it.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Can AA scoop? In other words can he use his aces as both the highest and lowest one-pair hand?

[ElSapo]

No, a pair of aces can only go one way...

...though ironically, ace-high can go both ways - but that takes more nerve than most people at this table have, especially when the pots get large.

[bugstud]

You really need to make AA go both ways, it gives the one-pair hands a lot more to think about. Also, do you play twist on the end? Where you can take the last card down and put your holecard up?

[ElSapo]

We actually play a "roll your own" 5-stud game, and I consider it the scariest game on the planet... This wasn't it though, no switching, buying cards or rolling on the end.

...I like the idea of letting AA go both ways, but I've never heard of this before...

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

I like the game with a replace on the end.

[Al Mirpuri]

What are you using as the best low? A2345 or A2346 or 23457?

[ElSapo]

A2345 is best low in our game.