Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Calling w/ Ace-Rag in the BB

Another hand played by my student in the $2 PokerStars tournament.

Seat 1: ronb19 (895 in chips) is sitting out 
Seat 2: Chula66 (5975 in chips) 
Seat 3: bigdog4all (1090 in chips) 
Seat 4: Pilo 82 (3685 in chips) 
Seat 5: Wolf_CorpS (6510 in chips) 
Seat 6: hobbesy (2840 in chips) 
Seat 7: Hero (4203 in chips) 
Seat 8: 1DeMoN1 (1672 in chips) 
Seat 9: jetsie (2205 in chips) 
hobbesy: posts small blind 50  
Hero: posts big blind 100 
*** HOLE CARDS ***  
Dealt to Hero  A♠ 8
1DeMoN1: folds 
jetsie: calls 100 
ronb19: folds 
Chula66: folds 
bigdog4all: folds 
Pilo 82: folds 
Wolf_CorpS: raises 200 to 300 
hobbesy: folds  
Hero: calls 200 
jetsie: calls 200 

I am not a fan of this call preflop.  An ace can be tempting to play, but if an ace does flop you are looking at either winning a small pot or losing a big one.  If you play very well postflop and the stacks are deeper (>50BBs) you can call, but calling here will almost always have a negative expectation.  A-8 is just too weak to play out of position w/out being the preflop raiser.   Folding > 3-betting > Calling.

*** FLOP ***  2 Q♠ 8

The flop is pretty favorable, as you have second pair with top kicker, but it is very possible that either of your two opponents has a Queen (A-Q or K-Q) or a larger pocket pair than your eights.

Hero: checks 
jetsie: checks 
Wolf_CorpS: bets 400  
Hero: calls 400 
jetsie: folds 

I would fold after Wolf Corps bets.  If he has a queen or any pocket pair above eights, you are in trouble.  Since you are out of position, you are likely to win less when you are best and lose more when your opponent is best.  Another concern is that jetsie could always be check-raising.  It is less likely on this dry flop, but you cannot discount the possibility.


*** TURN ***  [2 Q♠ 8] 6

The turn is very benign and unlikely to have helped Wolf Corps in any way.  Whomever was best on the flop, is still best.
Hero: checks 
Wolf_CorpS: checks 

Checking here is definitely the right play.  I would fold to a bet, but once Wolf Corps checks, you are usually ahead here.

*** RIVER ***  [2 Q♠ 8 6] 7♠

The river is unlikely to have helped your opponent.  You probably have the best hand here, but your opponent is unlikely to call any bet unless he has a queen.  You should check here to give Wolf Corps a chance to bluff at the pot.

Hero: bets 700 
Wolf_CorpS: folds  
Hero collected 1750 from pot

Betting here is not the best play as you are unlikely to be called by a second best hand.  By betting, you have ensured that you will lose more chips when Wolf Corps has a queen, but you will not win any more chips when he has air.  If you check instead, he will still bet with a queen (though he may check behind!), but he may bluff some chips off to you when he does not have a queen.

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