Situation 31
The blinds are $200-$400 with a $25 ante. You are on the button. There is $850 in the pot. You have
You have $2400 in poker chips. Everyone folds. Reckless Ricky, sitting to your right, limps for $400.
How will you play?
• You can limp.
• You can fold.
• You can raise to $1200.
• You can move all-in.
Conclusion
There are very few situations where you would want to play A-J. This is example is one of them. You are short on chips and need to improve your position. Since Ricky didn't raise in front of you, he has a weaker hand than yours. With the normal raise of $1200-$1900, you can win the pot.
So moving all-in is the preferred play that is the fourth option.
How to play K-Q
If A-J is dangerous to play then K-Q is much trickier than that because there are more chances for you get into kicker trouble with it. If you hit a queen on the flop, you have two queens with a king kicker while a rival could have queens with an ace kicker. You should seek for the flop like J-T-9, A-J-T, or K-K-Q or K-Q-Q. With these flops, you would have the nuts and this is what you need to show down at the end of the hand.
You can limp in early rounds of the poker tournaments from up front and from middle position with K-Q when you are playing at the table where the rivals aren't doing a lot of pre-flop raising. As mentioned earlier, you can make the normal raise of three or four times the big blind when you are on the button or one seat to the button's immediate right - but only if the blinds are tight players who might fold and give up their blinds.
Situation 32
The blinds are $200-$400 with a $25 ante. You are on the button with $3500 in chips. You are holding:
There is $825 in the pot. Everyone folds to you on the button. Tight Tom is in the big blind with $3500 in chips. Passive Peter is in the small blind with $4000 chips.
How will you play with K-Q?
• You can move all-in.
• You can call the $400.
• You can raise to $1200.
Conclusion
Although K-Q isn't a big hand, you are in little bit of chip trouble. In this case the best thing is that you have two players in the blinds who will not call a raise unless you have a very good hand. You do want tight and passive players in the blinds.
Therefore the preferred play is the third option that is to raise the pot to $1200. If Peter or Tom picks up the good poker hand then they will definitely re-raise. If they do re-raise, just fold your K-Q because there is a possibility that he might be having a hand better than K-Q.
Situation 33
The blinds are $10-$25. You are in the big blind with $25. You have
Passive Peter raises the pot to $50, action Arnold calls in middle position and Tight Tom calls on the button. The player in the small blind folded and now it is your turn to act.
How will you play?
• You can fold.
• You can raise to $150.
• You can call.
Conclusion
K-Q is not a hand you want to call any big raises with. Tight Tom called the small raises but he didn't re-raise. Tom has some kind of pocket pair and is expecting to flop a set or he may an A-J, A-Q or even A-K. Action Arnold can call with many different hands in the hope of catching a good flop. Passive Peter doesn't do much raising but just to double the big blind isn't much of a raise.
So the preferred play is the third option. It won't cost you much to try to catch a good one.
Situation 34
For example, the blinds are $300-$900 with a $50 ante. You are first to act with
There is $1400 in the pot. You have $2400 in chips.
How will you play?
• You can fold.
• You can call.
• You can raise to $1800.
• You can move all-in.
Conclusion
You are in big chip trouble you are in the move In Zone on the Betting Chart. You can't take the blinds and antes twice without going broke. If you go through the blinds, you will be so short-stacked that players will start calling you with the weak hands.
You can move all-in even though K-Q isn't a strong hand so as to give yourself a chance to survive. Therefore the preferred play is the fourth option