HOW TO PLAY CARD FIVE AND SIX
(1) In pot-limit holdem poker, the initiative is so important that the overlay is totally dominant. Although, it might seem ridiculous, e.g. 6 2 3 offsuit, it is still possible for these cards to form a straight. You must proceed with extreme caution if your board does not hold a superior possibility. Most poker players get confused. A♣ 7♣ 2♣ does not overlay 9 4 4.
The latter could be a full house. The poker player who is in a good position can check-raise, bet out or check-pass his hand at will. Therefore, if you hold (? ?) 7♣ 10♣ Q♦ against (? ?) 9 8 7 and hit a club, poker players get convinced that you have a flush, and will put their hands down. The poker players do not easily believe a full house if you hit an open pair. The reason for this should remain an eternal mystery.
(2) You can bet not only the overlay but also the underlay when you are playing a fairly good poker player. I used to explain my friend- Frank Thompson this thing about once a month against Len - our mutual acquaintance. For e.g. Len with a an showing bets, and I call with (7 2) 7. There might be or might not be other poker players in the pot. Card four Len with (? ?) A 9 bets; I with (7 2) 7♣ 3♥.
Card five Len (? ?) A 9 3 bets And we are the only two poker players left in the pot. Now I with (7 2) 7♣ 3♥ Q♠ raise. Since i don’t have a two-flush or even two-straight showing, we both must have a large amount of money left in the pot so that there is still a great deal of poker betting possible. Or else, i might be on a draw-and-pair.
What should Len understand about this? It is natural that i have a strong hand which i am ready to take up against aces. Therefore, he would normally pass. Keep in mind that my pair of 7’s might have been winning. Len was A very good poker player to be always betting with good hand only.
One day, the sequence occurred when all three of us were playing poker. After Len passed, frank told me that he didn’t believe me when i told him about that coup. Len- a smart poker player replied that he does not get rich off him (which was true). Later, frank apologized and said that he owed me a dinner.
(3) If you are afraid of A reraise, do not bet or raise. For e.g. you hold (7♣ 5♣) K♣ 7♦ Q♣ 4♠ against (? ?) A 9 6 4. You bet each time he checked on fourth and fifth streets. You check straight back when he checks on sixth poker street. You should always pass when you bet and he raises. Your only chance of winning lies with a flush or possibly trips.
Therefore, your bet, instead of taking off a free card has increased the pot and is now too big for the out-draw. Look at the other hand (A 9) 9 3 A 4 against (? ?) 7♣ A♣ K♣ 6♥ where he has just called your bets on third, fourth, and fifth streets. Here, he checks, you bet, and he reraises All-in. If you are losing, you can pass with fair confidence.
All you have passed up with your apparently rash bet has nearly 10% chance of an out-draw. You might would have let him out-draw you for free if you had checked where he would have passed which would have been a very horrible situation.
(4) Yes, he might have bluffed you out in the above situation. Not many poker players will check-raise as A bluff. The reason for this is that sometimes they do not have the heart for it, and sometimes because it is mathematically not feasible. The pot is $100. He checks And you bet $100. Now, he calls And raises $300. To win $200, he is risking $400.
(5) Obviously, the greatest problem lies with the marginal hands. It’s easy to play the nuts. However, it isn’t usually what gets you the money. The underlying principle in poker is that if you can’t lose, you can’t win much.
The greatest difference between pot-limit poker and limit seven card stud poker is that at pot-limit poker when you are in doubt, you should pass. The downside risk is huge. You might face three times the bet on sixth street, and nine times on the river if you hesitantly call on fifth street. It is necessary to be able to release a hand. It is equally necessary not to be pushed around.
You can be a winner or a loser on the basis of your poker judgment. Poker is not a game of absolutes. It is very difficult to make the correct decision when bet at if you are high and check a marginal hand and show weakness. Therefore, i prefer to bet, and pass A raise. In any poker game, soft check-call doesn’t hack it.
(6) Occasionally, you will play against a poker player who is so loose and aggressive that the best way to play him is simply to check and call. Sometimes, he might have you beaten and you will go of in a big way, but that’s poker. Whenever, it is possible, sit to the immediate right of such a poker player.
Then you can safely prepare a check-raise of the other poker players, or pass if discretion proves to be the better part of valor as All his bets go through the rest of the table. Against one Englishman, i adopted the system that if i had a pair and until the board beat me, I would still call at the river. One day i mustered a pair of fives.
The pot was fairly small and action wasn’t that fierce when he bet on seventh poker street. My fives hadn’t improved, and also they were not the favorite against seven random cards. I hesitantly passed thinking that if i didn’t pass, he might realize that he can never bluff me. He heaved a sigh of relief as he thought that he could never get me out. From my experience, this is the only example of trap pass At poker.
(7) Multihanded action pots Are very different in pot-limit poker from limit poker. Against Sid, you hold (A 4) A 9 6 who shows (? ?) 4 7 7 and Jim (? ?) Q K 2. 3id leads off. In order, to eliminate Jim and get heads-up against a probable two pair, or possibly pair plus up-and-down straight at limit poker, you should raise. You should either pass or call in pot-limit poker. A raise in pot-limit poker is very dangerous.