by:
Luke Phillips, April 18, 2009 at 6:35 pm |
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Sex And Poker EdSize Matters
It’s so gratifying to look down at your hole cards and see two faces staring back up at you. Big singles like A-K, K-Q, Q-J are usually very playable, because—let’s face it—size matters. The question is: how do you play these big cards? Let’s analyze a couple of situations to see what your options are.
Playing with big cards
Strategy 1 - Playing The Odds
Action: With a flop of 7-4-2 rainbow, you’re facing an all-in bet worth half the pot.
Analysis: Some reasonable hands for him to move in with might be top pair, an overpair, or a set.
Conclusion: Without any straight or flush draws, your overcards are a 3-1 dog. As long as you believe that they’re both live, it’s a safe enough call. You might even be ahead if he’s on a draw or simply bluffing!
Strategy 2 - When You Don’t Stack Up
Action: With a flop of 7-4-2 rainbow, you face a bet from an opponent in late position who has as deep a stack as you do.
Analysis: The worrysome thing isn’t just what he could be holding now, but what his bet might be like on the turn.
Conclusion: You can let this hand go and wait for a better opportunity.
Strategy 3 - Playing Position
Action: With a flop of 7-4-2 rainbow, you’re on the button and you face a small bet from an opponent in mid position.
Analysis: A small bet gives you a lot of opportunities to hit or pose an effective bluff on the turn without risking much on the flop.
Conclusion: Call the bet (hoping to hit) and make a play on later streets if your opponent shows weakness.
Strategy 4 - Fake It…
Action: Related flop, like a flush or connectors, comes.
Analysis: Unless you opponent is playing a pocket pair, he probably isn’t going to bet with a hand that doesn’t have you dominated or flatly drawing dead.
Conclusion: where you could afford to play around with the baby flops before, a flop that is well-coordinated can complicate your chances by giving your opponents draws on top of pairs or made hands. Minimize your investment.
Strategy 5 - …Til You Make It.
Action: A well caught flop like trips with a high kicker, a straight, full house, or top two.
Analysis: Opponents who will give you action have hands that are also well related to the flop.
Conclusion: Play quickly to defend against them counterfitting or sucking out on you and you may end up taking a very nice pot.
Having big cards in your mix is naturally appealing and as long as you play with an eye open to the whole situation, you’ll maximize your benefit while reducing your losses.
After all, while size does matter, how you use it still counts.
- Luke Phillips
