PokerSoup Forums > Strategy > Building a pot with a big hand

Building a pot with a big hand

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1. • Posted by Jason M 2008-05-04 09:21:46
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   • This hand occurred last night at Dub's game. I'd like some input, because it seemed like I should have been able to build a much bigger pot.

     Dub's game is a bit weird - we start with 12 players at one table, 20k in chips, and 25/50 blinds. This causes some unnatural play, such as a lot of limping, a lot of raise calling, and some huge pots in comparison to the blinds. Coming in to the game, I decided to not raise as much as I usually do. With all the callers, it just builds bigger pots that require bigger stabs and frequently result in bigger mistakes on my part. I wanted to keep the pots small when I was unsure, but build the pots up when I managed to hit a lucky flop.

     The

     I'm in middle/late position and there are a couple limpers, so I jump in for 100. The big blind checks his option, and we have five players, with me "on the button". The flop comes , which seems like a dream come true. The small blind bets 100, two players call, one folds, and it's on me.

     A. What do you do?

     I just called. I didn't want to give the indication I had a ten. Maybe one of these other players could catch a king or something, and I didn't want to scare them out.

     The next card is a . I didn't like this card so much, as there are a couple draws that are starting to shape up, namely the flush and straight draws. The small blind bets out 200, the big blind folds, seat 5 calls. At this point, there is 1300 in the pot.

     B. What do you do?

     I raised to 800. I wanted the draws to pay more than they should, and I thought it was possible (albeit unlikely) that I was trying to show strength in position after the other players had been moderately week. In addition, it is my impression that I am known to make plenty of moves and raises with draws or complete misses, especially in the face of weakness and/or scary boards. Additionally, it's my estimation that people frequently think I'm a crazy player, so I try to use that too my advantage, whether or not it's true. (If you disagree, please let me know, as I'd love the help and feedback.)

     The small blind folds, and seat 5 calls. The river is the , which I don't particularly like. If I previously had any other ten dominated, there was a good chance they now have a full house. If somebody called with a open-ender, I just got owned. I might have just ran into . Or maybe I was beat the whole time by pocket fours.

     There is 2500 in the pot and seat 5 bets out 800.

     C. What do you do?

     I decide that if I'm beat, I'd rather not lose any more, and if I'm not beat, a raise would just end up in my opponent folding, so there seems to be no good reason to do so. As I call, my opponent remarks that he bet the river because he "just wanted to get something out of me" so I rolled my eyes expecting to see . He flips up the case with a kicker.

     Final Analysis

     I felt like I could have made a lot more money here, obviously. What is the best way to play this hand, in general? Do you make an early raise, testing the waters to see if you are against the case ten, and if so, push hard, knowing you have the best kicker? Or do you play it slow until the board gets scary, hoping to let you opponents catch up a bit, since the chances are that case ten is not out there? At what points would you have played differently than me?

2. • Posted by uzjedi 2008-05-04 13:09:10
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   • Wow, that is a ton of people at one table. I'm not normally shy about value betting trip tens with the best kicker, but often I might just flat call on that river as well. I don't like the turn or the river either.

     I probably flat call on the flop most of the time also. It's so very dry. I might raise a little more on the turn. Maybe make it 5x instead of 4, but that's not really a big deal.

     There is another option for the river though. You could try a smallish raise, and then fold if he reraises. Situations like this are one of the few times I think it's ok to raise min or slightly more. Then you get value from that worse T, but also get your answer if you are beat if he reraises. But I don't think you played the hand badly.

3. • Posted by Jason M 2008-05-16 19:09:56
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   • Yeah, 12 people is pretty weird. It takes a bit of getting used to.

     Hmmm. I'll consider that small raise on the river for next time. It worked out to be a great blocking bet for him. However, in this particular instance, he thought he had the monster hand and just wanted to "get something out of me". If I raise there, he might go over the top anyway. Maybe not, though. I'll definitely think about it next time.

     Thanks for the comments. With all these posts I'm making, it's good to hear somebody say "yeah, that's about how I would have done it" once in a while :)

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