Hold'em Hand Of The Day
Hand #1 - Me And My Two Low Pairs

As part of an ongoing effort to improve my decision making instincts in hold'em, I thought it might be a good idea to keep a log of certain hands on this blog. Maybe any of my poker genuis readers out there can provide their input on what should have been done, what they would've done, etc.

The following was the last big hand I played:

I was dealt 5-7 suited (hearts) on the big blind ($1), with 4 people left in the game and about $25 in my stack. The guy after me folds, then dealer calls the blind, and small blind also calls (I think). I check with my 5-7, half-wishing that someone had raised so I could fold.

But no one did, and the flop came with J-5-7 with a flush draw on the board (2 clubs). I bet out $2 with my two-pair (5's and 7's), and then I'm raised by the dealer, making it $3 more. Other guy folds, so it's up to me.

I think about what the dealer could possibly have on this board, knowing that he is a pretty loose player who likes to buy pots, and figure at best, he paired a J. So, I raise his $3 for another $10, expecting him to fold.

He calls my bet, and the next card on the turn is a club (I think it was an 8). Now if he has suited clubs, he has a flush. I'm still pretty sure that my 2-pairs are the best hand, but since he called my $10 raise last round, I decide to just check now. Then he puts me all-in (he has by far the most chips at the table, at least $60-70, while I have about $10 left).

I think about it for a while, but to me, the decision to call this last bet is pretty simple. The way I see it, there are only three possible hands he could beat me with:

1. He might have flopped a three-of-a-kind on the flop with pocket 5's, 7's, or J's. This was highly unlikely because I already had one each of the remaining 5's and 7's in my hand, and if he had pocket J's, I'm almost positive that he would raise with it on pre-flop.

2. He might have a flush with clubs. This was also unlikely in my mind because that means he put $13 in the pot on the flop with just a flush draw.

3. He might have paired that jack on the flop, then made the 2nd pair with the turn card. This was the most likely possibility of the three.

On the other hand, I knew that he was a loose player, and especially with the most money on the table, he was more likely to make reckless bets. I've seen him go all in with absolutely nothing at the worst situations in the past, and now I figure he's just too involved in the pot that he's desperate to try and buy it at this point by going all-in. My best guess, as I call his all-in for my last $10 or so, puts him on one of the following hands that I can beat:

1. Pair of Jacks, high kicker. This was the most likely situation, based on what kind of player I think he is.

2. Pocket Aces, K's, or Q's. This means he was playing them slow from the beginning to try and trap me, and if this were the case, now was my chance to make him pay for it with my 2-pair.

3. Complete bluff. Not all that likely, but it's definitely a possibility based on what I know about his style of play.

Well, as I'm pushing my chips in, he flips up his cards and there it is, A-9 of clubs for the "nut flush". I think "nut" is a good word to describe it because it definitely felt like a kick in the nuts. Anyways, with only one more card to go, I have to get another 5 or 7 (4 "outs") for a miracle full house on the river, but it didn't happen, and I was officially out.

As I do with a lot of hands that I get eliminated on, I end up replaying the whole thing in my mind afterwards, trying to figure out if there was anything I could have done to avoid it. I think overall, I played that hand pretty well, but in no-limit hold'em, it's those little things you do or don't do, that make you either a great player or just average to above-average. So here's the questions I wonder about in hindsight:

1. Instead of re-re-raising his $3 re-raise on the flop by $10, should I have just gone all-in at that point (about a $20 raise instead)? Chances are, nothing is going to come on the last 2 cards to help my 5's and 7's, so this is probably the best time to get all my money in there, on the re-raise. I did see the flush draw on the board, but I figured that $10 would be enough to eliminate someone staying for that. Actually, I thought that my original $2 bet should've eliminated anybody drawing at a flush, but apparently I was wrong on both counts. Either way, I wonder if he would have called an all-in regardless, considering he called my $10. I'm pretty sure he knows me as a player who rarely, if ever, re-re-raises $10 on the flop without a strong hand. Hmmm... next time I see him I'll have to ask the question.

2. Or, instead of re-re-raising his $3 re-raise, should I have figured he had 3-of-a-kind and just folded right there? I mean, I really shouldn't have been involved in the hand with a 5-7 to begin with, were it not for the big-blind, so maybe I should've just given it up when someone re-raised my bet. After all, I checked to him first, and with the flush on the board, I was honestly going to check on the last card too, if it came to that. But 2-pair on the flop, even though it was the low pairs, is just really hard for me to let go. I've won a lot of big pots in the past with that hand.

3. Should I have called the last all-in, after the 3rd flush card fell? As I said before, this seemed like a pretty clear decision for me at the time. Having already put more than half my total money in the pot, I felt that the odds were definitely there for me to call the last $10 or so. Also, I definitely don't want to be bluffed in any situation by anyone, so making the call hopefully discourages him (or anyone else watching the hand) from bluffing at me carelessly in the future. But maybe this is a case where I should be more careful about calling all-ins, when I could still be beat by so many hands (other than the flush, I think a possible straight was on the board, he could have the 3-of-a-kind as I mentioned, or even a higher 2-pair). After this experience, maybe I won't consider 2-pairs to be as great of a hand in the future.

Just to clarify to anyone reading this long story, I am not writing this because I'm bitter. Also, if I made the other guy sound like a terrible player, I didn't mean to. Even though statistically, it's a terrible play to put in a lot of money to draw at a flush from the flop (I think it's about 33% to hit), he did have a lot of money and could afford it at that point in the game. And from that point on, he played it right and ended up with all my chips, so I can't not give him props at least for that much.

Finally, I know that from my end, I probably didn't play that hand perfectly, so until I someday hone my poker skills into "Johnny Chan-caliber play", I'd be wise take everything as a learning experience. My goals are gonna be to complain less, to take nothing personally, and to hopefully get better along the way.

So, any constructive criticism from you the reader is welcome, such as "Joe you're such a dumbass" or "you suck". Or, "stop boring us with your sob stories, hold'em is for losers". But, maybe if there happens to be some good discussion and interest in my poker entries, I'll make it a semi-regular thing. In which case, I think I already know what my next "Hold'em Hand of the Day" will be. We'll see.