|
|
. |
 |
 he Guardian Poker Column |
|
| |
|
 |
| |
 |
| |
| Victoria Coren |
| Wed 21 Apr 2010 |
| |
 |
| |
|
|
|
How do you play trips against a solid player?
|
Imagine you are playing in a big televised cash game (blinds £25-£50) with a strong lineup of international poker faces.
You are dealt 6 4 on the button. When all seven opponents limp in, you call along. The flop comes J 4 4 . Hello! Phil Laak, "The Unabomber", bets £700. |
|
|
What does he have? It can't be nothing. Some young hotheads might bet into seven players with "air", but Laak is no fool. He is testing the water with a jack, or he too has a 4 (maybe A4 suited?), or he has a pocket pair / overpair and limped pre-flop hoping for a raise that never came.
You call and the turn comes 7. Now Laak bets a chunky £2,100. Flat-calling is no longer an efficient option. To play on, you should make a large raise that effectively commits your whole £15,000 stack. But would this be suicide? Laak must know you have either a J or a 4. You wouldn't have limped from the button with a pocket pair, so the flop significantly improved your hand. How can he bet again without his own 4? It is possible he has AA, or AJ / KJ with a flush draw but, for his dangerous turn bet, a confident 4 (or even a house of jacks) seems more likely.
In a fast one-table tournament, you'd have shoved on the flop. But this is a cash game. There will be better spots. You swallow it and .
This is how Barny Boatman played 6 4 in the PartyPoker Big Game last week. Laak held A J. When Boatman was attacked for the fold by a regular trouble-maker on his own website, I ed a valuable piece of poker wisdom: you will never be a winning player if you can't, sometimes, for good reasons, the best hand.
|
|
|
| |
 |
| |
|
|
| |
|
. |
|
Main Menu)
