Discuss........
If you think you have the best hand, bet it. Obvious, sure, but using your bets to gain that kind of information is the key, as veteran pro Joe Beevers did in this hand from the $25,000-buy-in World Poker Tour Championship at Bellagio in Las Vegas last year.
With blinds at $100-$200 plus a $25 ante, decorated pro David Benyamine limped under the gun.
The next player raised to $600. The player in Seat 1 called, as did wily pro David Ulliott in the cutoff. Beevers found pocket jacks in the small blind and called, believing he couldn’t fold the field with a re-raise. The big blind also called, as did Benyamine.
The flop came 9-5-2, two spades.
“I reckon if I bet out, I’m going to get called somewhere,’’ said Beevers, a member of Britain’s “Hendon Mob’’ who has won over $2.4 million in tournament prize money. “If a spade comes or an overcard to a jack comes, I’d have no idea where I was at, so I checked to see what would happen.’’
The next three players checked. The player in Seat 1 made it $1,250. Ulliott folded.
“There are three people on my left,’’ Beevers said. “I want to know if one of them has a real hand. So, I made it $3,050. I didn’t want to put a lumpy [check-]raise in and find out there’s five-way action. By making it $3,050, I’ll find out exactly where I am.’’
The next three players folded, as Beevers wanted.
“The guy who bet on the flop calls, which is fine because I think if he’s got a set, he might re-raise me,’’ said Beevers, a pro from the Full Tilt Poker online site. “I don’t think he’s got an overpair to me because he would’ve re-raised before the flop with kings, queens, or aces. He looks like a pretty straightforward player. So, I put him on a pair between 5s and 9s, or I put him on 10s and 9-10 suited.’’
The turn came the 4 of diamonds.
“I still think I’m winning, and I’m out of position and don’t want to give a free card,’’ said Beevers, who bet $5,600. “It’s just over half the pot, which makes it hard for him to raise unless he has me beat. He’d have to have a set here. I check-raised on the flop, so he has to give me some credit for a hand. But it’s also a bet that he’ll call with a lot worse hands.’’
His opponent folded.
“I believe I read it right,’’ Beevers said. “I put maximum pressure on the weaker hands. If he had raised me, I’d have folded my hand.
“By doing it the way I did, you’re not putting yourself in too much danger. If I lead at the flop and I get three callers, I might end up passing the best hand later on because I won’t know where I am. Let other people tell me where they’re at, and then I’ll know where I am.’’
If you think you have the best hand, bet it. Obvious, sure, but using your bets to gain that kind of information is the key, as veteran pro Joe Beevers did in this hand from the $25,000-buy-in World Poker Tour Championship at Bellagio in Las Vegas last year.
With blinds at $100-$200 plus a $25 ante, decorated pro David Benyamine limped under the gun.
The next player raised to $600. The player in Seat 1 called, as did wily pro David Ulliott in the cutoff. Beevers found pocket jacks in the small blind and called, believing he couldn’t fold the field with a re-raise. The big blind also called, as did Benyamine.
The flop came 9-5-2, two spades.
“I reckon if I bet out, I’m going to get called somewhere,’’ said Beevers, a member of Britain’s “Hendon Mob’’ who has won over $2.4 million in tournament prize money. “If a spade comes or an overcard to a jack comes, I’d have no idea where I was at, so I checked to see what would happen.’’
The next three players checked. The player in Seat 1 made it $1,250. Ulliott folded.
“There are three people on my left,’’ Beevers said. “I want to know if one of them has a real hand. So, I made it $3,050. I didn’t want to put a lumpy [check-]raise in and find out there’s five-way action. By making it $3,050, I’ll find out exactly where I am.’’
The next three players folded, as Beevers wanted.
“The guy who bet on the flop calls, which is fine because I think if he’s got a set, he might re-raise me,’’ said Beevers, a pro from the Full Tilt Poker online site. “I don’t think he’s got an overpair to me because he would’ve re-raised before the flop with kings, queens, or aces. He looks like a pretty straightforward player. So, I put him on a pair between 5s and 9s, or I put him on 10s and 9-10 suited.’’
The turn came the 4 of diamonds.
“I still think I’m winning, and I’m out of position and don’t want to give a free card,’’ said Beevers, who bet $5,600. “It’s just over half the pot, which makes it hard for him to raise unless he has me beat. He’d have to have a set here. I check-raised on the flop, so he has to give me some credit for a hand. But it’s also a bet that he’ll call with a lot worse hands.’’
His opponent folded.
“I believe I read it right,’’ Beevers said. “I put maximum pressure on the weaker hands. If he had raised me, I’d have folded my hand.
“By doing it the way I did, you’re not putting yourself in too much danger. If I lead at the flop and I get three callers, I might end up passing the best hand later on because I won’t know where I am. Let other people tell me where they’re at, and then I’ll know where I am.’’
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