Changing Seat Position: Was it Luck or Skill?

Luck favors those who prepare for it.

– Ancient Chinese Proverb

I recently sat down in a $3-$6 seven-card stud game at Hustler Casino. I soon realized that I was seated between two loose-aggressive players, which made it difficult to stay in with anything but a very strong starting hand. The hands I did play had not worked out for me, so I decided to take a brisk walk, and then have dinner at the table; perhaps a seat with better position would open up.

As I finished my dinner, seat No. 4 became available – two positions to the left of one of the loose-aggressive players – and I quickly announced my seat change. Up to that point, I was down about half of my original buy-in.

My luck seemed to change for the better. On the first hand after the seat change, I was dealt three clubs with the A in the hole. As it turned out, I didn't make the flush, but won the pot with aces up. Now, I was almost even. A few hands later, I was dealt a pair of aces in the hole. Wow! I raised to reduce the size of the playing field (I call this RSPF) and improve my chances of winning in case I didn't improve. Ultimately, I took that pot by catching a third beautiful ace on the river. As I stacked my chips, I realized that I was comfortably ahead for the session, but the best was yet to come.

On the next hand, I was dealt a pair of treys in the hole with a queen kicker: 3 3 Q. There were no other treys or queens showing in my opponents' upcards; all of my cards were live. What's more, there were no aces out – but there were two kings staring at me from seats No. 6 and No. 7. Both were tight players, and would likely fold a marginal starting hand if the pot was raised. I was faced with a tough decision: The best I could reasonably expect was to make queens and treys, two pair. Sure, I could hope for three treys or better, but that was less likely. If I were to have a reasonable chance of winning this pot, it would be wise to RSPF. So, I raised, even though I was seated immediately behind the bring-in bettor. I believed that at least one of the loose-aggressive players would call my raise. Fortunately, the two tight players with the kings showing folded their hands. Was I lucky? In fact, everyone folded except the two loose-aggressive players and the bring-in bettor to my right.

Fourth street didn't seem to help my opponents, and I caught the A, giving me 3 3 Q A. It didn't really improve my hand, but it sure made it look ominous. I was high on the board and made the $6 bet – hoping everyone would fold. The player to my right folded, but the two loose-aggressive players called, which was no surprise. My guess was that one of them was going for a straight and the other was drawing to a flush.

Fifth street didn't seem to help any of us. I now held 3 3 Q A 10. The pot had grown fairly large. A semibluff would be a good investment, as my treys were still live, and only one queen, ace, and 10 had fallen. I didn't think either of my loose-aggressive opponents had been sandbagging with a high pair in the hole or trips. Most likely, they held drawing hands. As I was high on the board, I decided to stay in control and made the $6 bet. Maybe it would force them to fold. The "possible straight draw" did fold, and now I had just one opponent to beat. Thus, there was a ray of hope. He showed three clubs on the board, so I was concerned. A few clubs had been folded by the other players, but there were plenty still available.

Unfortunately, luck was not with me, and sixth street brought me a rag: 3 3 Q A 10 2. On the other hand, my opponent still showed a three-flush with no improvement on sixth street. I therefore was still in the "driver's seat." I made the $6 bet, and he called without hesitation. I figured that he was certainly drawing to a club flush.

As the river card was dealt, I picked up my chips (a bit of deception) and – without looking at the river card – bet. I prayed that my opponent didn't make his flush and would fold. Maybe I would be lucky. Success!

As he folded his cards, he looked at me and said, "I didn't make my flush; all I had was a pair of fours. I don't think that beat you." Glancing at my holecards, I had been dealt another rag; all I had was the pair of treys! I looked up and reassured him that he had saved himself another big bet – and I stacked up the chips!

Question: Was I lucky, or was winning the hand a matter of skill on my part?

Editor's note: George Epstein is the author of The Greatest Book of Poker for Winners! See his ad in the Players Shopping Guide.