In our book Middle Limit Holdem Poker, Bob Ciaffone and I present hundreds of problems that assume a "typical" opponent. We define a typical opponent as one who usually plays in a straightforward manner. We do it because, in teaching, we want students to initially focus on the basics, like pot odds, drawing odds, flop textures, position, previous betting actions, and so forth. Once the basics are understood, we can add in other factors, one of which is the peculiarities of a specific opponent. The purpose of this column is to discuss how your assessment of your opponent might impact your play in some specific hands.
In most cases, there are two or more answers depending upon whether or not your opponent is "typical." Since the following hands were taken from live games, not all of the plays leading up to the problem in question are necessarily correct, but they are usually reasonable.
Hand No. 1 ($80-$160 game): You are two off the button and open with a raise with the A
10. Only the big blind calls. Based on the way he has played other hands, the big blind appears to be a bad player who is basically unaware and seems out of his element in a ring game. You also note that there is a big tournament in town, and he appears to have arrived in town to play in the tournament. There is $360 in the pot and two players. The flop arrives with the A
A
10, giving you the nuts. Your opponent checks. What should you do?
Answer: Check, only because your opponent is a bad player. Against a good player, you might as well go ahead and bet, since a good player knows that a flop bet means nothing in this situation. Against a good player, when you check it back on the flop after having raised preflop given this board, alarm bells go off, and you have trouble getting anything out of him. But against a bad player, he will not realize that your hand is too big to bet, so he may stay with you all the way to the river if he catches anything on the turn. Give the bad player a chance to trap himself by allowing a free card.
Hand No. 2 ($30-$60 game): You are in the small blind with the Q 7 and limp in after an early-position player limps in. The early-position player is a very loose, weak player who will call flop bets with virtually anything. There is $90 in the pot and three players. The flop is A 6 3
, giving you a backdoor-flush draw. You bet in this three-way, unraised pot. The big blind folds, but the weak early-position player calls. There is $150 in the pot and two players. The turn is the J. What should you do?
Answer: Bet, only because your opponent's flop call is meaningless. He may well fold on the expensive street if he has not turned a pair or a draw. He may even fold a medium pocket pair now that a second overcard has turned up. Against a typical opponent, betting would be clearly wrong. Against a typical opponent, the flop leaves him with only a made hand for his call, which is quite likely to be an ace. Furthermore, the nonspade jack or a nonspade 10 are the worst possible cards to show up. Jacks and tens help limpers, so the likelihood of the jack being a good card for your opponent is quite high when he doesn't have an ace. You would have cheerfully bet the turn if a spade, a 7, or a queen showed up. You could venture a bet against a typical player with any other card. But the actual card is a very bad one. Again, only because your opponent is so "atypical" is betting even to be considered. Note also that your semibluff bet on the flop was probably incorrect based on the kind of opponent you are facing.
Hand No. 3 ($30-$60 game): You are in the big blind with the 10 10. An early-position player opens with a raise. Only the small blind and you call. The small blind is a tight, passive player who normally does not play this high, and is actually waiting to get into a lower-limit game. There is $180 in the pot and three players. The flop is 7 5 3, giving you an overpair. The small blind bets, you raise, and only the small blind calls. There is $300 in the pot and two players. The turn is the 7, pairing the top flop card. The small blind comes out betting. What should you do?
Answer: Fold, against this particular opponent. You know that when he bet the flop, he was leading with at least top pair, especially in this big game with a preflop raiser present. You raised his flop bet, so it appears to him that you have at least top pair if not something better. Now when the top flop card pairs, he comes out firing. You can safely put him on trips and fold, knowing you are playing two outs. However, against many other players, this would represent an obvious bluffing situation, so you would be obliged to call with your overpair and probably pay out to the river.
Hand No. 4 ($80-$160 game): You get a free play in your big blind with the 5 4 after a middle-position player and the small blind limp in. The middle-position player is very tricky, deceptive, and aggressive. There is $240 in the pot and three players. The flop is J 5 4, giving you the bottom two pair. The small blind checks, you bet, the middle-position player raises, the small blind folds, you three-bet, and he calls. There is $720 in the pot and two players. The turn is the 10. You bet and he calls. There is $1,040 in the pot. The river is the K. Considering what is on the board, you realize that your opponent is far more likely to have A-J or Q-J than K-J. With J-10 or a set, he probably would have raised you on the turn. Therefore, you bet, and he raises. What should you do?
Answer: Call, only because your opponent appears to be capable of making bluff-raises at the river. Against virtually any other type of opponent, you should probably fold. You have done nothing but show tremendous strength up to this point by three-betting the flop, betting the turn, and now betting the river. When you get raised, you are almost certainly beat when facing most opponents. Against most opponents, if you are unwilling to fold when raised in this situation, betting the river initially was probably wrong.
Hand No. 5 ($80-$160 game): You are in the cutoff seat with the 3 3 and open with a raise. The button and the small blind fold. The big blind three-bets, and you call. The big blind is a plodding player who seldom makes creative bets or raises. There is $520 in the pot and two players. The flop is A 8 3, giving you bottom set. The big blind bets, you raise, and he calls. There is $840 in the pot. The turn is the 7, putting a possible flush on the table. The big blind bets. You raise, despite the flush possibility, because you have only one opponent who may not have a flush, and you have 10 outs to beat a flush, anyway. Your opponent calls. The river is the 5, putting four clubs on the table. Your opponent bets. What should you do?
Answer: Fold, only because the guy is a plodder who would not have stayed this long without a flush or a flush draw that has now gotten there at the river. Against the typical, aggressive $80-$160 player, calling is right because guys at this level are usually capable of bluff-betting a flush when four of a suit shows up at the river.
Editor's note: Jim Brier has co-authored a new book with Bob Ciaffone entitled Middle Limit Holdem Poker. It is available through Card Player.