The situational details for this quiz are as follows: You are playing in a 10-handed $10-$20 hold'em game. An average of three to five players see the flop, so the game tends to lean a bit toward the looser end of the spectrum. The rake is 5 percent, max $4, and there's a maximum of three raises (unlike Vegas, where four raises are allowed most of the time). You are sitting in seat No. 9. In seat No. 1, there's a rather weak-tight player; in seat No. 2, there's a professional player whose (tight-aggressive) play you highly respect; and in seats No. 6 and No. 7, there are two highly (overly) aggressive players. All others at the table can be considered average or a bit below average.
Questions
1. You are in the big blind with Q-Q. Seats No. 6 and No. 7 have called the initial bet, which is rather surprising: Whereas they prefer calling over folding, they prefer raising even more. The small blind has also called. What should you do? (a: check, b: raise)
2. Once again, you are in the big blind with Q-Q. This time, seat No. 2 has limped in, as have seats No. 4, No. 6, and No. 7. The small blind also has called. What should you do? (a: check, b: raise)
3. You are on the button with A-10 offsuit. The field folds to seat No. 7, who comes in for a raise. What should you do? (a: fold, b: call, c: raise)
4. You are on the button with the 8
6. Seats No. 2 and No. 6 have called, and seat No. 7 has raised and been cold-called by seat No. 8. You have read that in position, suited connectors can be played for profit, sometimes even against a raise, and especially when you're playing in a multiway pot. You also figure that you hold cards that are not being held by your opponents, since seat No. 2, the raiser, and seat No. 8 almost certainly hold big cards. What should you do? (a: fold, b: call, c: raise)
5. Even though in theory you have one of the best seats at the table (tight opponents to your left, aggressive opponents to your right), the players to your right keep raising your blind all the time, and because of this, you have thrown away a winner twice already. This time, you're in the small blind with the J 9. It is folded to seat No. 7, who once again raises. What should you do? (a: fold, b: call, c: raise)
6. You are on the button with the J 10. It is folded to seat No. 8, who calls. What should you do? (a: fold, b: call, c: raise)
7. You are on the button with the A Q. Seat No. 2 has opened for a raise and, much to your surprise, everybody has folded. What should you do? (a: fold, b: call, c: raise)
8. You are in third position with the A 9. Seat No. 7 has raised blind (without looking at his cards), but it is not a live straddle: Straddling is not allowed in the casino you play in. Seat No. 8 has folded and it's up to you. What should you do? (a: fold, b: call, c: raise)
9. You are in the big blind with A-K offsuit. Seat No. 10 has limped in, as have seats No. 3, No. 4, No. 6, and No. 7. The small blind has folded, and you decide to vary your play by not raising here: You simply tap the table. The flop comes K-10-7, giving you top pair/top kicker, but also creating quite a few straight possibilities. It's up to you. Should you bet out or go for the check-raise? (a: bet, b: check-raise)
10. You are on the button and have called a raise before the flop with pocket fives in a six-way pot. Seat No. 2 had raised and was called by seats No. 4, No. 6, and No. 7. The small blind has folded and the big blind has called. The flop comes 7-6-4 rainbow. The blind checks, seat No. 2 bets and gets called by seat No. 6, and you decide to call, as well. Three players see the turn, which is a 10 of the fourth suit. Seat No. 2 bets again and gets called by seat No. 6. What should you do? (a: fold, b: call, c: raise)
Answers/Points Per Answer
1. a: 4, b: 8
With this (relatively weak) opposition, there is no question that you should raise, as you figure to have the best hand by far. It is quite likely that the small blind will fold, giving you the chance to play against only the loose guys with a hand that can stand a lot of heat.
2. a: 7, b: 6
Even though you probably hold a better hand than all of your opponents do, you might gain the most by playing deceptively. Since the small blind is already out, raising will not make anybody fold (it is rare to find a player folding against a raise for one more bet after having called voluntarily). More importantly, raising will basically announce to everybody what you hold, making it tougher to defend your hand when the flop comes favorable (for example, when three small cards flop), and making it easier for your opponents to play well against you after the flop. A problem with not raising is that you don't know what the pro holds. If he is in there with A-A or K-K and the flop comes 5-2-2 rainbow, it will be hard for you to release your hand (which might have been easier to do if preflop betting had marked him with a premium pair; that is, if you had raised and he had reraised). If you do as I recommend (check), you will almost invariably go for the check-raise if the flop looks favorable, unless you think you might make more money by betting out – and reraising an aggressive player by making it three bets. If you do raise before the flop, you hope to tie your opponents to the pot in case you flop a queen; you know that if you don't flop a queen, it will be easier for you to lose a big pot than to win one.
3. a: 4, b: 5, c: 7
Even though I don't like to play big offsuited cards against a raise, in this situation, folding would be giving a bit too much credit to the raiser. The raiser is a highly aggressive player who is the first one in from rather late position. He doesn't need to have a big hand, and you quite likely hold the best hand here. On top of that, you have position on him. The blinds will almost certainly fold, unless they hold a big or medium pocket pair, A-K, A-Q suited, and maybe A-Q, K-Q suited, or A-J suited. If they fold, you will be able to play heads up with position and a hand that figures to be the best – a favorable situation, to say the least.
4. a: 8, b: 5, c: 3
While you are right that you have good position, your cards may be live and small suited connectors tend to do reasonably well in multiway pots, and therefore your hand might be playable even against a raise, there's a big problem here: Your action doesn't close the betting. The pro in seat No. 2 has called from under the gun, which is a sign of strength. He might hold a hand with which he's willing to build a big pot, and there's a decent chance he will make it three bets. Even if he just calls, there's still seat No. 6 who might reraise "just for the hell of it," with the possibility of seat No. 7 capping it. The danger of this happening is too big to warrant a call, which might have been OK under slightly different circumstances. Also, the fact that you are in the pot with three aggressive players is bad for your type of hand. Small suited connectors are sometimes profitable because of implied odds, when initial costs are low and most players are passive; when there's not a lot of raising so that you can make your draws rather cheaply; and when you will get paid off if you make them. However, the aggressiveness of your opponents in this hand will not give you the chance for a cheap draw here.
5. a: 7, b: 6, c: 6
A case can be made for either one of these options. You may fold, simply because you don't figure to have the best hand, and you're out of position. You may call, because your hand does have some value, and because you may be able to represent a wide range of hands after the flop – so you can put pressure on your opponent, who is probably not loaded for bear, either. Or, you may reraise, to put even more pressure on him, and to show him that he cannot pick up the blinds all the time. In this case, you will bet the flop almost 100 percent of the time, to represent a very big hand, and will win lots of pots when both you and your opponent flop nothing. The reason I give seven points for a fold and six for the others is that the rake makes playing for small pots unattractive: The rake is at its peak when the pot reaches $80.
6. a: 5, b: 5, c: 7
You would like to play heads up all evening against someone who simply calls from the cutoff position when he's the first one in. Your hand is fairly good, and even if it's not, you should be able to outplay your opponent after the flop. If one of the blinds three-bets you, your hand still has some value. The reraiser will probably hold two very big cards or a wired pair, and your cards are therefore probably live, in addition to the obvious straight and flush possibilities.
7. a: 8, b: 6, c: 5
Even though you have a fine hand, it doesn't rate to be better than the pro's: He probably holds a high pair or cards that are as big, or bigger, than yours. The fact that your hand is suited makes it a bit stronger, and you also have position, which may allow you to gain – or save – a bet, or maybe steal a small pot when the flop looks very dangerous to your opponent (8
7 6, for example, when he holds the A
K). Reraising is a power play that will sometimes work against a weak player, but not likely against a pro who's raising from under the gun. Save your money for situations in which you have the best of it.
8. a: 7, b: 5, c: 6
This is not as easy as it might look to some. Some would claim reraising is best: You want to play heads up, with position, against a random hand. However, the people behind you know you will try to isolate the raiser (since he raised blind), and will not fold their marginally good hands; in fact, they might even cap it with hands like A-J or A-Q. Calling will make you look very weak, and people will put you on exactly the hand you have: a suited ace or two semibig cards. Even if the people behind you don't reraise, you will be sandwiched between an aggressive player on your right, who will almost certainly bet the flop, and a few random hands behind you who know you are weak – which is not an enviable position to be in. In late position, you would have held a playable hand, but with so many players yet to act, a fold is in order.
9. a: 6, b: 8
You played somewhat deceptively before the flop by simply tapping the table with your A-K. Your opponents probably won't figure you for this type of hand, so if you bet out, a hand like K-J or K-Q might very well raise to give you the protection you need. However, chances are equally likely that if you bet out, all gutshots (A-J, Q-9, and J-8, for example) will simply call, as will any pair (either top, middle, or bottom, and maybe even a wired pair that will try to make a set on the turn), in addition to the open-enders that will probably call for any amount. This means that any turn card except a king, 5, 4, 3, or deuce will scare the heck out of you. So, let's say that you bet, three people call you, and a scare card comes up: I don't like your chances here with only one pair. To avoid all of this, it would seem "natural" to go for the check-raise on the flop, which is quite likely to succeed because you have not shown any strength yet, and especially with those two aggressive players near the button. You can charge your remaining opponents for two bets now, having put no chips into the pot yet, giving your top pair/top kicker the best possible chance to survive.
10. a: 4, b: 6, c: 7
There's no doubt that you are still behind in this hand, as seat No. 2 almost certainly holds an overpair to the board. Most people would therefore simply call to make their hand, which isn't a bad play in itself. However, from the pro's perspective, the board doesn't look too good when a solid player like you raises him on the turn – and this might very well be your best option. Because the pot has grown so big, it might be worth it to go for the semibluff raise to try to make the pro lay down his hand. From his perspective, you might very well be in there with 9-8 for the nut straight, making him drawing dead, or you might have hit your pocket pair for a small set, making him drawing extremely thin. What's more, there is also another player in the pot who could have anything – and who might have him beat already, or might beat him on the river. Also, the chances that you are bluffing are rather small – exactly because of his presence. From your perspective, however, seat No. 6 might very well have a drawing hand like A-8, for example, having flopped a gutshot and improved to a double belly-buster on the turn. So, if you can get seat No. 2 to fold and seat No. 6 calls, your pair of fives might even win the pot for you if you both receive no help. If seat No. 2 doesn't fold, you will simply need to improve on the river to win. There is no need for you to try to bluff him off his hand when all the cards are out: If he doesn't believe you on the turn, he will certainly not believe you on the river, so don't throw away that extra bet. However, if seat No. 2 calls your raise on the turn but seat No. 6 folds, your raise might have given you two extra outs: You are going to value bet on the river not only if an 8 or 3 comes for a straight (eight outs, maximum), but also if a 5 comes up for a small set.
Minimum points: 48
Maximum points: 74
Some Final Words
It should be clear that if you scored 68/69 points or more, you have a pretty keen insight into the way this game should be played. Conversely, if you scored less than 62 points, you might want to re-evaluate your basic strategy to see if it is in need of improvement. However, what is most important here is the reasoning behind the plays. If you are able to understand the thought processes required in the limits $10-$20 and higher, in time you might be able to lift your game to a higher level – and you will have become a serious contender for the money.