Same Hand, Different Plays

I have often written that you should adjust your play based on the texture and play of your opponents. The baseline fundamental strategies of hold'em are relatively easy to learn and are available in many books. But if you want to beat mid- or high-limit games, in which most of your opponents understand basic strategies, you need to correctly adjust your play based on the styles, knowledge levels, and emotional swings of your opponents. Much of your development involves acquiring a feel for people on all of these factors. Let's go through two identical hands with one different opponent and see how each should be played based on the play of your opponents.

You hold 10-9 offsuit in the big blind. The game is reasonably loose and passive, with many callers preflop and few players raising. Most of the field plays in a straightforward manner, betting when they have a hand, and checking when they don't. Very few fancy plays are being made. One exception is a reasonably knowledgeable and very aggressive player positioned on the button. This player raises in position with a wide range of hands and always bets the flop if the field checks to him.

Several loose-passive players call and the aggressive player on the button raises preflop. You call from the big blind with your 10-9 offsuit and the rest of the field also flat-calls the raise. The flop comes 10-9-2 with two hearts. With the flop being both coordinated (with a 10 and 9 present) and suited (with two hearts), many threats to your hand exist. With five players taking the flop, the price the pot is laying your opponents to draw at your hand is significant. Also, since five players took the flop off for a raise, there is significant money in the pot, necessitating that you make plays that "protect" the money that's already in the pot, if possible. By protect I mean plays that either eliminate competitive hands or reduce the price your opponents are receiving to draw.

If you lead, the players in between yourself and the raiser, being of a passive nature, will be intimidated not to raise because of the threat of a button reraise. Also, the button is knowledgeable enough to recognize that you have strength, and he won't raise unless he holds a big hand. If he indeed holds a big hand (but not one that beats yours), you may be able to win a big pot by leading and reraising, trapping the passive players in between. But since he raises in position with a wide range of hands, the likelihood of him having a big hand is not great. Your hand will be vulnerable to some hands if you trap. If you trap a player into correctly calling with a hand that he may have folded for two bets, you have reduced the value of your hand. And players are more likely to call the extra bets once you have them involved in the betting action of the street in question.

However, if you check, the passive players are likely to check to the preflop raiser on the button. The button, being the aggressive fellow that he is, will surely bet, giving you the opportunity to check-raise and either shut out the players in between yourself and the button or offer them a much worse price to draw. If the button does hold a big hand, he is likely to reraise, setting up future opportunities for you to make plays on the pot and increase the value of your hand.

Check-raising the button is a far superior play! The scenarios that are likely to occur have much more overall value than the plays in which you bet. Yes, other plays may occur that make checking a play of reduced value, but the range of possible scenarios makes check-raising the button the correct play.

Now, let's take the same situation but change the playing style of the player on the button. The player now on the button is still knowledgeable and tends to raise in position often, much like our first player, but he likes to take free cards if he misses the flop and everyone checks to him, which is often the case with passive players and a late-position raiser. With this same hand and flop, the playing style of the player on the button necessitates a change in play.

If you check with the intent of check-raising and the button does not hold a hand that he would bet for value, you will be giving a free card to the field. And with the flop being coordinated with two high cards and two of a suit being present, giving a free card could be very detrimental. That being the case, leading out is the correct play. You're hoping to receive a raise from a player in the field in order to either thin the field or reduce the price the pot is offering your opponents to draw.

Notice how changing the playing style of one player in a situation dramatically changed the correct play. This problem emphasizes the importance of knowing your opponents, what plays they make and when they make them, and the value that knowledge can add to your poker game. It also shows that the answer to all poker questions pretty much remains: It depends. It's the players more than the cards that dictate the correct play in most situations, and even with the same hand, you can arrive at different correct plays.

Roy Cooke played winning professional poker for more than 16 years. He is a successful real estate broker/salesperson in Las Vegas – please see his ad on Page 124. If you would like to ask Roy poker-related questions, you may do so online at www.UnitedPokerForum.com.