On Tilt

This was a ninehanded $40-$80 hold'em game at Wynn Las Vegas. Since the hand involves actual players, I have changed their names to protect their identities. Pete, a friend of mine, was two off the button with the A 10. A good player by the name of Chad was stuck quite a bit in this game and appeared to be on tilt. Chad normally plays a tight-aggressive game, but when he is losing heavily, he gets upset and tends to overplay his hands in an attempt to get back to even. Chad was on the button.

It was folded to Pete.

Question No. 1: What would you do?

Answer No. 1: You should raise. Given that your first four opponents have folded in this ninehanded game, your hand is good enough to open with a raise. A raise will frequently fold the remaining players while forcing the blinds to pay additional money if they choose to play.

Pete raised. The cutoff folded and Chad made it three bets. Both blinds folded. There were six and a half small bets in the pot.

Question No. 2: What now?

Answer No. 2: Just call. Chad's three-bet may be bad news, but he is on tilt and could be reraising in an attempt to isolate you. If you don't catch a good flop, Chad may figure he can bet you off your hand without having to make anything himself. Of course, Chad may have a strong hand.

Pete called. The flop was 10 9 3. There were seven and a half small bets in the pot.

Question No. 3: What is your action?

Answer No. 3: Bet. Checking with the intention of check-raising is reasonable, but since Chad is on tilt, leading out might be better since you can three-bet if Chad raises. Your hand figures to be the best, and you can extract full value. The other problem is that there is a very slight chance that Chad may not bet when you check, thereby spoiling your plans for check-raising.

Pete checked. Chad bet. There were eight and a half small bets in the pot.

Question No. 4: What is your play?

Answer No. 4: Raise. Top pair, top kicker is a strong holding in this situation, and Chad's bet is almost automatic, since he was the preflop reraiser. Unless Chad happens to have an overpair, you have the best hand. While an overpair is a possibility, you must keep in mind that Chad can still have a wide range of holdings and your hand beats most of them. Don't be surprised if Chad makes it three bets, since he is on tilt and the flop is the cheap betting round. If he does reraise, you should simply call and see what the turn brings.

Pete raised and Chad called. There were almost six big bets in the pot. The turn card was the 8.

Question No. 5: Now what?

Answer No. 5: Bet. Although this card puts three parts of an open-end straight on the table, it is unlikely that Chad has specifically Q-J or 7-6, especially since he three-bet preflop. You should bet and see how Chad responds. If you get raised, you will have to slow down. This turn card puts all kinds of draws on the table, and Chad is aggressive enough that he would raise your turn bet with a draw. On the other hand, if Chad raises, he may have a real hand. A raise by Chad would be unfortunate, but the pot would be too big for you to fold.

Pete bet and Chad called. There were almost eight big bets in the pot. The river card was the A.

Question No. 6: Should you bet or check?

Answer No. 6: You should bet, having made the top two pair. It is possible that this card has given Chad a runner-runner club flush, but that is extremely unlikely. If Chad had made a straight or a set, or if he had a big overpair, you would have been raised on the turn. Chad might have even raised your turn bet with a flush draw, but he didn't. Your hand is an overwhelming favorite to be the best.

Pete bet and Chad raised. There were almost 11 big bets in the pot.

Question No. 7: How should you respond?

Answer No. 7: At this point, folding is out of the question. The pot is too large and your hand is too good. Calling is certainly reasonable, but if you really think about it, a strong case can be made for reraising. We have just reasoned that if Chad had a hand better than yours prior to this river card, he would have raised your turn bet. There is no way Chad would be slow-playing on the turn with all of those draws out there. Most likely, Chad is raising because the A somehow helped his hand. Could he have made a backdoor flush or a set of aces? Again, this would mean that he called your turn bet with either the nut-flush draw or a big overpair. But Chad is stuck and steaming and he is naturally aggressive anyway, so with these hands he would have raised your bet on fourth street.

This leaves the following possibilities:

1. He started with a big ace, such as A-K, A-Q, or A-J, and has made top pair with a big kicker.

2. He started with something like A-9 or A-3 and has made two pair.

3. He is attempting a desperate bluff.

Possibilities 1 and 2 cover many hands, all of which you can beat.

Pete just called and won, as Chad showed the A 3 for a lower two pair.

I don't fault Pete for just calling, but too often players get so caught up in the action that they go on autopilot and just call on the river. They are happy to show their hand down and hope it wins. But to extract full value from your good hands, you need to concentrate on the specific situation. Bets and raises for value on the river are just as important as on any other street.

Chad's play is typical of a player on tilt. Three-betting preflop with A-3 offsuit, even from the button, is bad poker, especially when a solid player like Pete opens with a raise. While Pete does not need as strong a hand to raise from two off the button as he would need in early position, his hand still figures to be better than A-3 offsuit. Furthermore, Pete is a good player and will not be run off a hand if he catches a decent flop.

Jim Brier has co-authored a book with Bob Ciaffone titled Middle Limit Holdem Poker. It is available through Card Player.