Another Hand From the Thunder Squadron

As a follow-up to my last column, here's another interesting hand that was posted by one of the Thunder Squadron members on my new poker forums at https://www.thunderkeller.com/. This hand was posted by Squadron member Im_Your_ATM, and has been partially edited for the purposes of this column:

This hand takes place in a loose and lively $30-$60 limit hold'em game in a Minnesota cardroom. Three players limp in, I limp in behind them with the 7 5, and the button limps in, as well. The player in the small blind raises, and the big blind and everyone else call, for a total of seven players seeing the flop in this already large $420 pot. The flop comes 8-7-5 rainbow, and the initial raiser in the small blind checks. The big blind bets, two of the three limpers in front of me call, and the action is on me. I decide to raise with my bottom two pair, and the button calls. The small blind folds, the big blind reraises, the two limpers fold, and the action is back to me. I decide to just call, and the button calls behind me.

The turn brings an ace, and the big blind bets again. I think for a while, and eventually fold. At the time, I had a lot of respect for the player in the big blind, and figured he must have me beat, given how he had played the hand up to that point, and especially with the ace that came on the turn. I thought that at the worst, he had two bigger pair than I had, and may have even flopped a straight with 9-6 or 6-4. The button calls the turn bet and the river brings a 7 (which would have given me a full house). The big blind bets again, and now the button finally folds. So, the big blind rakes in this monster pot without even a showdown, although to my shock, he flips over his hand anyway, 8-6 offsuit! All he had was middle pair and a straight draw, and I was sick about it. I obviously made an awful laydown on the turn, and I'd like to hear any opinions about how I could have played this hand better.

My response was more or less as follows:

Let's get the ugly part out of the way first. You definitely made a horrible laydown on the turn. Folding in this spot is simply not an option; your options here are to either call or raise. You should just call the turn if you really believe you are beat in this spot. The play I most prefer is raising, putting maximum pressure on the button, hoping to get the pot heads up. In general, you want to try to eliminate as many players as possible in pots that have gotten very large, especially when you are holding a hand as fragile as bottom two pair. After the big blind bets into you on the turn, the pot already has a whopping $810 in it, giving you13.5-to-1 to at least call if you really think you're beat. Note that you're even getting the proper odds to draw to a full house (assuming that you have four outs). Even though this really is an awful laydown, I can emphathize with your situation, as I made similarly bad laydowns early on in my poker career. In situations like this, it is important to take a step back from the hand and try to analyze it objectively and unemotionally. In the heat of the moment, it is easy to fold this hand, but if you really do take a step back and think about it, the math dictates that folding is a huge mistake, and that you must at least call. (I still think raising on the turn will yield the most profit in this situation and similar situations in the long run.)

I also want to bring up your call preflop, as I would have preferred to see you fold this weak hand. If you were on the button, I think this hand may have been playable, but with a few people still to act behind you, you shouldn't play this hand preflop. The bottom line is that your hand is very weak; it's a one-gapper, which is much worse than a connected hand in regard to how often you'll make a straight, and with a 7-high spade draw, one of your opponents may definitely have a bigger spade draw. Even if you do have the highest spades, you'll never have the nut flush (unless you make a straight flush), and the hand will likely not be easy to play on the small chance that you do make your flush. You may even flop a flush draw with this hand and be forced to fold it on the flop or the turn because you'll be too concerned about the possibility that you're up against a bigger spade draw.

In summary, when you're in a big pot like this, don't make your decisions based on emotions or hunches; try to step back and look at the hand from outside the bubble. More often than not, things will look much clearer and you'll likely avoid making a big mistake.

Thomas "Thunder" Keller is a 25-year-old professional poker player and one of poker's young and rising stars. He can often be found playing at UltimateBet.com under the name thunderkeller. To learn more about him and to enlist in his new squadron, go to his website at www.thunderkeller.com. Also, feel free to contact him at thunderkeller@yahoo.com.