If you want to increase your poker skills and learn to crush games, check out Jonathan Little’s elite training site at PokerCoaching.com.
Preflop
I was sitting in a $1,500 buy-in re-entry tournament with blinds of 75-150 with a 150 big blind ante. A splashy player raised to 300 out of his 10,000 effective stack from first position at our seven-handed table.
I looked down at K♠K♣ and three-bet to 900 from the hijack seat. An unknown, but seemingly competent player cold called from the cutoff. The action folded around to the initial raiser, who also called.
This is a great spot for me! The cutoff’s range should be quite strong (but still crushed by K-K).
While some players will make the mistake of calling with the implied odds hands, such as 2-2, A♠5♠, and 10♥9♥, most reasonable players call in this spot with strong hands they do not think are premium enough to get all-in. That includes mainly Q-Q, J-J, 10-10, 9-9, A-K, and A-Q.
The initial UTG raiser likely has a decent hand, given he raised from first position, but it is tough to say exactly how wide he is raising or if he will fold any of his range to my three-bet.
The Flop
The flop came down Q♠10♥4♦ and UTG checked.
Since the cutoff could easily have Q-Q or 10-10, I should check and see what develops. While I am not planning to fold kings to one bet, if significant action takes place (such as a cutoff bet and a call or raise from UTG), I will consider getting out of the way because it is so easy for me to be crushed.
I checked and the cutoff checked as well.
Once the cutoff checks behind, I feel great about my hand and now only realistically have to worry about the splashy player UTG. Notice that checking the flop does not open me up to being outdrawn too often, yet may also induce someone with a queen or ten to pay me off incorrectly on the turn and river. If an ace comes on the turn, I will fold to any reasonable bet.
The Turn
The turn was the 3♦. UTG bet 1,200 into the 3,050 pot.
I almost certainly have the best hand at the moment, but if I raise, I will probably only get called by strong queens (which will likely bet again on the river) and better made hands, such as three-of-a-kind and Q-10. As on the flop, I am not too concerned about being outdrawn.
The River
I called and the cutoff folded. The river was the 7♣ and my opponent bet 4,200 into the 5,450 pot.
As on the turn, this is an easy river call. Many players will value bet any top pair because they assume I will always bet the flop or raise the turn with my better made hands. My splashy opponent could even be bluffing with a hand like A-J or J-9.
One thing worth noting is that some players who see lots of flops and turns may not actually be aggressive. Meaning when they put significant money in the pot in an aggressive manner, they often have the strong hand they are representing. This concept could certainly apply in this case, but even then, most players think A-Q and Q-J are strong enough value bet.
If my opponent bet especially small, perhaps 1,200, raising for thin value would gain merit.
The Result
I called and lost to Q♥10♦ for two pair. Although I lost this hand, it certainly could have gone worse if I overplayed my normally strong overpair.
Level Up Your Game
If you want more resources to help you improve your game, I put together a course called Five-Day Preflop Challenge. This course is completely free inside Card Player Poker School!
When you join the Card Player Poker School (it’s free to join), you’ll also get:
- Free Downloadable Preflop Charts
- GTO Preflop Charts
- Video Classes
- Interactive Hand Quizzes
- Free Course: Master The Fundamentals
- Free Course: The 25 Biggest Leaks And How To Fix Them
- Free Training Every Week
Jonathan Little is a WSOP bracelet winner, two-time WPT winner, and the 2024 PokerGO Cup champion with $9 million million in live tournament earnings. He is a best-selling author of 15 educational poker books, and the 2019 GPI Poker Personality of the Year. If you want to increase your poker skills and learn to crush the games, check out his training site at PokerCoaching.com/cardplayer.
- Photo by PokerGO
