I've been playing poker competitively for ten years, and I've seen mistakes big and small. Everyone makes mistakes. I've seen them made by amateurs and professionals alike. The difference is that professionals tend to make fewer and they usually don't cost as much.
But pros sometimes make mistakes that get you to scratch your head. I was watching a well-known professional limp from under-the-gun in a big online tournament. The blinds were just T25-T50 and the pro had T8,800 of his starting T10,000. Two other players limped but the big blind raised to T550. The pro called but the other two limpers folded. There was T1,275 in the pot going to the flop.
The flop was Ah-Qc-8a and the pro checked. The button bet T700-he started the hand with T10,000-and the pro raised to T2,025. After a few seconds the button re-raised to T3,300. The pro immediately moved all-in for another T5,150 and almost as quickly the button called. The hands were revealed: the button held 8c-8s for bottom set while the pro had Ks-Jh for a straight draw. Before my jaw had time to drop, the 7c that appeared on the turn and the 3h on the river eliminated the pro.
Consider the professional's play. Sure, it's a deep-stacked tournament but limping under-the-gun with a trash hand (and Ks-Jh is a trash hand) is a good way to lose chips. When the pot is raised the call is defensible; if the pro doesn't hit the flop he can fold and still have plenty of chips.
The flop does present the pro with a bluffing opportunity. Assume that the button misses the flop (after all, everyone misses most flops) but makes a continuation bet. The most likely hand I can have is Ax, and a check-raise will win many pots. And if for whatever reason the button calls, the pro can still win if he spikes a ten.
Still, when the pro is re-raised he should consider folding. I know that light three-betting online has become de rigueur, but the button has committed over 30 percent of his stack. He has something and even a pair of deuces is ahead of the pro. Indeed, all the pro can beat is a pure bluff. He is a 1.3-to-1 underdog to a pair of deuces, and is a 5-to-1 underdog to the button's set of eights.
Perhaps the button had bluffed the pro sometime in the past. Perhaps the pro wanted to build a big stack or get in some great cash game. An endless string of maybes could be written, but the most likely scenario is that the pro had a blind spot.
The pro thought that by making a move he'd force the button out. He would either be intimidated by the pro or think the pro had a big hand. Unfortunately for the pro it was the button who held the big hand.
Consider what would have happened if the pro had just folded his trash hand from under-the-gun. Yes, that's boring poker. It's fun to make moves, and it feels so good when they're successful. However, when you make a move out-of-position and it fails the consequences can be severe.
There's another name for boring poker: winning poker. If you play in a regular game consider which players usually end up as winners. The flamboyant players who make lots of moves can have big wins-but they often have big losses too. It's those boring players that are the winners session after session.
Russell Fox is the co-author of "Mastering No-Limit Hold'em," "Why You Lose at Poker," and "Winning Strategies for No-Limit Hold'em." He's a federally licensed tax preparer specializing in gambling, with a blog at taxabletalk.com. E-mail Russ at rcfox@claytontax.com
