When I was growing up my mother told me to eat everything on my plate. "Remember the starving children in Czechoslovakia." I wasn't sure then what eating a lot had to do with children in Eastern Europe, and today I'm even less certain. My mother also told me, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." That's usually the right thing to do in poker, too.
Last week I was playing in a $1-$2 blinds no-limit game in Las Vegas. I only had a few minutes-I was waiting for a friend to change for dinner-so I knew this would be a very brief sortie. As I sat down I observed the players and the betting on that particular hand. The under-the-gun player (call him Al) raised blind-he hadn't looked at his cards-to $20. Four players out of the eight others in the game called the bet.
After the flop Al looked at one card and bet $55; only one player called. On the turn Al moved all-in; his opponent called for a lesser amount. It turned out they both had the same hand-two pair-though Al hadn't looked at both of his cards until after he went all-in.
So I knew quite a bit about this game, and the players. There were some incredibly loose action players. It was a very good game.
Now I wasn't waiting for a big pocket pair, though I'd happily take one. Given the looseness of the game I'd actually prefer a more speculative hand like middle suited connectors. I also noticed that Al raised the first six hands after I sat down. It was close to impossible that he had raising hands each time; it was far more likely he was an action junky.
In any case, about twelve hands in I got the mighty 6h-4h in the big blind. A player limped, Al raised to $13, and four players called. I elected to call with my hand; if I missed the flop I'd quietly exit. In total, seven of us saw the flop.
Did I mention it was a great game?
In any case, the flop was Ks-10d-9d. I exited the hand quickly. Al ended up scooping a nice pot when he turned a flush with 8d-3d.
On the next hand I held Js-3s, and was mentally prepared to fold. But a funny thing happened: Al only raised to $4. When everyone else in the hand called, and the big blind had already reached for the $2 he needed to make the call, I elected to make the call.
The flop came 9s-3h-2h giving me middle pair. Everyone checked to Al who bet $30. I thought about Al's holding, and I put him on a big pair. I felt he would raise small pre-flop with a big hand and big with a small hand. I decided to call, and either represent a flush if a heart came or hope for the best.
The turn was the Jd. I checked, he bet $35, I raised to $100, and he slowly called. When the 3d came on the river, I bet $150. Al thought and thought and eventually called with his pocket aces. That paid for our dinner.
Al's girlfriend was sitting next to me watching the game. She remarked, "Al can never leave a game unless he triples up or looses it all." By watching the game for just a few hands I had already drawn that conclusion. That free information led me to a winning thirty minutes.
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
