It happens all the time. A player peeks down at two strong starting cards and begins mentally counting the pot he's about to win. Whether it's because of ego, an inability to read his opponents, or just plain bad judgment, he becomes convinced his hand is unbeatable-ignoring any and all warning signs that this might not be the case. Swept away by the sweet promise of those beautiful hole cards, he won't realize his mistake until his chips are being swept away by the dealer, right into someone else's stack.
In hold 'em, the most overplayed hands are pocket pairs, save perhaps for aces and kings, and big cards such as A-K. While these are all great starting hands, they usually need a favorable flop in order to have a shot at winning-especially in multi-way pots. Against three or more opponents, small-to-medium pairs usually have to flop a set, biggish pairs need to avoid seeing any over-cards, and A-K should connect to make at least one big pair. Yet time and time again, players holding these cards will stay in all the way to the showdown, based on nothing but stubbornness and hope.
Even pocket aces, the almighty bullets, can be overplayed after the flop. And they often are. Aces may be the most powerful starting hand in hold 'em, but they are still vulnerable in multi-way pots. Any flop that contains straight and/or flush draws is very bad news for pocket rockets. And if, in addition to that coordinated board, you see opponents betting and raising it up with confidence, the news goes from bad to worse. It's not necessarily an automatic lay-down, but neither is it an automatic call-let alone an automatic win.
At least aces don't have to worry about over-cards showing up on the board. Every other pocket pair does. The moment an over-card falls on the felt, you must consider the possibility that your wired pair is beaten. Obviously the lower the pocket pair, the more vulnerable it is. Perhaps one of the most overplayed hands of all is pocket jacks. Yes, those matching knaves can look very strong before the flop, but any ace, king, or queen on the board could easily run them through. That's 12 cards in the deck you have to cross your fingers won't appear. And if you do the math, you'll find out that pocket jacks are only about even money to survive as an over-pair to the flop.
Big Slick, suited or not, is another frequent offender. We've been conditioned to think of A-K as a monster hand, so it's easy to forget that it's usually a drawing hand. Only in shorthanded situations is it likely to win the pot unimproved. And yet some players just can't let go of A-K, stubbornly calling to the end with nothing more than a fancy ace-high.
Never forget that poker is a situational game, and the situation is constantly changing. Overplaying happens when a player decides early on that he has the winning hand and refuses to reconsider that initial decision. He puts his opponents on hands that he can beat-if he even bothers to put opponents on a hand at all-and then sticks to his judgment, come hell or high water.
Oftentimes, a player who overplays a hand is playing the game at a kindergarten level, focusing on his cards only. To win consistently, you must not only think about your opponents' cards, but have some aptitude for reading them. Only then will you be able to know with any certainty when you should play your hand conservatively-and when you should put the pedal to the metal.
Barbara Connors is a sucker for classic old movies, science fiction, and the St. Louis Cardinals. Her life's ambition is to figure out the unusual behavior patterns of that unique breed of humans who call themselves poker players. Contact her at fyreflye222@yahoo.com.
