I'm in Jacksonville this week to audit a corporate client, and yesterday I was treated to something I just don't see in California: a thunderstorm. Now practically every summer afternoon in Florida there's at least the threat of a thundershower, but in Southern California they're few and far between. Yesterday's storm was, according to my client, the strongest in a year or two.
You may be wondering how this relates to poker. Well, every so often something occurs at the table that's so unexpected we have to sit back and think, "Why in the world did that happen?" Mick related such an incident to me last week.
Mick was sitting in a $1-$2 no-limit hold 'em game in Las Vegas. Most players had around $200. The game was a typical mixture of all different player types: good and bad, loose and aggressive, tourists and locals.
Mick was in the big blind and was dealt 9cf-Qa. The under-the-gun player folded but everyone else limped. Mick elected to just check his option.
The flop was 10c-Jc-8d so Mick flopped the nuts. Liz checked from the small blind; Mick made a pot-sized bet of $15 and five players called, including Liz.
The turn was the 8c. Liz made a very small bet of $10. Mick elected to call. The next two players called but Alex on the button raised to $55. Only Liz and Mick called the raise.
The river was the Qc giving Mick a straight flush. To Mick's surprise Liz moved all-in for $325 (Liz had Mick covered). "Liz is the tightest player I've ever met," Mick told me. "It was clear she felt that she had the nuts-Q-Q for the best full house, 8-8 for quads, or Ac-Kc for a royal flush." Mick was able to narrow Liz's hand down further.
"There's no chance that Liz would have just called pre-flop with pocket queens. She would have raised significantly to get as many people out of the pot as possible. And I couldn't believe she had 8-8. She would have either check-raised the turn or would have made a larger bet. Her play was consistent with only one hand: Ac-Kc. She would make a small bet on the turn to see if anyone had a full house. She would then call the raise from Alex, because she knows that Alex is quite capable of bluffing in that spot ... and she does have an out. So I folded my straight flush, probably the only time in my life that I have folded or will fold a straight flush."
Alex called, and Mick's read was correct: Liz did have a royal flush. Mick trusted that his read was right and didn't needlessly throw away his $275 when he folded on the river.
Folding such a big hand takes the proper combination of knowing and reading your opponents. If you have no chance of winning the hand, it doesn't matter what the pot size is. Zero times any number is still zero. Situations like this are extremely rare but when they do occur players who are paying attention will end up saving significant amounts of money. Having played with Mick I know that he is always paying attention to the action at the table. It sure paid off for him on this hand. If you're not paying attention you'll just chalk up the huge loss of losing with a monster hand as a bad beat rather than a lack of focus.
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
