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Lesson: 25
Flopping a Monster
Richard Brodie
September 6, 2005
When I started playing poker, I would get so excited when I flopped
a big hand that I forgot my main goal: Win as many chips as possible.
When I had marginal hands, I would think hard about what my opponent
had and whether I could beat it. But when I had a big hand, I just
wanted to get all my chips in the middle.
Big mistake.
Big hands can mean big pots. But, with a big hand, it's even more
important to strategize and figure out how strong your opponent
is. If you think he's weak, you can slow play the hand, perhaps
getting him to call a bet thinking you're bluffing or, better yet,
inducing him to bluff himself. If you think he's strong, you can
let him bet your hand for you, raising on the turn or river to extract
maximum value.
In the 2003 Borgata Poker Open, I mixed it up with a small under-the-gun
raise with Ten-Nine of Diamonds. I got two callers, including Bobby
Thompson in the small blind. The flop came Eight-Seven-Six, giving
me the nut straight. Bobby led out with a pot-sized bet and we both
called. The turn was an Ace and he bet again. I still had the nuts
and, with my inexperience, didn't think enough about what my opponents
could have. Instead, I got greedy and just called again, hoping
to get a call from the third player.
If I had thought about it, I would have put Bobby on at least two
pair and the third player on a straight draw with something like
Jack-Ten. I should have moved in at that point, pricing out the
straight draw and figuring Bobby would have to call. Instead, I
just called and the third player folded. When a second Ace came
on the river and Bobby pushed in, I had a very tough decision and
ended up putting my chips in dead as he turned over pocket Sixes
for the full house.
If I had put my money in on the turn, the results may have been
different. By putting Bobby to the tough decision to call an all-in,
I might have priced him out of the hand.
The next year in the same event, I had the very aggressive Jimmy-Jimmy
Cha on my right. He made a late-position raise and I re-raised with
pocket Tens. He called and we were heads-up. The flop came Ten high
with two Spades, once again giving me the nuts. This time, though,
I thought about what he might have. Nines, Jacks, and Queens were
definite possibilities. If not, he could easily have over cards.
Jimmy checked - not an unusual play given that I had taken the lead
before the flop. I decided because he was so aggressive, I'd go
ahead and bet the hand rather than slow play it. Sure enough, he
check-raised me all in and I called. This time I went broke the
right way, with all my chips in as a three-to-one favorite against
his flush draw.
Then there's always the chance you're beat with an even bigger
hand. In a televised tournament at the Plaza, I raised with pocket
Tens and got called by the big blind. The flop came Queen-Queen-Ten,
giving me a full house. But my opponent check-called my flop bet
with such a Hollywood act that I put him on at least a Queen. A
King came on the turn and he check-raised me. I could beat Ace-Queen
or Queen-Jack but not King-Queen or Queen-Ten, so I slowed down
and just called. When he made a small bet on the river I just called,
suspecting I was beat and, sure enough, he turned over Queen-Ten
for a bigger full house. I had flopped a monster and was drawing
dead! By analyzing his play and getting a read, I saved valuable
chips and went on to the final table.
So don't let the excitement of flopping a monster make you forget
about putting your opponent on a hand. A lot of chips move around
during these hands and you want them moving into your stack.
Richard Brodie
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