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Archive for July, 2009

It's time now to tackle an old problem in the Texas Hold'em game: how to play A-K after a bad flop. Since you will be putting in a lot of bets before the flop with A-K, you can usually play this hand pretty aggressively after the flop as well (because you've already built a pretty good-size pot, one worth going after).

Even though we are only in the beginners' section for limit Hold'em, I want to talk briefly here about the historical significance of A-K in no-limit Hold'em tournaments. The classic hand to come up between two players in big no-limit Hold'em tournaments is A-K versus Q-Q. Many times one of these tournaments is decided because a great player has hit or missed his A-K versus Q-0 for a mountain of chips! At the 2001 World Series of Poker, which is the poker world's world championships, I had Q-Q early in one event and was "all-in" (all my remaining chips were in the pot) against my opponent's A-K. I put my last $2,000 in before the flop with my Q-Q, and my opponent called me with A-K. If I had lost this "coin flip" (actually, Q-Q is about a 13 to 10 favorite), then I would have been eliminated and would not have gone on to win the event and $305,000 for first place. This is a fairly common occurrence late in these events. It makes sense, considering that the hands J-J, Q-Q, K-K, A-A, and A-K are the top five hands in Hold'em. The trick is to "finish the job" and go on to win the event if you are lucky enough to win a big coin-flip pot.

Examples
Now that I've shown you the key role that A-K often plays in no-limit Hold'em events, it's time to set up the next five examples. Here are your six assumptions:
1. You have A-K in the small blind in a $2-$4 game at your house (someone may win or lose up to $200, but usually $50-$ 100 wins and losses are to be expected at this limit).
2. A jackal named Joe makes it $4 to go in the third position.
3. An elephant named Earl calls the $4 on the button.
4. You reraise, making it $6 to go from the small blind.
5. The big-blind lion named Leo calls the $6 bet.
6. Joe the jackal and Earl the elephant also call the $6 bet.

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You have J-J before the flop, in any position. OK, you have the fifth best hand in Hold'em, and in general I would say never fold this hand before the flop in limit Hold'em. But there may come a time or two, as you become a lion, when you choose to fold this hand before the flop. Maybe, for example, the tightest mouse on the planet has made it four bets to go, and you just have a strong feeling that you're beat. After all, what hand would encourage the tightest player in the world to make it four bets to go? Probably A-A or K-K. But because this is the beginners' section, I'd advise you to put in your four bets anyway; when you are a lion you will know when the time is right to fold this hand.

Before the flop, then, successful play in Hold'em is pretty darn easy using the top-ten-hands strategy. In general, you raise or reraise every time you have a top ten hand, and you fold the rest of your hands. The exceptions are: when a mouse makes a raise or reraise (two bets or three bets), a lion makes it three bets (a reraise), or an elephant makes it three bets (since it is out of the ordinary for the elephant ever to bet his own hand). In these cases, you might want to back off if your top ten hand is 9-9, 8-8, 7-7, or A-Q.

Notice that I'm not diagramming the way you should play every hand. There are just too many variables for me to attempt that. The fact is that the play of some of these hands depends on the opponents involved. But I've given you a few things to think about, and you will develop many more things to think about as you gain more experience and a greater feel for the game. It's time now to move on toward the next step in playing a limit Texas Hold'em hand: how a beginner should play limit Hold'em on the flop.

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