Trouble ahead

I was recently sent a letter from a reader who asked my advice on how to play what he called ‘trouble hands’. You know the ones I’m talking about; hands like A-J, K-10, J-10 and small pairs. These are hands that, in my opinion, remain playable, but can still land you in serious trouble if you get too attached to them.

It is of course impossible to state as an absolute fact how to play any given hand. Doyle Brunson has won two main event bracelets with 10-2, but that doesn’t mean you should limp under the gun with it! Nevertheless, I can give general strategies as to how to play certain starting hands that can get you in trouble.

K-J, K-10, A-10

Of all the hands that were cited, four stood out as absolute minefields for trouble. They are K-J, K-10, A-10 and A-J (the latter is so precarious that I’ve devoted an entire section to it later on). With these hands you will never know where you stand unless you hit an absolute made hand with them.

The biggest mistake a player can make is flat-calling when out of position with such a hand. If you hit an Ace- high flop and you have called a raise, you can be in all sorts of trouble and the same applies to hitting a King-high flop with the King hands. Indeed, I’d rather call with 5-6 suited, which is a hand that is a lot easier to get away from.

In the Million Dollar Cash Game held at the Fifty club last year, 2000 WSOP main event winner Chris Ferguson raised under the gun and John Juanda, Jennifer Harman and Tony G all flat-called. I was on the small blind with A- Q and re-raised. Ferguson passed, Juanda called with pocket tens and Harman called with K-J.

In a limit game, this would be okay. But, in no-limit, I found Harman’s call difficult to understand – especially with Tony G behind her. If a King-high flop came, how could she know where she was? As it happens, the flop was 9-high and I bet out – fortunately they both passed. Maybe Harman was calling to bluff – who knows? But for me it’s a poor call – even when in position – from one of the best players in the game.

With any of these marginal hands, it’s important not to get caught up in the ‘call if they are suited syndrome’. That extra 2% really isn’t worth the risk, especially when you see time and again two guys battling it out when both are holding a flush. You could be in deep trouble if you’re holding the King-high flush, and the other guy has the Ace.

KEY POINT

The worst thing you can do is flat-call out of position with these hands. Even if you hit part of your hand, you could easily have kicker problems. Play them with a raise in position – or not at all

A-J

Attempting to play ‘Jackass’ should carry a government health warning and it should only be played if you are the aggressor – or you hold position. If you raise with this hand and get re-raised, it is difficult to make the call as you cannot know where you stand in the hand. If you decide to call and hit the Ace, then you could be drawing almost dead to an Ace with a higher kicker.

Hitting the Jack is your best option, but you could still be behind to a higher pair. If you get a flat-call – but are not re-raised – then your best hit is a Jack-high flop, as you are probably ahead in this scenario. Hitting the Ace may get you into trouble and if not, then all you will win is the pre-flop bet.

Whatever move you make with A-J, it’s a risky one – with little chance of reward, but a great chance of haemorrhaging chips. Basically, it’s the equivalent of a one-card hand, as the Jack is your only playable card. In the long run this hand is a loser.

KEY POINT

Ace-Jack is one of the toughest hands to play because it seems strong, but is so vulnerable to higher Aces. Essentially it is a one-card hand, as the Jack is the only playable card

SMALL PAIRS

A move I like to employ with low pairs is to call a flop bet where if I get lucky and hit my pair in the hole, it does not affect the board. Let me explain: if I call a raise out of position with 4-4 and the flop is Q-9-2 and the original raiser bets out, I often call one bet. By calling, I frequently get a free card, which is to say that you often get the turn and river card without further betting.

Next, if I do hit a 4, I can get a big payday, or by the raiser showing weakness and checking, I may decide to bluff. So the call has three weapons: it often stops the raiser in his tracks; you get two free cards; or you can bluff if shown weakness. But make sure your card does not make the flop too dangerous for you, for example, I would not call with 4-4 on a flop of 2-3-5 as a 4 will make a straight if the raiser has an Ace.

In saying that, I recently made this play and got a sound beating. During the main event of this year’s WSOP I had Hoyt Corkins to my right. I was the table’s chip leader, had been involved in lots of pots, building up a pretty decent chip lead along the way. We were on level three – so still very early in the tournament.

I had over 60,000 in chips. The ESPN cameras were filming Hoyt and I had re-raised him twice – with him passing both times. He was quiet for a long time, then raised my button and I had 6-6. I decided he may be trying to trap me as his raise was lower than his previous bets, so I just called. We were heads-up in this coup and the flop came A-A-3. He bet 1,000 into a 3,200 pot. I was certain he held a big Ace hand and wanted me to make a move. I called, hoping to hit a 6.

The turn was a 6 and he bet out 4,500. I asked how much he had left and raised him his remaining 18k. He called in an instant and I casually flipped over my hand, expecting to be facing A-K or A-Q. He had A-6 and I nearly fell off my chair! John Duthie, who was sitting next to me, commented that he now knows how bad I have been running. But did I get what I deserved?

I would make that call every time, even though it marked the beginning of my exit from the WSOP. To make matters worse, the TV crew wanted to film the river card and Hoyt collecting the pot, asking me to remain at the table. I am unable to print my response.

KEY POINT

If you’ve called a raise out of position with a small pair and the original raiser bets out on an untextured board, calling the bet may get you two free cards, enabling you to bluff on the turn, or net you a big payday should you hit your set

J-10

J-10 can bear good results as long as you are able to spot the traps it can pose. Many players like to limp into pots with this type of hand, hoping to catch a made hand on the flop – or at least a big draw. The only problem with the drawing hand is being able to gauge the strength of your opponent’s hand.

You should play this hand on good flops (for example, 8-9-2), in case you miss on the turn, so you still have the opportunity to bluff. What you have to be wary of is the Jack-high flop, which can give you a false sense of security, especially in a multi-way pot. So again, you can only play this type of hand if you are aware of the dangers it poses and have the ability to lay it down.

KEY POINT

By all means limp with this hand pre-flop, hoping to make a big draw. But, just be careful not to fall in love with your hand when the flop comes Jack-high

9-9, 10-10 AND J-J

A standard way to play pocket nines, 10-10 and Jacks is to raise and then probably pass to a re-raise. In position, I would be looking to re- raise with these hands, although a lot of players prefer to flat-call and play it from there. I have no problem with that play, but I can get a lot of information from a re- raise that is not available by calling. For example, if I just call with J-J and we get a flop of 6-7-10 and our opponent bets – what do we do?

A re-raise from this position after the flop could easily get us committed to the hand, whereas a pre-flop re-raise will enable us to escape relatively cheaply if our opponent comes back over the top for most of our chips.

KEY POINT

A positional re-raise pre-flop with one of these hands can be better than a call because it gives you a lot more information about the true strength of an opponent’s hand

MARGINAL DECISIONS

Position with all these marginal hands is the key. If you are the raiser in the pot then all the hands are okay to make a move with. All your problems arise when you are just calling, irrespective of position. In an unraised pot, calling early in tournaments – when the blinds are small and with suited connectors – is in my opinion the correct way to play. You can reap huge rewards if you connect with the flop. Where you have to exercise caution is when you are calling raises out of position.

I have no problem with anyone who re-raises with such cards as you now have control of the hand and if you are called, you know you need to connect big style in order to bet – especially if the board hits high cards. You will have a better chance of success if you miss to a low flop and bet out with a bluff because if you hit your hand, on say, a Jack-high flop when you hold J-Q, you could be in trouble to a better Jack hand.

At the end of the day you should rely on your ability to spot danger. If this is your weakness, then avoid as many marginal hands as possible and always avoid them if you are out of position.