Poker clinic

DONK OR NOT?

I was playing in a £20 rebuy at my local casino and we had just gone past the first break, so there were no more rebuys. I had played really tight so far and played a few hands, only showing down premium hole cards. There were two players to my left: a pro who played lots of hands and a loose-passive guy who called every time the pro bet. All the others were tight except for a new player I didn’t know.

I was on the button, blinds were 100/200 and my stack was 6,500. There were three limpers. The pot was 900 at this point and I raised to 1,000 with 6?-9? trying to steal. The small blind folded, the pro on the big blind called, under-the-gun player called, new player two to my right raised to 2,000. I called, thinking about pot odds and image. The big blind and the under-the-gun player called. The flop came K?-7?-8?, giving me an open-ended straight draw and flush draw.

Everyone checked to me and I also checked. The turn was the 3?. The big blind bet 1,000, the under-the-gun player called and the new player moved all-in with 4,800. I thought about it and figured I had 15 outs to a straight or flush. I put the new player on the King and called. The big blind and the under-the-gun player folded; the new player showed K-7. The river came 9? and I lost to two pair. I can’t decide if that was a real donkey play or not.

Chris Allen

Your pre-flop raise was fine. You had position and were trying to punish the limpers. But you should have carried over that aggression post-flop as it would probably have won you the pot. When everyone checked to you, you should have made a substantial bet or moved all-in. This is a tournament, not a cash game, and people know they can’t reload. As such, you have a lot of fold equity.

Even if someone calls you are in good shape. Against K-7 you are a slight favourite and even against a set of Kings you are only a slight underdog. By the time the turn gets there, you have let someone else take the lead and end up being a 3/1 dog. The bottom line is that if you were willing to stick it in on the turn when you were drawing thin, you should have jammed on the flop.

STRAIGHT TALKING

It’s the early to middle stages of an online MTT. I have been the most active player at the table and have built my chip stack from 3,000 up to around 7,500. It’s just below the biggest stack at the table who is keen to stop me from being table captain. He has started to flat-call a lot of my pre-flop raises, but so far I have made successful continuation bets against him.

The blinds are 100/200 and I raise to 600 from early position with A?-8?. The big- stack flat-calls in mid-to-late position. The big blind also calls. Flop comes 8-J-6 with one heart. The big blind checks, and I am Raising out of position with A-8 is sure to get you into trouble one day… about to continuation-bet again when I suddenly get the urge to check because I feel I may be raised off my hand by my nemesis, and as I have middle pair and a backdoor flush I want to see the turn.

I check, and the first caller checks too. The turn is a 7, and the BB checks again. I decide to take a stab at the pot now everyone has shown weakness. I bet 800 into a pot of 1,900. My nemesis calls and the BB folds. The river is a 5, putting a four-straight on the board: 8-J-6-7-5. I check and my opponent bets about two- thirds pot – about 2,500. There is no flush on the board but obvious straights and I only have second pair.

If I call and lose I’m down to about 3,500, but I would have plenty to come back in the tournament. If I call and win, it makes me a big stack and cripples my only real thorn at the table. Should I call or fold in this spot?

Marcus Stewart

Your pre-flop play isn’t exactly textbook poker. Raising out of position with Ace-rag usually just gets you into trouble. I mean, what are you going to do if someone re-raises? That said, if being table captain has worked for you up until now, there’s no reason to reign in the aggression. You should have made a continuation bet to try and pick up the pot.

The turn is where it starts to unravel. Why are you betting into a multi-way pot when the 7 fills all manner of draws? You can check-call if you’re confident about your pair of eights, but you should be giving up on this hand. When you’re called and the river brings a four-straight, it is absolutely crazy to call such a large amount. You should definitely have folded.