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How To Lose All Your Chips In No-Limit Hold'em
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Author: Marc Weinberg
No poker player enjoys it when his opponent sucks out, that is to say catches lucky when way behind. There are a number of poker games where there is little that can be done, and limit hold'em is a prime example. But in the no-limit format there are times when you can prevent this from happening to you, and when you fail to do this the result is that you lose all your chips.
The Hand In Question.
This is an actual hand of no-limit hold'em ($4 antes) played an hour ago on Pokerroom.com. I'd like to explain why I won, and why my opponent made a critical error. There is little doubt he's reeling from what he perceives to be a bad beat, but the truth of the matter is that he erred and suffered as a result.
He called from middle position and held Qd Td. There were a couple of other limpers and I was on the button with Qh 9h and I made a weak call. Not proud of playing that slop, but hey, it happens.
The flop came: Qc 5d 7h
This is a problematic flop for both of us. We're playing because the cards are suited, but when you do hit a Q and no second pair you immediately have kicker concerns. He was first to act and bet $10. The pot contained $20 at this juncture, so that's a fair bet. I called. I hate my hand right now, but for $10 I'll see the turn.
The turn brought an 8d. So the board is now Qc 5d 7h 8d.
Here's where he makes a very big error. The pot is now $40. he has $150 in front of him and I have $170 in front of me. His hand has improved considerably with the turn. He now has top pair plus that flush draw. This is no-limit, where you must bet players out of pots and give them no odds to beat you. I think he should bet at least $40 here, and possibly as much as $60. If he bets $40 and I re-raise all in, representing a straight, he has a tough decision, but he can lay it down. Of course, if he bets the pot here I'm gone and he takes down $40.
What he did and why it's a mistake
Instead he bet only $20, another standard continuation bet for half the flop. His problem here is that he is giving me odds to beat him. I don't like my hand at all, but I'm betting $20 at a pot of $60 with top pair and an inside straight draw. I might be behind, but I figure a 9 or a 6 on the river will give me the opportunity to make him pay a LOT of money. So, I call.
The river is a 6h. He misses his flush and I catch my lucky straight. In limit games this is a typical scenario because you can't bet enough to make the weaker hand go away. It's a legitimate hand: top pair weaker kicker, and most of the time you would hang on to win with your slightly better kicker. But when the board ends up with a 5,6,7,8 you kind of have to expect the worst when you're holding QT.
This guy compunded his error by betting $40 at the pot now, when it's too late and I have him dead-to-rights. I raise all-in. He calls!
What hand could I have had that he could beat?
When I called his flop and turn bets he should have put me on a Q. If I have QJ,QK, or QA I beat him. If I have Q9, which I did, I just made my straight. If I have Q8,Q7,Q6, or Q5 I have made two pair and beaten him. Q4 beats him as well with the low straight. All he can beat is Q3 and Q2, or a pocket pair smaller than Queens, which I did not represent at all.
The end of the hand sees the guy unravel and instead of winning $40 on the turn with a big bet he loses close to $200 by calling my big bet when he was done.
The moral
I am not belittling his play, because it is a common sight in no-limit hold'em. My criticism is constructive: he had every right to win this hand, but his inability to pull the trigger cost him everything. It's a contradiction in poker that plays out all the time. You can't bet big enough when you should, but once you're beaten you end up calling off ALL your chips. It's as though a fatalistic attitude is far more powerful than a confident attitude.
In poker, if you have the option, you should bet aggressively at a pot if you feel like you have a hand. If someone re-raises you there is no shame in folding or ceding the control of that hand by calling. But don't let others hang around in the hand and ultimately pass you - that's how huge stacks are lost.
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> Running Bad - How To Deal With Poker Losses
> Poker Tournament Strategy - How To Play With A Big Stack
> World Series Of Poker Main Event Stats and Stories
> The True Odds Of Cracking Pocket Aces
> World Series Of Poker 2005 - Poker Hand Analysis
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