4 replies to this topic

[Petoria]

This is a hand that I made up and I want to hear what you would do with it. I believe that there is a correct answer to the question posed at the end, but I can't be positive as to what it is. This situation should be considered in the context of being in a 10-seated $5 sng. Early on in the action, stacks approx. equal at 1500 and blinds at 20-40. You have seen that your table is solid, and they, in general, play average to slightly above average poker for that level.UTG raises 3x BB, 3 callers including the SB.You have QKo in the BB, call, raise, or fold?In terms of pot odds, are you getting the correct price? Can you make an estimate as to the price you're getting?

[Swift_Psycho]

I fold this. You could easily be in a dominated situation which could cost you if you do hit the second best hand. In addition, your implied odds of the hand go down because you are in EP for the rest of the betting rounds. If they were even suited, my answer might change because you could look for a flush draw, but I just think that your immediate pot odds are only part of the equation. You may be getting the right price to call here, but you can easily lose a lot of chips if you hit a K or Q for top pair and find yourself against an overpair or against a better kicker. I'd much rather defend my blind here with a suited connector than K-Qoffsuit.However, by my calculations, you are getting 6.5 to 1 on this call, an awesome price. If you can call this in hopes of only continuing the hand if you hit two pair or better (or maybe a straight draw), than I might ponder a call. The only problem is if you hit trips you might still have to worry about being outkicked.

[creepy20]

Fold....almost anything you flop here you might lose a lot of chips. The hands that some of these people are playing probably have you beat ..if you do flop an open ended straight draw..somebody might have flopped trip 10's or j's ...and if they did I can't see one of them not putting in a big bet on the flop with so many people seeing the flop. Which ofcourse puts you to a decision to see if you can hit the straight. Maybe you are getting a good price to see the flop but as the above poster said..I think your implied odds go way down with your position and your cards not being suited.

[Petoria]

That was the answer I was looking for. I always wonder how you can estimate your pot odds with such little information. You see a lot of posts that suggest calling more often preflop to try to hit a flop big if you have pot odds. The worst you can be in terms of percentage is a 9 to 1 underdog heads up. With a hand like QK, there are so many people in, I wouldn't recommend investing more money in the hand, unless you have a read on the people who are already in the pot. The point of this post is to try to discourage people from using pot odds preflop, it will cause you to play marginal hands more often and consistently come from behind in hands. You can not be a consistent winner if you play the worst hand in the name of pot odds. Be cautious with your chips in tournament scenarios.This is just an opinion, and I admit it causes me to play a bit too weak-tight. If any of you have something to add, I'm happy to get responses and advice.

[Swift_Psycho]

Petoria said:

That was the answer I was looking for. I always wonder how you can estimate your pot odds with such little information. You see a lot of posts that suggest calling more often preflop to try to hit a flop big if you have pot odds. The worst you can be in terms of percentage is a 9 to 1 underdog heads up. With a hand like QK, there are so many people in, I wouldn't recommend investing more money in the hand, unless you have a read on the people who are already in the pot. The point of this post is to try to discourage people from using pot odds preflop, it will cause you to play marginal hands more often and consistently come from behind in hands. You can not be a consistent winner if you play the worst hand in the name of pot odds. Be cautious with your chips in tournament scenarios.This is just an opinion, and I admit it causes me to play a bit too weak-tight. If any of you have something to add, I'm happy to get responses and advice.

Good points. The thing that many people forget is that there is a such thing as negative implied odds as well, which will screw them over if they start chasing with a J-7offsuit because of their "pot odds."