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--This is an essay written by mason malmuth that I found called "Calling all the way."
When talking poker strategy it is usually agreed that aggressive players do better than passive players. In fact, this is common knowledge, and in my opinion it is very accurate. But of course, there are always exceptions. What follows is a hand I recently played in a $30-$60 hold 'em game at The Bellagio where it appeared to be correct to call on every street. However, as you will see, some of the decisions were very close.
First, here's a quick summary of the hand:
It was my first hand and I took a late position blind to the immediate right of the button. The player on my right had also just sat down and he posted as well. So instead of there being $50 in blind money, this hand began with $110 (and four blinds).
The first three players folded, an unknown player raised, it was folded to me and I called with
As Js
The button and small blind folded, and the big blind called. So three of us saw the flop.
The flop was
Ts 6d 2c
The big blind checked. The original raiser bet. I called. And the big blind called.
The turn was the Ah. The big blind checked. The original raiser bet. I called. And the player in the big blind position called.
The river was a blank. The player in the big blind checked. The player between us bet. I called. The player in the big blind folded, and I won as my opponent showed a pair of kings.
Now this hand brings us to several questions. They are:
Why not make it three bets before the flop?
Why not fold or perhaps raise on the flop?
Why not raise when the ace comes on the turn.
Why not raise on the river.
Let's answer each of these questions. First, the argument for reraising before the flop is to drive out the other players, particularly the big blind, and to gain position on the raiser in a probable heads up pot. This can be especially nice with the extra money in the pot. The reason not to raise is the combination of the possible quality of the raiser's hand versus my ace-jack suited. In my opinion, this decision is very close. I would have made it three bets if my hand was a little better, such as ace-queen suited, or if the original's raiser would have been in a little later position implying that he would raise with a wider range of hands.
On the flop, it should be pretty clear that it is necessary to play on. I hold two overcards which has a small chance of being the best hand, have a backdoor straight-flush draw, and there is a fair amount of money in the pot -- remember the two extra blinds. So the question should be whether to raise or call? The advantages of raising is that it will probably knock the player in the big blind out, earn a free card on the turn if I choose to take it, and if reraised, information is gained concerning the quality of my opponent's hand.
There are also reasons not to raise. One has already been mentioned and that is you might get reraised. Another is that by letting the third player in he can become your ally. What I mean by this is that if a blank hits on the turn, the original raiser will be less likely to try to run a bluff through two players as opposed to one. In our book Hold 'em Poker for Advanced Players we have some discussion on this idea. See page 178 where we state, "When you keep a bad player in on a close decision, you won't have to guess as much when a good player bets."
In addition, you would definitely want the big blind out if you knew that your hand was best in this situation. But that's not the case here.
The call on the turn is a play that I think is obviously correct, but one in which many players, particularly those with less experience, would do differently. Sometimes, even if you think that it is likely your hand is best, you are still better off going for an overcall if there is a reasonable chance that you don't have the best hand. Since the original raiser could also easily have ace-king, ace-queen, or a few other hands that are better than mine, this became an obvious call.
By the way, if I thought that I should raise on the turn, then it means that I probably should have made it three bets before the flop. If you don't see why, you may want to pause and think it through.
The river play is also straight forward for similar reasons. If the bettor has a better hand than my pair of aces, jack kicker, you certainly don't want to raise. If he is bluffing or perhaps betting a weak hand for value (which was done), he should just fold to a raise. So why not go for the overcall? This way I'll save money when my hand is second best, and occasionally will gain an extra bet when my hand holds up.
As can be seen, even though this hand could have easily been played much differently, calling on every street, which is normally poor poker strategy, became correct. However, those of you who usually call on every street, are not only probably playing too many hands, but in general will also be playing your hands poorly. In fact, players who routinely play like this are your ideal opponents. But, as this hand shows, there are always exceptions in a game as complicated as poker.
©2004, Mason Malmuth, All Rights Reserved.
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Post-flop play: Calling vs. raising
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Originally Posted by Fnord
