clyde's poker

If you’re small blind and there are three or more callers, but no raisers, I would call everytime. I would even call with something as bad as 2 7 offsuit. It doesn’t matter. I would call because you have pot odds no matter what. No matter what two cards you have you have odds to catch a two pair, a three of a kind, or a full house (or perhaps even four of a kind), and the odds of catching one of those are definitely good enough to call, especially when the flop comes with two 2s and nobody believes that anybody would play a 2 (for some reason people believe this even if the big blind got in for free).

Obviously this is only true if you have enough chips to make it worth while. If you only have 300 chips and the blinds are 50-100, it may not be worth it to pay that extra 50. if you have something like 2 9 offsuit. Those chips are just too valuable at this point.

Also, if you do catch something good playing low cards from the small blind, particularly a two pair or a three of a kind it’s always best to bet it big right away. This is because it is usually a very susceptible hand to being broken. For example, if the flop comes 2 7 K, with you holding a 2 7, it is definitely a mistake to slow play by checking or just calling a bet. Somebody may have something like K Q, and the next card may be a Q or another K, giving your hand a very low probability of winning, when you’re probably be willing to call or bet quite a lot. Instead, you want to make that person with the K Q either fold that hand, or better yet think you’re making a big bet with a smaller kicker and raise you. In this case, its probably better to bet into people rather than check raise even if you think they will bet because people with a hand like K Q will raise you much of the time if you bet into them, but will be scared if you check raise them.

In the case that you only catch something like small or middle pair, it is probably best to check fold. If you think people will fold because either the pot is comes with all small cards, then it may be best to bet (as I will talk about later, it is probably best to bet no matter if you have anything or not if the flop comes all small cards). Otherwise, I would check. If someone bets just the minimum or barely above the minimum, it may be best to call just in case you catch trips or a two pair, or if they are bluffing (which you may be able to tell if they check on the turn, or bet low again). Otherwise, folding is the best option as it is not smart to pay too many chips for a ‘mediocre at best’ hand.

# posted by Clyde @ 7:23 PM