Poker News

John Vorhaus

“That was a terrible call!” shouted my opponent as he stumbled away, busted from the nolimit hold’em tournament in its first half-hour. “How could you make that call?” I had just cracked his aces and sent him to the rail by flopping a straight to my 3-4 offsuit holding. Goodness, he must be right! What was I doing in the hand with 3-4 off?

Well, for starters, he slow played his aces, just flatcalling in early position. You know what they say…

“Slow play aces, go to hell.” His call invited other calls, a whole swarm of them, so that by the time the action got back around to me in the small bind, there were six players in the pot. This early in the tournament, my stack was large in relation to the blind, and the halfblind it would cost me to get involved wouldn’t materially change my stack. But if I hit…

I glanced to the left and saw the big blind telegraphing his intention to check. With no danger from that quarter, I completed the blind, looking to flop a monster.

6-5-2 offsuit. Can you say, “Monster?”

I checked. The big blind checked. Jimmy Aces bet to defend his hand (a little late for that, as it happens). It’s folded around to me. I make a small reraise. The big blind calls. Jimmy Aces obligingly pushes all-in. I cover. Big blind folds. Turn and river come blank-blank, and Jimmy is done for the day.

Not, however, before excoriating me for my terrible, terrible call. I can still hear him muttering as he stumbles over to sign up for a cash game. I envy the guys in that game. He’s primed to go off for a big number. Meanwhile, I’ve more than doubled through early, and now have a large stack to work with. Which was, of course, the whole point of the exercise. I saw a chance of wedding small cards to a big upside, and I took it.

Yes, I was lucky to flop a straight… but I was equally lucky to face a foe who misplayed aces and other opponent who obligingly called in large numbers, giving me a situation just rife with positive prospects.

Also, let’s be clear: If the flop had come 3-7-T or something, I’d have been done with the hand. Even flopping two pair would not have sent me hurtling into action. If you’re going to play crap hands, you simply have to be able to get away from them when they miss. Otherwise, your half-blind investment turns into half your stack… or worse, that long, unhappy stagger to the rail.

Small cards are not strong. But they give you hidden strength when they hit, especially in no-limit, where the potential exists to capture a whole stack. When the situation is right — when you can take a cheap shot at a big payoff — almost any hand is playable, provided you have the character strength to get away from your hand when you miss and, especially, the smarts to git when you only half-hit.

One other thing: Don’t slow play aces. Just don’t ever do that.

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