Going for the River
Russ Fox
In big-bet poker, a key decision is when to set and execute a trap against your opponent. This past weekend I was almost trapped in a hand; but my opponent waited too long to execute her trap and found herself trapped instead.
Linda was under-the-gun with [9c]-[7c] ina $2-$5 blinds no-limit game. The game has been relatively tight, with most flops being seen two- to four-handed. Linda limped. The button (me) raised to $25 and both blinds folded. Should Linda have called the $20 raise?
A call here isn’t that bad. After all, unless you hit the flop hard it’s an easy hand to get away from. Linda elected to call, so we saw the flop heads-up. And it was quite a flop for Linda: [9d]-[7s]-[3d].
Linda decided to check the flop, presumably to go for the check-raise either on the flop or the turn with her top two. There’s a risk to her play. I could have an overpair and the odd board card might pair, or I might have a diamond draw and make my flush. Still, this is a very reasonable play. I bet $35 and Linda decided to give me some rope and called.
The turn was the [4c]. Linda checked again, and I bet $65 into the $119 pot after $4 was removed for the rake. Linda called, and did not close the trap. The river was the [Qd]. This was not a great card for Linda, because the diamond flush-if I was drawing for it-was now there, and there was a slight chance that I had been betting with pocket queens and now had a set. Linda decided to check. I bet $120 and Linda moved all-in for about $400 more. I insta-called (with [Ad]-[Td], and Linda involuntarily left the game.
I don’t know why Linda didn’t execute her plan. I was positive about her hand because she showed it to someone else at the table, but I’ve seen this many times. When you bait a trap you need to follow- through! Consider what would have happened if Linda made a substantial raise on the turn. I would have nine outs with my actual hand, or eight outs if I had held an overpair-two cards of my pair, and three treys and three fours-and I would not have had the right price to continue with my hand. Going for the river check-raise is rarely right. It’s a disaster for Linda if I check the river. And that was definitely something I was considering. It was clear to me that Linda had something. Perhaps she held an overpair and decided against the limp reraise pre-flop. Perhaps she made a pair or two on the flop. No matter, when she called both my flop and my turn bet, I was convinced she had something. If the river was a blank it’s unlikely I would have bet; there was no chance of my calling her raise.
Had Linda raised on the turn and I called, she would have gotten her money in as a favorite. Yes, as the cards came she would have lost the hand but she would have executed her hand correctly. That’s all you can do in big bet poker-get your money in as the favorite and hope the cards come out to your favor. Unfortunately for Linda, she waited to get her money in until it was certain that she would lose the hand.
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