"Do as I say ..." [Chapter 3]: When You're Raised Big

You find yourself in middle position, and wake up with Jack-10 of spades. You’ve played pretty tight tonight, and since a few others have limped in before you, it seems like the pot is big enough to play a drawing hand like this. Jack-Ten is one of your favorite connectors, because it can make so many straights. Furthermore, the straights you’re likely to make with Jack-Ten are often the nut straights, and are often well-concealed. If the flop comes Ace-King-Queen rainbow, who’s going to put you on Jack-Ten? If it comes Queen-Nine-Eight? Two pair will give you a ton of action. But back to the story. You decide to come along for the ride, and call the big blind. No one raises after you … what a relief.

The flop comes Ten-Five-Deuce, rainbow – about as good a flop as you could have reasonably hoped for. Of course, it isn’t a miracle flop like the ones described above, but it’s fairly strong. It’s checked to you, so you bet out 2/3 of the pot. Don’t want to get too fancy with top pair of tens. You just want to make it more difficult for players with over-cards or smaller pairs to call you.

The rest of the table folds, with one exception. One of the limpers who checked the flop to you is suddenly interested in the pot. When the action returns to her, without hesitation, the lone girl at the table moves all-in, and she has you covered. Being check-raised is rarely a good feeling, with the exception of times you have the nuts or near-nuts. What do you do? You’re left with the most fundamental decision in poker: call or fold? How do you respond to being raised when you have a decent hand (although your pair of tens seems to have suddenly shriveled up, doesn’t it)?

Finally we get to the meat of the article. I’m writing today to remind you to think about why your opponent is doing what he or she is doing. With your pair of tens, and jack kicker, about the only thing you can beat is a bluff. So you must put your opponent on a range of hands. What could she possibly be holding? Because no one raised before the flop, the girl could have limped in with almost any two cards. So there is a chance she flopped two pair, or a small set, or that she decided to merely call with an over-pair.

Time after time, I see people call blindly, when a moment of thought would save them so much money in the long run! Just remember, your opponent probably suspects that you’re holding something substantial, that you’re not (completely) bluffing. What cards could they have that would make them fearless of your cards? That moment of pondering should cause you to fold more often than you really want to (when your ego is screaming at you to call), but trust me, they’re just keeping your chips warm for you. If they’ve bluffed you, you’ll get them back when they try the same maneuver and you’re holding a stronger hand.

So am I telling you to fold every time you’re raised big? Of course not! There are certainly times when a call is the correct play (perhaps more often than you think). What I’m advocating here is the thought process. Ask the dealer for time, do whatever you have to. But at least consider what your opponent could possibly be raising with. If it turns out that the only hand you could beat is a bluff, chances are you should muck it.

There are, of course, exceptions. If you’ve been watching a player and you’ve noticed that they bluff a bit too often, then calling is more likely to be correct. Or if they have fairly obvious tells. Or if your hand also gives you some draws or redraws. Sheer curiosity, however, is not a good reason to shove in your entire stack.

As always, this is just advice … you can take it or leave it. But if I took my own advice, I think I’d find myself on the wrong side of a kicker battle a lot less often.

So do as I say, not as I do …