Thinking Ahead In Poker

I'd like to go through a recent had I played which I feel was as close to perfect as you can get. The reason the hand was played so well is that I put my opponent on a particular hand, and got maximum value from it. This hand took place in a Rush .50 1 table, where I had built up a decent stack.


Full Tilt Poker $100.00 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - View hand 861542

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter



UTG: $62.90

UTG+1: $125.80

UTG+2: $104.10

MP1: $26.30

MP2: $268.20

CO: $66.30

BTN: $99.00

Hero (SB): $129.50

BB: $100.00



Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is SB with Q Q

2 folds, UTG+2 raises to $3.50, 4 folds, Hero ?. Before I reveal what I did let's look at our options, we can make a reraise out of the small blind, but doing so will make us commit more chips preflop while out of position. My general strategy in Rush tables is to avoid big three bet pots, since we won't have a solid read on our opponents raising tendencies. For example if this particular player is just looking to raise AA and fold everything else, our reraise preflop is going to lead us to face a likely 4bet and have us scratching our head with QQ in the SB. With all of this information I decided to just make a call. 1 fold





Flop: ($8.00) 4 2 Q (2 players)

Hero ?? wow, we flop the nuts, a great feeling to have for sure. What do we do when we have such a strong hand? Well we could take a different line and lead out to induce our original raiser to commit more chips to play. This could be good, but I don't want our opponent to release his hand prematurely. I would much rather check to the raiser, and let him commit some money to the pot. So I decide to check.
, UTG+2 bets $5.00, Hero ? Now we are faced with a pretty decently sized bet. Initially I felt that this player had a pretty strong hand to be committing $5 into a pot of $8. I decided my best line here was to check raise and get more money in the pot while my opponent is behind. If there was any sort of improvement I could have made in the hand, it is probably in the sizing of my re-raise. I decided to make it $14, $9 dollars to the raiser. I didn't want to do a minimum raise because that can often be seen as extreme strength. I wanted to make a raise that looked weakish. So by making it $14 I am raising a bit more than the minimum, but still make it look like I can fold the hand., UTG+2 calls $9 At this point in the hand I am starting to put him on a range of hands. My initial thoughts were that he was drawing, but likely to a really strong hand. I felt that I needed to avoid a heart in order to stay ahead, since if he had hit a set of 2's or 4's he would likely re-raise. If he had a strong hand like AQ or KQ he could just call, but most players at this stake will go for one more raise on the flop.



Turn: ($36.00) 2 (2 players)

Boom, we hit the card that probably locked up this hand for us. The 2 completes our full huse, and at this point I see no point in betting, if our opponent has a flush draw we want him to hit it and have us get paid off. At this point in the hand I am already formulating a plan for what to do when a heart comes off on the river. I decide it's best to check here, and pray for a heart on the river. Hero checks, UTG+2 checks



River: ($36.00) T (2 players)

Well we got what we were praying for, a heart came out on the river. I decided that since our opponent checked back the turn he was definitely on a draw. This means that our opponent likely loves his hand, and therefore we need to look to get maximum value. Well I figured I could mask my hand, while still getting maximum value by just shoving all in here. Our opponent can justify calling because it looks like we are spazzing out on a crazy bluff. If he has any kind of flush he is likely to call, but if he has the nut flush, he is definitely going to call. In reality I had already thought about doing this on the turn, which allowed me to quickly make my move, making it more likely that I am bluffing. Hero bets $112.00, UTG+2 calls $86.60 all in



Final Pot: $209.20

UTG+2 mucks A 9

Hero shows Q Q

Hero wins $180.80

(Rake: $3.00)




So that's the hand, once again I feel like the reason I did so well is that I formulated a plan ahead of time, deciding what I would do if certain cards came out. If you start formulating plans while you are playing you will definitely see an improvement to your game, as you won't be flustered and will make the best play more often.