Poker Question of the Day

[RoamingMadness]

Im gonna try to do this everyday, post your answer and discuss.

Today's question was asked to me by a friend.

You're sitting at a table of nine in a $50 freezeout tourny at a local casino. 50 people started, 25 are gone. Top 10 get paid. The blinds are 200-400, and will double after this hand.

An early player limps. You limp in from middle position with pocket 7s. The cutoff, the button, and both blinds call. There is 2,400 in the pot, and 6 players.

The flop comes Jh Td 7h. Both the blinds check, and the early limper bets 2,400 (with another 20,000 in his stack). No one else at the table has over 16,000.

You have 32,000 in chips. What do you do? And more importantly why.

[ThePluq]

I go all in because I dont play cards but like to push my wad around.

[Styrofoam]

raise, but not push. Probably to 8-10k, with the intent of pushing the next card regardless. If he has the 89 you're screwed, but you can't play in fear. Besides you have a redraw. You're likely going to get your money all in if he has a hand anyways.

[RoamingMadness]

raise, but not push. Probably to 8-10k, with the intent of pushing the next card regardless. If he has the 89 you're screwed, but you can't play in fear. Besides you have a redraw. You're likely going to get your money all in if he has a hand anyways.

This topic will remain open for debate. But in my mind, no one will get closer than this answer.

The amount of the raise is absolutely, dead on correct. The answer i was looking for is raise to 10k. With six people in an unraised pot, and this type of flop, you're looking at facing multiple gutshot straight draws (possibly with a small pair), and perhaps a flush draw. At the moment, only three hands beat you. J/J, T/T, and 9/8. If an opponent hit one of these hands, you're pretty much screewed. But as foam said, you cant live in fear. And against the range of hands you're likely to be facing, you'll be ahead far more often than you're behind.

The choice is call or raise. Because the flop is so close together, and your expected value in this hand, calling is a HUGE mistake.

The best option is clearly to raise. But now consider what you want to accomplish.

We want everyone with a draw that can beat you, specifically open-ended straights and flushes to fold. And ideally we want the raiser to call with the second best hand.

A min raise of 2,400, a potsize raise of about 10k, or pushing all in are the only three real choices.

The min raise should instantly be ignored, because it will not be enough money to push anyone off anything threatning.

The all in raise will give such horrible odds to everyone, youll more than likely only pick up the 5k in the pot.

The raise to 10k will effectively force anyone willing to call, to go all in due to the huge size of the pot and the small chips remaining in there stacks, and gives bad pot odds to most of the draws.

Your opponent will more than likely call, and then check or push all in on the turn. If he checks you push, if he pushes you call.

[Styrofoam]

thats what iw as getting at haha

[RoamingMadness]

i know, but this is suppose to be a semi learning thread