Your First Lesson

Today I’m going to share a hand I played last week in my local card room.

Its juicy.

I invite you to follow along and compare your thought process to mine.

I was sitting in a 2-5 NL game with a mandatory utg straddle. My stack was $2100 and a few players were deeper than me.

This hand started when my friend Sam raised to $50 in early position. Action folded to me in the cutoff and I looked down at QcJc. I would often 3 bet this hand but there was an action player in the straddle. He had been on a roller coaster and was currently sitting on a big stack of $4000. I had called him down a few times and won every time. I knew he was splashy.

I didn’t want to force him out of the hand so I called the $50. He called on the straddle and we went 3 way to a flop:

The flop was T 7 5… all clubs

I flopped a Q high flush. The whale checked and Sam bet $70 into the pot of $150. Sitting here with such a monster I could certainly raise, but again I wanted to keep the gambling player in the hand. I called the $70 and the straddle check raised to $300. Sam folded, so now I had a decision to make.

Take a minute to assess this situation. Think honestly about what you would do in my place. After you’ve made up your mind select the option that matches your action.

Have you made your choice? All options could be reasonably considered in different circumstances. In this case however, there is one clear best action.

I will share my thought process and let you know how this played out on Sunday. If this email was delivered to your spam or promotions folder, move it right now to your inbox to ensure you don’t miss the answer tomorrow!

Stay tuned

Peter Ferderber