If you are sitting at home reading this article, chances are you’re just like me – you can’t get enough of online poker. Whether you’re in it for the thrill of the game or you’re trying to make a living, playing online offers several distinct advantages over the “live” game. The online game is a faster game, which essentially means more and potentially larger pots and more risks per hour than a standard B&M (brick and mortar) game. When you see a larger volume of hands, chances are that during each session you play, you are bound to see something that leaves you speechless, shaking your head, mystified, or (shudder at the thought) having to re-buy. In this column, each week we will take a look at a different hand that fits the previously mentioned criteria. My involvement in the hand notwithstanding, I will try to remain as impartial as possible, and for the hands that I didn’t win, I will keep my bitterness to a minimum. (At least, this is my intent)

Do you recognize this scenario? Sitting in the Big Blind, you look down to find 2 beautiful Aces staring at you. “Yes!,” you think to yourself, “there’s no way anyone can put me on Aces in the Big Blind. I’m gonna get paid!” So with this rationale, you decide to casually slowplay your hand with 3 or 4 other players. The flop comes and a couple players hang around and because of your “slick approach” you end up being outdrawn and losing a bundle of chips, and complaining about having your Aces cracked by garbage. But really, what did you expect. You had a pair, that’s it. A pair which is the lowest hand on the poker totem pole.

Now, I’m not picking on you. Slowplaying is something that all poker players do. I know I do it. Sometimes it works, often times it backfires. Why do it then? Well, isn’t it better to win a huge stack of chips rather than a small stack? Of course it is, but it’s dangerous. Unless you absolutely have the nuts, your hand is always vulnerable to being outdrawn, remember that.

Which brings me to this week’s hand of the week. This particular hand occurred during a $100 single table sit-n-go tournament. With 7 players remaining in the game, the blinds were at $100-$200. There were 2 short stacks of less than $500, the leader had $3000 with everyone else basically in the middle. I had $1,800 in chips. Sitting in the Big Blind, I look and see Ah-3c. Not exactly a powerhouse of a starting hand. Pre-flop, there are 3 callers plus myself, including the small stack whose big blind has put him all in. The flop comes down 3s – 3h- Qd. I am feeling pretty good about this hand. “How should I play this?” I think to myself. If I bet out in early position, it is likely that all players will fold and I won’t be maximizing my strong hand. I decide to slowplay it thinking that if anyone does bet after me I will raise them and try to take the pot right then and there. Two players check and the button player, the chip leader goes all in. He had been playing aggressively throughout the tournament foten times with marginal hands so I put him on a pocket pair or possibly a Queen. If he happened to have the 4th 3, my Ace kicker would have him beat. Needless to say, I’m thrilled and already thinking about my new position as chip leader which for all intents and purposes would allow me to steal blinds and coast into the money. Without hesitation I call and the other two players quickly fold. There is $5,200 in the pot, or if you want to look mathematically, more than half of the total chips in play in the entire tournament. He turns his cards over and shows pocket 7’s. His percentage of catching that 3rd 7 and beating me stands at roughly less than 10%. The turn is a Jack and I am feeling pretty good as my odds have gotten even better. And then it happens, a 7 falls on the river, giving my opponent a full house, a tremendous chip lead, knocking me out of the tournament and enabling him to go on to win the $500 top prize with ease. Why did this happen? Basically, it all goes back to my decision to slowplay and not show any strength when I was strong.

What could I have done differently? Well, the most obvious thing would have been to make a strong bet immediately after the flop. By doing so, I would have represented either the 3 or Q either of which could have prompted the pocket 7’s to quietly fold and giving me a decent pot. Of course, there is always the chance that he wouldn’t have folded and beaten me anyway, but then I would be attributing it to bad luck instead of misplaying the hand. Compounding the mistake is the fact that there were 4 players total in the hand. By slowplaying, I was essentially asking 4 players to try to outdraw me. In addition, I gave one player hope that he already had the best hand and gave him a chance to take the pot. Now, you can ask if he was over-aggressive in his play. To that, I say, possibly, but you know what? He won the hand, period. I allowed him to think he was stronger than he was going up against a shorter stack, and he ended up making a play that bounced me from the tourney. I can’t really fault him for making that play. He actually did have a hand when he went all in although mine was better at the time. I choose to chalk it up as a lesson learned. Remember, never stop learning, because you can always, and I do mean ALWAYS, improve your game. Until next time, may the chips fall your way.

Until next time, may the chips fall your way.

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