Situational Poker - Late Position Play

Thursday, October 20th., 2005 (By the PokerStrategyKing)

Poker is a game dictated by your position in a hand. The later you are, the more information you have before making a decision and thus, the better plays you can make. By "late-position play" I am referring to situations when you are either in the cutoff seat or on the button. Playing in late position, it is critical to be more aggressive than usual. Ordinarily, I just discuss theory in this space, but for the next month or so, I will be illustrating the theory with specific examples from actual game play. These types of situations will undoubtedly come up whenever you play.

Hand No. 1 - You are in the cutoff seat with the Kc Qs and open with a raise to $12. The button reraises you to $24 and you are the only caller. There is $51 in the pot and two players.

The flop is Ac 8c 3c. What do you do? You should absolutely bet the flop. In these heads-up, reraised pots, you need to make a play for the pot, and a bet is better than a check-raise. His button reraise preflop could have been done with lots of hands, AK, any pocket pair etc., since he was responding to what he viewed to be a steal-raise. What happens if he makes a huge bet? Do you then choose to gamble and miss? By betting, you sieze control and he might well fold a pocket pair that does not include a club rather than play what to him might look like a two-outer, at best. If he calls or raises, you have the nut-flush draw to and if you hit, you will get paid off.

Hand No. 2: You open with a raise in the cutoff seat to $15 with the As Qh. The button and small blind fold. The big blind reraises to $30 and you call. There is $61 in the pot and two players.

The flop is Js 8s 4h. The big blind bets 30. What do you do? There is $91 in the pot and it costs you $30 to call. You have six outs at best, which is a 7-to-1 shot, and this is about what the pot is offering if you call. The big blind's reraise could mean a decent pair or A-K. Against A-K, you are dead to a queen, and an ace showing up will cost you some money. Against a decent pair, you may be up against a set or pocket kings or queens, making you dead to either two perfect cards or just an ace. You should fold. This situation doesn't look good for you. With all the information you have, you know you should fold.

Hand No. 3 : You are on the button with the Ac Kh. Everyone folds to the cutoff, who opens with a raise to $15. You immediately reraise to $30 and only the cutoff calls. There is $63 in the pot and two players.

The flop is 7h 6h 4c. Your opponent checks. You bet $60 and he calls after hesitating. There is $183 in the pot. The turn is the 5d and again your opponent checks. You suspiciously check. The river is the 7h. Your opponent bets $50. What should you do? I don't see how you could possibly fold in this spot even with Ace high. You lose if he has anything from a 3 to an 8 in his hand but given the preflop action, that is highly unlikely. You beat anything else he can possibly have, even AQ. Call here.

Hand No. 4 : You are in the cutoff seat with the Ah 8h. You open with a raise to $15 and the big blind reraises to $40, with the other players having folded. You make a dubious call. There is $81 in the pot and two players. The flop is 10h 7h 6s. The big blind bets $50 and you call. There is $170 in the pot. The turn is the 4s. The big blind bets. What do you do? If you call you are giving away that your on a flush draw. If he has missed and is simply using continuation bets, he will probably fold right here. If he calls, you maximize your profit.

I hope you can learn something from these examples. The best way to learn and master the game is to use prior history as a guide and apply these same principles to future situations.

Until next time, may the chips fall your way.

(For more poker strategy and tips, please visit the PokerStrategyKing's website at www.pokerstrategyking.com )

(For more poker strategy and tips, please visit the PokerStrategyKing’s website at www.pokerstrategyking.com )