Poker Tournament Analysis: Slytdog, 2/26/05

Poker Tournament Analysis: Slytdog, 2/26/05
by Martell

I believe that one of the best ways to learn poker is to examine real-life situations, in an effort to understand the logic behind various decisions one might have to make. This method is especially useful when it comes to learning how to play no-limit holdem tournaments. Factors like stack size, size of the blinds, and position play a role in every decision, yet each is continuously changing. By studying an actual tournament, we can see how changes in those variables alter one’s strategy.

In this issue, we will analyze a $11 single-table no-limit holdem tournament played on February 26, 2005. The transcript for this tournament was submitted by Slytdog, and I primarily focus on analyzing his play.

Hand #3—Ten-handed, Slytdog is third to act and is dealt pocket Queens. Blinds are $10/$15. First in, he raises it to $80. One player in late position and the big blind both call. The pot is $250.

Generally, a raise of 5 times the big blind or more is a bit excessive; usually a raise of 4 times the blind will have the same effect, and if someone comes over the top of you and you decide to fold, you waste a little less money. Early in the tournament, though, it’s hard to raise enough such that people will fold, so one should either raise more or not at all. The fact that two people called with 10% of their stacks (starting stack size was $800) indicates to me that each of their hands are at least coordinated.

The flop is 7c, 9s, 4c. The first person checks, Slytdog bets $200, and both players call. The pot is now $850.

At this point, you have to be wondering what your opponents have that they can call with, especially the one that acts after you. Either both opponents are calling with draws or somebody is setting a trap. There are very few turn cards that are safe for pocket Queens.

The turn is Ts. The first person checks, Slytdog goes all-in for $520, the player in late position calls for $495, and the first player folds.

Well, it’s not the perfect turn card, but it’s close. It’s not a club, it’s not an overcard, and it doesn’t pair the board. Slytdog might as well go all-in, but he cannot be happy when the person behind him calls. It turns out the guy had Jack Ten offsuit, and when a King came on the river, Slytdog won an $1865 pot.

Hand #6—Eight-handed, Slytdog is in the big blind with Ten Five offsuit. Two players call the $15 blind, and Slytdog checks. The flop is 8d, 3H, Td. Everyone checks.

In this case, Slytdog not only had top pair, but his opponents had seen that his bets mean he has a hand. A pot-sized bet of $55 would have been appropriate here. If he gets any resistance, he can shut down. In this case, a Jack came on the turn, an opponent bet $55, and Slytdog correctly folded.

Hand #8—Eight-handed, Slytdog is dealt Ace Ten offsuit on the button. There is a call, a raise to $60, another call, Slytdog calls, and the original caller calls. The pot is $265.

I don’t like to play Ace Ten when someone has raised, since it’s too easy to get into trouble with that hand, but since the $60 bet was less than 5% of his stack, it is an acceptable call

The flop is Ks, 4c, Ah. Everyone checks, Slytdog bets $100, everyone folds.

This was almost the opposite of the Ten Five hand—in that case, giving a free card on the turn was likely to cost him the pot, as any overcard would cause him to stop betting. Here, there was no chance of an overcard hitting. Also, there were three other people paying $60 to see the flop—was this a trap?

One of the keys to no-limit holdem tournaments is making sure you have an objective with each bet. Sometimes you want to win the pot with the least amount of risk possible, and other times you want people to call for the maximum amount possible. In this case, betting only 40% of the pot was a good bet; it allowed Slytdog to try and win the pot with minimal risk. If he get’s check-raised, he hasn’t committed many chips to the pot, and can lay the hand down.

Hand #14—Seven-handed, Slytdog is dealt Ace Seven offsuit in the big blind. There is no small blind, and one person calls. The flop is 7h, Kd, Jh. Slytdog bets $30, his opponent raises it $30, and Slytdog folds.

This looks like a bet without a purpose. This wasn’t a bet where he wanted a call, but the bet was too small to cause his opponent to fold. Betting the minimum is a sign of weakness anyway, but since Slytdog had never bet the minimum with any of his good hands, that made it even more likely that he had a weak hand.

Hand #18—Six-handed, Slytdog is dealt Seven Eight suited under the gun. He calls $30, the next person makes it $120, and there is one other caller. Slytdog folds.

In this case, the additional $90 was about 5% of Slytdog’s stack, as well as 5% of the raiser’s stack. What that means is that there is a chance to get 20 to 1 on your initial bet, if you hit the flop and play it right. Whenever you are facing a bet that is 5% of your stack or less, you can call with any playable hand.

That being said, as the game gets more and more shorthanded, high cards go up in value and drawing hands go down in value. While Slytdog could have called, folding was not a bad play either. This hand could have gone either way.

Hand #19—Still six-handed, Slytdog is dealt Ten Eight suited in the big blind. The button and the small blind both call, making the pot $90. The flop is 3h, Ah, 2s. The small blind checks, Slytdog bets $125, and both players fold.

Considering he didn’t have a flush draw (his Ten Eight were diamonds), this is a very risky bet. It’s generally not a good idea to bluff out of position, since you have no idea what will happen behind you, and I especially don’t like it with an Ace on the flop. The good parts about this play were that the bet was large enough to make his opponents think twice about calling, and since it was a complete bluff, it would be easy to fold the hand if he was raised. But I still would not have bluffed out of position.

Hand #28—Now four-handed, Slytdog is dealt pocket Tens in the big blind. The button calls $50, Slytdog raises to $250, and the button folds.

As I mentioned before, I prefer my raises to be 4 times the big blind, but what matters much more is consistency. If someone always raises 5 times the big blind, that is fine.

Hand #30—Still four-handed, Slytdog is dealt Ace Eight offsuit on the button. He calls $50 and the big blind checks, making the pot $125. The flop comes As, 7h, 4s. Both the big blind and Slytdog check. The turn is the Th. The big blind checks, Slytdog bets $125, and the big blind folds.

I disagree with this call. When the game gets four-handed, aggressiveness with high cards is important. I would rather try and win the blinds than let the big blind see the flop for free.

In general, I like Slytdog’s check on the flop. It serves as a sort of trap; the check makes it hard for the big blind to put him on an Ace. The blind may then bet on the turn with a hand he may not have called with on the flop. Since there is no fear of an overcard, this isn’t too dangerous of a play. The only problem goes back to the fact that the blind got to see the flop for free, so it’s impossible to know what may be a safe card on the turn.

Hand #31—Still four-handed, the blinds have just gone up to $50/$100. Slytdog is dealt Ace Four offsuit under the gun. He calls, the other two players fold, and the big blind checks. The flop comes Ad, 5d, 4c. The big blind bets $200, Slytdog raises to $600, and the big blind folds.

Once again, I would have raised before the flop. I would rather attack the blinds with my Ace shorthanded. Once the flop came, I would have set a trap on the turn by just calling. With a flat call, the bettor would likely put him on diamond draw, and he probably would have bet around $600 on the turn (just under half his stack) if a diamond didn’t hit. A raise at this point would put him all in, and unless he had an Ace, it would be very hard for him to call. If a diamond hits and he checks, I would check as well, taking the free card and avoiding a check-raise.

Hand #32—Slytdog is dealt Ten Eight suited in the big blind. Only the small blind calls and Slytdog checks. The flops is 4s, 4c, Jd. Both players check. The turn is the Ks, giving Slytdog a flush draw. The small blind checks, Slytdog bets $100, and the small blind folds.

I like this bet, except that it was for the minimum. I prefer a standard pot-sized bet in this situation, since we have seen that a minimum bet often means the bettor has a weak hand. If his opponent had check-raised, Slytdog would have had to fold his hand. With a standard sized bet, though, there would have been no information given about the strength of his hand (or lack thereof), which is always the preferred situation.

Hand #40—Still four-handed, Slytdog is dealt Ace Queen offsuit in the big blind. The button raises the minimum to $200, and Slytdog reraises to $400. The button calls.

This raise was not nearly large enough to get his opponent to fold, especially since his opponent had a good enough hand to raise with in the first place. This was basically another case of a raise with no purpose. It is especially troublesome because it leaves Slytdog out of position.

The flop is 5h, 4c, 7s. Slytdog checks, the button bets $375, and Slytdog calls. The turn was the 7h. Slytdog checks, the button goes all-in for $840, and Slytdog folds.

This was Slytdog’s first major mistake of the tournament. His only two decent options were to check and fold, or to go all-in. Considering he didn’t flop anything, I would have chosen the first option. But if he believed that he started out with the best hand—as his reraise before the flop might indicate—then he should still think his hand was the better of the two, and he should go all-in.

Checking and calling, though, was a mistake. Was he calling because he thought he still had the best hand, or was he drawing to six outs? The turn was another seven, which changed nothing; if he had the best hand on the flop, then he still had the best hand. But he checked in the turn, so clearly, he did not think he had the best hand. Yet, calling 20% of his stack for a six-outer—getting about 3 to 1 on his call for a draw that would hit about 1 time in 8—will end up costing a ton of money in the long run.

We can now see the problem with being out of position with this type of hand. About 2/3 of the time, you will not hit a pair on the flop. Once you miss the flop and check, your opponent, sensing weakness, will probably bet. Is he betting because he has a hand, or just because you checked? You are now the one doing the guessing, which is not where you want to be.

Hand #41—The blinds are now $100/$200. Slytdog is dealt Three Five offsuit in the small blind. The button calls, Slytdog calls, and the big blind checks.

There is no reason to call with this hand in this situation. When it gets shorthanded, one should be looking to raise or fold. Once someone else is in the hand, you have to have a very good hand to raise. He should have folded and let the other two possibly get into a confrontation.

The flop is Ks, Jd, 5c. Slytdog bets $200, the big blind folds, and the button calls.

Betting bottom pair in first position is pure suicide, especially when the bet is for the minimum. The bet is not large enough to make anyone that has anything fold, and with a King and a Jack on the flop, it is extremely likely that the caller on the button has something. This is confirmed when he calls, but the $200 should never have been wasted, especially since Slytdog now only has $985 left.

The turn is the 3h. Slytdog bets $375, and the button calls.

Miraculously, Slytdog makes two pair on the turn. The pot is $1000. We know the button has a hand, since he called on the flop. The correct play here is to go all-in. In this situation, you desperately need those chips, and you don’t want to give your opponent a chance to draw out on you cheaply. Going all-in would leave your opponent facing the difficult choice of calling a pot-sized bet. Also, if a call by him would be a mistake, we want that mistake to be as costly as possible. Betting only $375 may make it easier for him to call with second pair, and then the eventual $610 bet on the river will be easier to call as well.

The river is the Ac. Slytdog bets $610 all-in, and the button calls with King Ten.

A pure miracle. How the button can call for a third of his stack with second pair is beyond my comprehension.

Hand #42—On the button, Slytdog is dealt Queen Jack offsuit. He calls $200, the small blind folds, and the big blind checks.

Four-handed, you should be looking to raise or fold. Since the big blind had the other large stack, I would have folded and let the blinds continue to eat up the two small stacks.

Hand #46—Three-handed, Slytdog is dealt pocket Fives on the button. He raises to $800 and both players fold.

This is exactly how the hand should have been played. Put some pressure on the blinds.

Hand #48—In the small blind, Slytdog is dealt Four Five offsuit. The button folds, Slytdog calls, the big blind raises to $800, and Slytdog folds.

Once again, raise or fold. In this case, fold.

Hand #49—On the button, Slytdog is dealt Ace Queen offsuit. He calls $200, the small blind folds, and the big blind checks.

This hand should have been played exactly like the pocket Fives three hands ago.

Hand #50—In the big blind, Slytdog is dealt Queen Two offsuit. The button folds, the small blind calls, and Slytdog checks. The flop is Ad, 2c, 2d. The small blind checks and Slytdog checks as well. The turn is the 9s. The small blind checks again, Slytdog bets $200, and the small blind calls. The river is the Js. The small blind checks, Slytdog bets $200, and the small blind calls with the Queen Jack of diamonds.

Overall, I like this play a lot. Slytdog knew he had the best hand, and his goal was to get some money away from the small stack. The bets on the turn and the river both had a purpose—they were supposed to be called. Considering the call on the turn, I may have tried $300-$400 on the river, but overall a very well-played hand.

Hand #51—The blinds are now $150/$300. Slytdog is dealt King Queen offsuit in the small blind. The button folds, Slytdog calls, and the big blind checks.

Raise, don’t call.

The flop is 5s, 3h, 9d. Slytdog bets $300 and the big blind calls.

You know I hate the minimum bet, just because it’s the easiest bet to call. It was only permissible in the last hand because the objective was to induce a call. But here, the bet should be an attempt to get your opponent to fold.

The turn is the 6s. Slytdog bets $300 and the big blind folds.

What could the big blind have called with in the first place? Typically, a call signifies that the player has something. For that reason, I never would have tried another minimum bet on the turn. Now that the pot is bigger, it’s even easier to call that bet with any pair.

Hand #54—Slytdog has just knocked a player out of the tournament and has $7080 to his opponent’s $920. Slytdog is dealt King Eight offsuit in the small blind. He raises to $600, his opponent reraises to $920, and Slytdog calls. His opponent has Queen Two offsuit, and ends up winning the hand with a pair of twos.

In this circumstance, there are three legitimate ways to play this hand. One way would be to raise to $920. Heads-up with a King, it is likely that Slytdog’s hand is better than his opponent’s. Since he could potentially knock his opponent out with this hand, this is an option that should definitely be considered.

Another option would be to fold. Heads-up, it’s important to change gears to keep your opponent off balance. By tightening up for three or four hands, your opponent may fold more easily to your raises later on. You also will be serving to move closer to the 61st hand, when the blinds will go up again, which greatly benefits you.

The third option is to call, and then if the big blind checks, to bet all-in on the flop no matter what comes. This is a very tricky play that exerts tremendous pressure on a short-stacked opponent. Many players that are short-stacked will take the opportunity to see the flop for free whenever they can. But when those players miss, it’s very hard for them to call an all-in bet with nothing. That way, instead of allowing them to see all five cards, they only get to see three of them.

Hand #61—The blinds have just gone up to $200/$400. Slytdog has $5710 and is dealt Jack Three suited in the big blind. The button, which has the small blind, calls and Slytdog checks. The flop is 7h, Kc, 3c. Slytdog bets $1200, the small blind raises all-in for $690 more, and Slytdog folds.

This hand never should have been bet in the first place, but considering Slytdog had a pair, the raise should have been called. He was getting 5.5 to 1 on that additional $690, and his opponent would have had to flop two pair or better for the call to be incorrect. Considering his opponent could easily decided to gamble with a flush draw, this was a call that had to be made.

Hand #69—Slytdog has $4310 and is dealt Jack Eight offsuit in the big blind. The button calls and Slytdog checks. The flop comes Jc, Qs, Tc. Slytdog checks, the button goes all-in for $3290, and Slytdog calls. The turn is the Ah and the river is the As. The button has the King Eight of clubs, winning the hand with a straight.

In this instance, there is no reason to make this call. Heads-up, the idea is to be the aggressor unless you are setting a trap with a HUGE hand. By betting, you can win the pot either by your opponent folding, or by ending up with the best hand. By just calling, you eliminate that first possibility. A much better play would have been to bet all-in on the flop, or to bet the size of the pot ($800) and then fold if raised all-in. Once Slytdog checked, he should have folded to the all-in bet. Even though it turns out that he had the best hand at the time, he couldn’t have known that for sure. Second pair is not a strong enough hand to warrant a call here.

Severely crippled, Slytdog was knocked out two hands later when his King Seven didn’t improve against an Ace Nine. Second place was good for $30.

Hopefully this exercise will help you understand some of the thought process that go into every poker decision. Having an objective for every bet or raise is the central lesson to be learned from this tournament, as well as the importance of considering stack size and the size of the blind when determining those bets and raises.

If you would like Martell to analyze your play, send the transcript from a single table tournament to martell@babblog.com. The best submissions may be used in a future column.

Martell can be reached at martell@babblog.com.