Poker: After the Draw
Now comes the final round of betting -- the action before the showdown.
If, in any of the following situations you feel the urge to bluff, remember that this is a game with a moderate limit and that the odds are long against the bluffer.
Will that deter some of your opponents from trying to bluff you? Not necessarily.
An illustrative example is this:
Player G, say, opened under the gun. You called with a four-flush. B and C folded. A re-examined his hand and raised.
F and H folded, while G and you called. G drew two. You drew one and caught the flush, A-high. Player A, trying his best to conceal his rapture, stands pat. G checks. Do you bet, or check?
It is unusually unwise to bet into a pat hand. While your flush is a probable winner, you should check: you have nothing to gain by betting.
If you bet, you will merely advertise a holding better than a straight. With less than a full house, A will call; with a full house, he will probably raise.
And remember that G drew two, probably to triplets - he may be trapping. After you check, A will undoubtedly bet. You will have lost nothing except the opportunity to get a line, gratis, on G's holding.
Next, F deals. H and G checked. You opened with a pair of A's. B and C called. The others folded. You drew three and caught a second pair; you now hold A A five five nine.
B drew one. C drew three. You must act first. Do you bet, or check? Check. It is usually unwise to bet into one-card draws, unless you hold a high straight or better; even then you lose little if anything by checking.
You dealt, B and C checked. A opened. H called. G folded. You called with one pair of A's. The others folded. Player A drew two. H drew three. You drew three, and caught another pair. You now hold A A Q Q J.
A bets the limit. H folds, grins at you, and says roguishly, 'I'm leaving it to you to keep him honest.' The humor, such as it is, eludes A. 'I consider that crack highly unethical,' he says.
It never occurred to H that his remark could be anything but harmless. 'I was only horsing around,' he protests.'Horse around with somebody else's money,' A says.
C seizes the opportunity to insert his needle. 'The man scoring a knockdown will go to the furthest neutral corner.' A turns on him. 'Who appointed you referee, blabbermouth?'
Before C can answer, F, who is losing raps on the table with a chip. 'Come on, gentlemen, play the game.'
You are as eager as he is to get on with it. You are not sure whether A's irritability indicates a lock or failure to improve one pair with a kicker. Do you raise, call, or fold?
Don't low-rate A's reasoning in practical matters or his self-control where money is involved. If he had a weak hand, he would have waited until after the showdown to blast H.
He certainly hold triplets, or more, and you should fold. Do you want to invest a few chips so that you may look at his hand to confirm your judgment for future reference?
In that case, you may as well go in this call -- after all you have not known Player A as most Poker experts have.
