Hand History Analysis: 10/20 Hold’em (6max)

Preflop: You’re playing 10/20 Limit Hold’em. You’re on the button and you have KTo. Everyone folds to you. Even though KTo isn’t a premium hand, it’s more than enough to raise with when you’re in position . You have a decent chance of stealing the blinds, and even if someone calls, your hand has value. The small blind and the big blind both call. The small blind is loose and passive, a losing player. The big blind is tight and aggressive. There is $60 in the pot.

Flop: 783. Both blinds check and it’s up to you. If you have read my other articles about Limit Hold’em, you know that I virtually always advise a continuation bet, and this situation is no exception. You bet, the small blind calls (which he would probably do no matter what) and the big blind raises. The pot is offering you 10:1, and implied odds make that even better. With 10:1 pot odds you need more than 4 outs. We may have up to six outs (three T and three K), so it’s an easy call. Keep in mind that the big blind is a good, aggressive player, so he may just be on a draw. He could have a very wide range of hands. You call, and so does the small blind. The pot is $120.

Turn: K. This is the best card that we could hit. The small blind checks, the big blind bets, and it’s up to us. Because the big blind has played the hand quite strong, we may fear two pair or better and decide just to call down. That would be a big mistake. You must raise here, in order to get the small blind out or charge him the maximum for a draw. Also, our hand is probably ahead. You raise and the small blind calls. So does the big blind. It is hard to put either of them on a hand. The small blind is probably on a draw, something like 9T or 56, or maybe he picked up a flush draw. He’s loose, so it could be something else entirely, even one pair, maybe he hit a king too. The big blind could have 9T or something like A8. With two pair he would have reraised the turn, so we can be fairly sure that we’re ahead of him. The pot is $240.

River: 8. The small blind hesitates for a while and then checks. The big blind also checks. This is a tough decision. The 8 is a bad card, but both of your opponents have checked. The big blind would have bet with an 8, realizing that a check-raise would be a risky proposition. The small blind might go for a check-raise with trips, though. If the big blind doesn’t have an 8, he was probably on a draw. If both players were on a draw, we may as well check, because they won’t call a bet. If we do get raised, we’d probably have to call, because the pot is so big (unless you really have a strong read that the small blind wouldn’t try something like that). The other possibility we have to contemplate is that another player has a king. If so, we may be in kicker trouble.

It’s a very close decision, but because of the small blind’s hesitation (maybe he was deciding to try a check-raise) and the frequency with which our opponents will be on draws, I would advise you simply to check. Many experts would disagree and argue that you’re missing value. There’s probably no right or wrong answer, I’m just trying to illustrate what should be running through your mind in such a situation.

You check. The small blind shows KQ and both you and the big blind muck.