Lessons learned from a SINGLE HAND

For anyone who learned an important poker lesson from a single hand and would like to share that lesson.
I'll get this rolling.

Conditions: brick and mortar $1/$2 NL.
Bought in for $100 and about an hour later down to around $70. I had noticed a player (who shall be referred to as Villain) would chase a straight or flush all the way to the river.

On the button I looked down to see AKo and limped in after 4 callers.
Flop was A- 1O - 7 of spades. All checked to me so I bet $10 (a little more than the pot) to discourage anyone who would be going for a flush or straight. All folded except Villain.

GREAT I thought, he's chasing.

Turn was K giving me the top two pair. He checks, I bet $10 and he calls.

River is K!

He checks and I bet $10 again figuring that's the most he would call with an Ace of something but a missed flush.

He raised to $20, I re-raised to $40, he shoved and of course I called!

That's when I learned my lesson:

JUST BECAUSE A PLAYER DID THE SAME THING 5 TIMES IN A ROW DOESN'T MEAN HE'LL DO IT AGAIN!
He had flopped the NUT FLUSH!!

IF I hadn't went runner-runner with one of the 2 winning combos I would have lost my ass!

So, I think you definitely can learn a few things from that hand. I do not think the lesson is to NOT followup on reads, that guy can very well be a draw chaser and still be a draw chaser even after this hand. You might have that correct. The lesson to learn is that you don't have a player mapped just because you have ONE of their tendencies correct.

It is great to know he can be on a draw, because that might definitely be in his range once he calls the flop bet. He DID check-raise the river, though. If he is a passive player who usually checks/calls, then that check raise could have been a giant red flag for you to get away from this hand. If he will usually lead-bet a top pair on the river, but only check-raises monsters and bluffs, it would have been easier to nail down what cards he might still have. That might prevent you from 4betting that because he might have you dominated. You then lose your extra 20 chips and chalk it up to variance. If not, you take the pot, winning with a hand that should be winning anyway.

Something else that can be learned from this hand: In that situation you definitely should have raised preflop. 4 Limpers behind you give the whole table odds to call basically any 2 cards. When you have a hand like AK, you are only behind pairs preflop. Most people don't have a pair in their hand. A whole table seeing the flop is much more likely to have a pair. So you do not want a whole table to see a flop.

You raise there to:


First of all, isolate. Like we said, you do not want all of your opponents to see a flop.

Second of all: Fold equity. Shoot, with 5.5BBs in the pot, I am happy to take a pot down with no contest if the whole table folds. Even though you DO have AK, you want that outcome of the table folding much more often than you don't.

Third of all: Narrow down your opponent's range. Say that raise gets called by 2 people. We aren't heads up, which kinda sucks, but you can narrow the range of hands you are facing. Basically any pair, AK, AQ, Higher Aces, sometimes JT, suited connectors depending on who the player is, etc. With that, you know that wet flop like this can often make your hand second best to the hands you might be facing. Any two-paired Ace has u handled, 10 10 might have 3bet, depending on the player, so you might be able to check that off. 77 is definitely within limp-calling range from early. Diamond suited connectors have you stuffed. So you can just play the opponents('s) range(s). By limping, you gain no information on what 2 cards they might hold. They might have K of diamonds 4 of diamonds. They mighta folded that preflop to a raise but since you didnt raise, they didnt fold and now you're flushed out. Sometimes you have to pay to thin those cards out and pay for the information of what your opponents might have.


Hopefully that can give you some insight into what my opinion on this hand is. I do not think you were necessarily WRONG about him chasing draws. You just didn't have enough information for that assumption to be all you need to play this correctly.

Excellent analysis

Thanks.

Any other players who learned from one particular hand?

Misc. Lessons Learned

Disclaimer: Some of these I know I should have learned, but still fall for them.

Pocket aces losing to two pair after going all-in post flop.
Lesson: Pocket Aces are not the super awesome hand after the flop that they are pre-flop. Someone could easily have two pair, trips, or worse.

Straights calling all-in and losing to a 3-card flush on the board.
Flush losing to a full house when a pair is on the board.
A full house losing to quads when 3 of a kind is on the board.
Lesson: If someone goes all-in, at least consider the possibility they have the nuts.

bluffing 3 barrels (streets) only to find they called all the way down with bottom pair.
Lesson: Wait until you have a read on someone before bluffing them hard. Some people will call with anything.

Calling all-ins to try to take someone out with good, but not great holdings.
Lesson: You can't take someone out unless you have better cards then they have.

Limping with pocket aces and kings then getting beat post flop after 4 callers are in the hand.
Lesson: When you've got a monster, try to push out everyone except one person who has the slightly weaker hand. Otherwise someone will get lucky on you.

Limping with a monster then getting outdrawn on the river.
Lesson: If you have the monster you need to make people pay to see more cards.
Lesson: Only trap if you think your hand is nearly unbeatable.

Going all in with pocket 2's hoping for a race and getting one when someone called with 45o.
Lesson: Some hands are just comical.

Happened to all

at one time or another.

Example, all in with Aces vs 3 callers to be beat by the KJs when he rivered a straight.

Or, shoved AA and his AA won with a flush.
GREAT GAME RIGHT?

thats pokecard r ,you never knowe which card will be next,unpredictiable lucky is factor included in this game.....

Comment on luck factor

So many years ago computers were finally able to beat the best chess players in the world.

Then after many many trials, about a year ago, a computer was able to beat the best Hold'em players. But, only if it played in maximum of two players at a time. Give it three good players and the computer lost.

They were mathematically able to prove without a doubt that Hold'em is more complicated than chess. Mostly because, in chess you know all the information. In poker you just never know.

I just posted this in another thread, but I'll post this here again. It's not me personally doing something wrong, but definitely may be a lesson to some.
Don't limp strong hands
https://www.boomplayer.com/27489377_BB53129F85

Oh my days!

You can't get away from that though. You're in until the end. I'm sorry for your loss on that but keep playing that way and reading your opponents. Good things will happen if you keep it up.

A made flush on the flop, I would not be tempted to risk very much that hand.

That was

Definitely the lesson learned!
I had set in my mind that he was chasing and didn't consider anything else!

I was STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!

BUT lesson learned!

On a side note,
After I got my chips my opponent was MAD! Mumbling I had stolen his money. Now I try to avoid leaving anyone angry at the table. So I thought fast and said, "No amount of your skill can defeat Blind Luck!"
The tension level dropped way down.

One more lesson

And the embarrassing thing is I made the same blunder TWICE in a week!

Tournament play. Two people to lose before I'm in the money. I have a decent stack with three other players having about 1/3 of my stack.
First to bet and I shoved with AKs. Lost both times.

Lesson: I didn't shift from the "Steal blinds with good cards" mind set to "Just don't lose you fool!" in time.

Lefty Blue said:

All checked to me so I bet $10 (a little more than the pot) to discourage anyone who would be going for a flush or straight. All folded except Villain.

Click to expand...

WHy are we discouraging hands we are beating from staying in the hand. This is going to cost you a lot of money, this mentality.

LoL, people think hands like that only happen online....

I don't recall any one hand I've learned a lesson on. I have learned to bet and raise with position or to let a hand go at times. I've learned to be patient and not worry about the losses as long as wins are coming here and there. I've learned that it don't matter what cards you had but what came out. I've learned I'm not that good and will never be rich from playing.

I think you learned the wrong lesson.

With AKos on the btn why would you be limping when there are already four limpers in front of you. You have a premium hand. You are in position. Raise the hell out of that. Since you are down to $70 and live players usually are fishy, a shove is fine too given the level of competition.

There's nothing to learn about losing with a FH. You should always be looking to get it all in with a boat. If you are folding your nut FH in that spot you should not be playing poker.

Yes sir, you are so right. All-In wherever you are at the table. Down to $70, go for it.

With all due respect, my reasons for not going all in.

AKo is a DRAWING hand. Coin flip against ANY pair.
With 4 players with money in the pot any of them could call my all in. And worse, 2 callers with pairs.

To illustrate, when someone else made that mistake.

Live $1/$2 game. I'm on button with AA.
Again 2 limped. I bet $5 to say "I've got a good hand but not great."

So 3 folds and the last player bets $20.
I shoved and after a lot of thought he calls. He looked at me and said "AK".
His face (and money) fell when I turned over AA.

There is more than one way to play. In blackjack there is only 1 optimum play. Not so here.

Now a question, what are the odds of flopping a set with a pair? I'm thinking 1 in 10.

Thanks all

Got a chance to look it up.

Odds of flopping a set with pocket pair,
1 in 7.5