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EXAMPLES
OF THE FUNDAMENTAL THEOREM OF POKER
Example 4
In razz, a seven-card stud lowball games in which the lowest hand
wins, we can see another example of showing more strength than
you have to make an opponent fold incorrectly.
If you think your opponent has a four-card 8 - and you have a pair
and only a four-card 8-7 - it is important to bet, even though
you know you will be called. The bet gains you some extra equity,
should you happen to catch a little card on sixth street, giving
you an 8-7 low. If your opponent catches a big card or a pair,
still having a draw to a better 8 than yours, he will fold, since
your previous bet indicated you had an 8 made already. The little
card you've now caught suggests you have made a 71ow, which makes
your opponent think he is drawing dead - that is, drawing with
no chance of winning.
Notice that once again you want your opponent to fold even though
you have the best hand. You have an 8,7 low and are drawing to
a 7, while all your opponent has is a draw to a better 8. However,
you gain by his folding because, had he known you had only an 8,7,
he would be getting proper odds to call in the hope of drawing
out on you. By not calling he made a mistake, and you have gained.
(You gain even more when that sixth street card makes you two pair,
and your opponent folds the best hand.)
Example 5
Just as you are rooting for an opponent to fold when he is getting
sufficient pot odds, you are rooting for him to call when he is
getting insufficient pot odds. Thus, it is frequently correct to
play a strong hand weakly on an early round - the converse of your
plays in the previous two examples - so that your opponent will
make a bad call when you do improve.
A good play against some people with this hand would be to check
and just call if your opponent bets. Many players would now put
you on a pair or a bad card in the hole. If you do catch a 4, 5
or 7 on board, giving you a 6 or 7 low, your opponent will probably
still call, even if he is drawing dead, because your earlier play
along with his pot odds make him think it's worth a call. This
is exactly what you are hoping for. Your deceptive play early has
caused your opponent to make an incorrect play on a later round.
Example 6
Any time an opponent is not getting close to proper odds against
you, you are rooting for him to call, even if by calling he has
a chance of drawing out on you. If in the flush example at the
beginning of this page, the pot were $20 instead of $80, you would
be rooting for your opponent with the four-flush to call your $10
bet because he is a 5-to-1 underdog getting only 3-to-1 for his
money. If he calls and makes a flush, those are the breaks. Nevertheless,
his play is incorrect because it has negative expectation, and
you gain any time he makes it.
When you have a hand that is rooting for a call, you should not
try to make your opponent fold by betting an exorbitant amount
in a no-limit or pot-limit games. Such a situation came up one
day when You was playing no-limit hold 'em. There was one card
to come, and You had a straight which, at that point, was the nuts
- that is, the best possible hand. You bet something like $50,
the player to your left called, and the player behind him called
the $50 and raised the rest of his money, which was about $200.
Since You had the best possible hand, the question was, should
You raise or just call? There was something like $500 in the pot.
Because the third man was all-in, You only had to think about the
man behind me. You knew if You reraised, say, $400, making it $600
to him, he definitely would fold; in fact, if You raised almost
any amount he would fold. But if You just called the $200, he would
probably call.
What did You want him to do? You was pretty sure he had two pair.
Youf You called the $200, there would be about $700 in the pot,
which would give him 7-to-2 odds to call $200 with his two pair.
However, the odds against his making a full house with two pair
were 10-to-1 (there were 40 cards in the deck that didn't help
him and 4 that did). Therefore, if he knew You had a straight,
it would be incorrect for him to take 7-to-2 odds on a 10-to-1
shot. So You just called the $200, and as You expected and wanted,
he did too.
The sad conclusion to this story is that he made a full house and
bet a very small amount, which You paid off. Many people argued
You had been wrong to let him in rather than raise him out, but
in fact they are wrong. You had to give him a chance to make a
mistake, which he did, because whenever your opponent makes a mistake,
You gain in the long run.
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