First
Position Play in Practice
Let us now see how first-position play heads-up on the end works
in practice.
Suppose in draw poker you draw three cards in first position
and make aces up. Your opponent draws one card. He may have two
pair, or he may be drawing to a straight or a flush. You feel
that this type of player will call with two pair if you bet but
will bet them for value if you check. How should you play?
There's no mystery here. Clearly you should check and call. By
checking and calling, you may save a bet in one situation and
gain a bet in another. With two pair, your opponent will call
if you bet and bet if you check. So you win either way. If your
opponent was drawing to a flush or a straight and makes it, he
will of course bet if you check, but he will call, or probably
raise, if you bet - which will cost you an extra bet if you call
the raise. With a busted hand, your opponent will not call if
you bet, so you gain nothing by betting. However, your opponent
might bet on a bluff if you check. In this single instance you
win an extra bet by checking and calling. So checking and calling
has greater expectation than betting. And to repeat: The object
of poker is not to win pots but to win money; it is with these
extra bets won or saved that you win money.
Here is another draw poker situation. You
draw one card to two small pair, and your
opponent draws three. You don't improve.
You know your opponent suspects you were drawing to a flush or
a straight, and you also know this player's a pay station, the
type who will call "to keep you honest." How should
you play?
You should bet. Assuming your opponent was drawing three to a
big pair, you're about a 71 percent favorite to have the best
hand. Any time you're even a small favorite against someone you
know is going to call virtually every time, you should bet. In
this case you're wagering even money as a 71 percent or 5-to-2
favorite. Clearly that's a wager with positive expectation even
though you expect to lose 29 percent of the time.
You should
probably come out betting. If you are up against
something like A,10 or K,10 or J,10, you lose either
way. If you check, your opponent will surely bet,
and you will call. If your opponent has Q,10, you
may lose a double bet by betting out since your opponent
will raise. On the other hand, if your opponent has
hands like 10,8 or 10,7 or 10,6, you win either way;
if you check, your opponent will most likely bet.
However, two very possible hands your opponent might
have are A,Q and K,Q which he may very well not bet
if you check but with which he will probably call
if you bet. Since you are likely to gain a bet more
frequently than you lose one (when your opponent
raises), betting has greater expectation than checking
and calling. Put in terms of the rules given earlier,
in this situation your opponent will call with more
hands than he will bet.A final set of examples from
draw lowball should demonstrate how your play on
the end in first position varies directly in terms
of your opponent. Both players in the pot draw one
card, and you are first to actYou are up against
a player who doesn't bluff but is always afraid everyone
else does. How should you act?
You should bet. Your opponent will probably call with a queen-low
or better, while only a seven-low or better will beat you. Therefore
your opponent will call with many hands that you will beat and
a relative few that will beat you. On the other hand, if you
checked, your opponent would not bet most of those losing hands.
Thus, you stand to win more often by betting than by checking.
Suppose you have the same hand in draw lowball against an aggressive,
tough player, and you're first. How should you play? In this
case, you should check and call because your opponent is likely
to bet more hands than he calls with. Besides beating your opponent's
rough 8s, you also snap off his bluffs, which you could not do
if you came out betting. Ordinarily, if you bet, your opponent
would give up the idea of bluffing. In general, a player who
bets with more hands than he calls with is the type of player
who not only bets for value but also bluffs perhaps more often
than is correct. Thus, when you check, your opponent's bluffing
hands are added to those he bets for value.
Once again you're up against that player who never bluffs but
worries that everyone else does. You're first. How should you
play?
Here you should check and fold if your opponent bets. Since your
hand beats only queen-, jack-, and ten-lows (the losing handswith
which your opponent would call), it is no longer worth a bet
for value, because you get beat with his nine-lows and better.
And since this opponent never bets on a bluff, you should fold
in the face of a bet. The odds that you are beat are overwhelming.
Against the aggressive player, you would also check, but you
would call a bet since there are many hands this opponent might
be betting that you can beat. In other words, a call against
this type of player would have positive expectation.
a calling hand but your opponent will call with more hands than
he will bet.
Finally, if you have virtually no chance of winning if you check
and your opponent bets and you are an underdog if you bet and
he calls, then the proper play is to check and fold if he bets.
