quiz question #6

[holman3rd 0]

I re-re-raise to 2500 and see what he does.(Supporting argument)

I understand the logic of this play, and certainly wouldn't say it's bad. But, I still think a call is the better play b/c I wouldn't like re-raising and committing 25% of my stack, and then have to fold if he comes over the top of me again.

Likewise, call is definitely my second choice, and there's a case to be made for it, perhaps even a better one than reraising. However, as I said, I like to be the one in command of the hand--effectively, if I can help it, my options at any given time will be either bet/raise or fold--and this puts me back in that condition. Having to toss the hand to an all-in would bite--I think we both agree that it's too early to effectively risk your entire tournament, particularly by CALLING an all-in and praying maybe he made a move with AQ or JJ--but 7500 or so chips is still plenty at this early stage.Again, though, I think it comes down to either a call or a reraise.

We definitely agree that folding is not a good choice. As usual, it will be interesting to hear Daniel's advice.

[custom36 4]

I voted fold here. There are many better places to put your money in during the tournament. Tough lay down, but I feel it's one that should be made.

[expunge 0]

I see two options. I prefer option 1 which is reraise to 2500. Fold to an allin, if just called i think i shut it down unless i see a Q.Second option is just call, and bet that other 1750 on the flop.

[breiten19 0]

I voted call, lot of these plays are possibilites, and the tough part is that I have no info from previously playing against this player.I chose call for this reason. This guy could have a big hand, you flop a Q and this is a potential double up situation early. Also, you are afraid of AA, KK and A-10, if you see a and A or a K on the flop you can run away (possibly even him checking his big hand (set or top pair top kicker) back to you. I like checking the flop regardless of what hits actually. If you wanna get real brave and tricky, your call preflop could easily be a medium pair. If the board comes rags, you could check raise him all in, if he is a cautious player, he may even lay down an overpair in fear of flopped set. I see this play as an small risk investment with potential big rewards, where as these others are big risk with little reward.The other option I like is fold. It is early, you were gonna piss away 150 with 67 suited soon anyway when you miss the flop, forget you ever had QQ.Reraise to 2500 is not an option I like(used to be my standard play). It is purely an info bet here, you are paying 2350 to find out if he has AK AA or KK and you are gonna fold to any reraise. He is not gonna flat call here, so you basically are risking 2350 to win the ~1000 in the pot. The good thing is you get info, the bad is you get little reward.Reraise all in is horrible. Only getting called by a better hand for the chance to win ~1000.* Note - my no-limit hold'em game has been absolute crap lately, so i could be completely wrong

[Big-Ern777 0]

The logic to this hand is that nobody limped or raised before you (which could mean Aces are still in the deck or someone's hand) ...

Sorry there is no logic there. Player's actions have absolutely no bearing on the distribution of the cards remaining in the deck.

It's just a small assumption of information you acquire to try and get an edge. With most players they'll limp or raise with an ace, even a bad ace. No this assumption doesn't give you much to go by, but is small enough to factor in as you should take every piece of information you can get.

[breiten19 0]

I know it isn't a choice here, but what do you guys think about reraising the minimum to 1350 rather than 2500? You are risking 1200 instead of 2350 more. It is probably the most suspicious bet in poker. You will likely get called and have to play the hand out of position. However, if you favored the raise to $2500 and saw it as an info bet to fold to if you got reraised, wouldn't you get the same info from this play without paying as much for that info? The seed has been planted from the very suspicious bet that you have aces. I still favor the call over this play but, if you get called and not reraises, how about leading with $1000 again after the flop (you've risked the same amount as wit the reraise to 2500), but have now made 2 suspicious bets.

[packattack 0]

A pretty straightforward player would probably make this play with a hand like TT, JJ, or AK. Therefore, I disagree with folding. Ok, moving all-in isn't an option either because it's such a huge overbet of the pot, and if he's got AA or KK your done for. If you call, you have no idea of where you are at in the hand. A flop of J43 with two of the same suit may not look that scary to you, but you could be in deep trouble here. If you check, he's going to bet, and then you really don't know where you stand. If you bet, and he calls, you still won't know for sure what he has...he may have a set of jacks, he may have a flush draw, who knows. Therefore, I think that you need to come over the top of him here. You will totally find out where you are in the hand. He will be forced to lay down a hand like AK. Because you don't have position, smooth calling is a bad play here, you have to re-raise.

[spacemonkey 0]

I'd call right now. It's only 600 more and everyone has plenty of chips. If the flop has an ace or king I'd check and fold if he shows much strength. If the flop doesn't have an ace or king I'd lead out with a bet of about 1,000. If I hit my set and the board is really ragged (Q 7 2 :club) I'd check it and try to trap but I'd usually go ahead and bet about the same amount 1,000-1,200.That's what I think anyway.

[karasz 0]

i say fold... only because its 30 minutes into it, new guy is playing, why risk it right now... get a feel for him, THEN when you see how he plays youll know if you're nothing hand can take him or if you're going to need aces or kings to show him who is bosswho am i kidding, i would have pushed it right then and there... but then again i dont play in many (any) WPT events so who knows maybe i would wimp out

[cheviot 0]

I think a call is correct in this spot. He's reraising you with one of most likely three hands. He either has AA, KK, or AK. Although he could be reraising with AQ or JJ or also QQ, the first three are most likely. Of those three, he is 57% to have AK. He only hits the flop about 33% of the time with AK. If you call, there will be about 1500 in the pot. If the flop comes with an A or K you can check and only lose 750. If the flop comes three blanks, you can bet 1000, and he probably wont follow up with AK. If he has AA or KK, you will find out on the flop and lay your hand down easily. You only lose 1750 and still have about 8500 which is healthy with blinds still at 25-50. You are also getting huge implied odds to get most of his stack if you flop a set. You're putting in only about 7% of your stack to potentialy win the 10K in his stack if he's willing to play an overpair for his whole stack. Unlike most of the posts I read, I think being out of position in this pot is actually an asset. Most people think that by acting first you won't have as much information. However, if position was reversed, certainly any player would bet AA or KK on an all blanks flop, but many players will lead out with just AK in this spot. By your opponent acting first, you still have no definite read on him. But if you can lead out with QQ on an all blank flop, you can know with certainty that he has AA or KK if he raises you. (Some very agressive players will continue with AK, but unlikely in this spot)I don't mind folding here becasue you could very well be in bad shape. But for only 7% of your stack, you should take a flop and figure out where you are. 8500 is plenty of chips to play around with, and only a bonehead would go broke on this hand.

[brisk 0]

wow ... i'd like to sit down and play with these 6 year olds that are posting. (when i say 6, i mean thats how tight you are ... like a 6 year old girl) ...except for packattack, he is dead on balls accurate150 would be a standard opening raise which could be re-raised with a large variety of hands. Imagine the quiz question went something like this:You are on the button looking down at 99 and a player in mid position makes the standard raise to 150 ... what do you do?I'm sure a lot of you tight-os would fold or call, but the appropriate play for 99 would be to raise. Many players will raise with hands such as 77-AA, A-J - A-K, or even a suited connector (or 10-7off).*please note i said SOME players, not necessarily methereforeRe-RAISE...then if they move all in start asking questions such as: where are you from?ORdid you win your seat in an online satellite?

[KramitDaToad 0]

wow ... i'd like to sit down and play with these 6 year olds that are posting. (...)

brisk, how would you like to remove the stuff between the brackets in your opening paragraph.Not the best.

[hexag1 0]

Just callthis is a 'just call'he could have re-raised with A-K, KK or AAby calling you can see the flop and decide from there. its only 750 chips and folding to an A flop or a K flop is not that bad. and he doesnt know that you folded QQ.

[Devilkin 0]

I call - its early still, so no need for huge gambles. A raise from 150 to 750 is significant enough that a reraise isnt going to give you any new information, force him to fold.Call and play out an agressive flop, unless it looks dangerous. Fold to a large reraise.Dev

[akishore 0]

NOT all-in!!! by going all-in WAY over the top (9000 on top of a 1000-chip pot???), you're basically asking for an ass-raping if he has AA or KK, and only AA or KK will call you. this concept is explained in sklansky's "tournament poker"; you're turning your queens into a 2-7 effectively, since only a better hand will call and will have you crushed.i don't see folding as an option... you have the third best hand, and for only 500 more chips, you're going to fold??? think about the implied odds, if you hit your queen on the flop, you can take down a monster pot and maybe even double through if you set a good trap.re-raising is an option, but it's a risky proposition since your opponent might move in over the top, and then you'd be forced to fold (it's definitely not a good idea to call an all-in with QQ in the first stage of the tournament).thus, i think calling is the best move. it disguises your hand, makes it look like AK/AQ, maybe KQ or a medium pocket pair. it also gives you a chance to see a flop. if it's low cards, you can try to get a little tricky because your opponent might have AK, but otherwise, you can afford to let it go. the main reason for calling is to try to hit a set, IMHO.my answer: call.aseem

[Lorax 0]

I voted call, lot of these plays are possibilites, and the tough part is that I have no info from previously playing against this player.I chose call for this reason. This guy could have a big hand, you flop a Q and this is a potential double up situation early. Also, you are afraid of AA, KK and A-10, if you see a and A or a K on the flop you can run away (possibly even him checking his big hand (set or top pair top kicker) back to you. I like checking the flop regardless of what hits actually. If you wanna get real brave and tricky, your call preflop could easily be a medium pair. If the board comes rags, you could check raise him all in, if he is a cautious player, he may even lay down an overpair in fear of flopped set. I see this play as an small risk investment with potential big rewards, where as these others are big risk with little reward.

I agree with this assesment....CallI dont position is important here as regardless of the flop - you are best served checking after the flop - either getting away from the hand, or if you hit the set - check raising.......You can setup a steal as well by calling a small bet with rags on the table......All in all, I dont think position is a big deal with a hand already made....

[Nick Bouyea 0]

I think everybody is putting him on too narrow a range of hands. I really think that you have the best hand here with QQ. The raise to 750 screams weakness, not great power like AA or KK. I think with AA or KK a straightforward player would raise less to price in the original raiser. I think the raiser can have a range of hands from AJ-AK or pp's <10's. With that said, I don't know what I would do. I think most pros would try to play a small pot and call, while a more amateur player such as myself would raise and try to take the pot right now. I think that if you reraise then, you would definitely have to fold to an all in.

[Chicago Slim 0]

I think that in this situation you have two descions to make:1.) Are you best here?? If you think you are then I think a raise is in order. To me (not knowing the tendencies of the player that made the re-raise) 750 re-raise says one of two things: 1.) they have a middle pocket pair and want to project a big hand and protect thier table image, or 2.) they havea monster and want to build thier stack with a decent sized, but not over the top bet....So now I think that you have to figure out where you stand.....if you truly believe that they are representing a mid pp (such as 10-10...9-9) then I believe that re-raising to about 2000 would be a good bet...you are saying that you have a quality hand..and wont be "bet off" pots. Early (as is given in the example) in tournament play I like to find out as much info as I can about players without making too many "huge" mistakes.....and I dont think that making a re-raise w qq would be anywhere near a "huge mistake"......There are only two hands that I would be worried about here...aa and kk.......a-k is a coin flip, and b y re-raising you are saying that you are willing to "race"..Now if they come back over the top AFTER you re-raise then you really have some thinking to do....and with the re-raise you can get (usually) pretty good reads on how people play....what they are willing to bet with, and what thier potential tells (body language etc) are.....So I truly believe that if you think you are up against mid pp's or even a-k...then a re-raise is in order2.) Your second descion is based on the "table image" that you want to portray for the rest of the tournament...If you want the table to be aware of your presence...and remember that you are willing to bet your hands agressively, then I think a re-raise is in order.....The re-raise here puts into not only the person you are up against....but the rest of the table....that you are here to "play" and that you wont be laying down for anyone at any time.....you represent your semi strong hand and you are willing to play that hand even down to coin flip...which gives the table an overall awareness of your presence...which may in fact help you later on inna big pot.....If you flat call....you are saying to the table.....I am willing to see flops, but not bet hands that I have.....and by doing this you are opening yourself up for all kinds of bluff, semi-bluff draws, etc, which may cost you in the long run....But again that all depends on the style that you are comfortable with and the table image that YOU want to portray....at this moment, or even for future "mental bank" for the rest of the tableSo my answer would be to re-raise this to 2000.....make him pay to see his small set, or to spike his ace.....and from that you can get a pretty decent read on him, while projecting a table image that says "dont mess with my raises unless you are willing to pay to play"....and if they come over the top of your raise...then you fold and put the 750 number in your head for future reference.....But I like to project a solid/agressive table image when I play...and this answer might not be suited to everyones style of play

[KramitDaToad 0]

The logic to this hand is that nobody limped or raised before you (which could mean Aces are still in the deck or someone's hand) ...

Sorry there is no logic there. Player's actions have absolutely no bearing on the distribution of the cards remaining in the deck.

It's just a small assumption of information you acquire to try and get an edge. With most players they'll limp or raise with an ace, even a bad ace. No this assumption doesn't give you much to go by, but is small enough to factor in as you should take every piece of information you can get.

Nope.This is a common mistake based upon poor assumptions.You never know the motives of the people holding the cards and thus cannot use other players behaviour to influence the probablity of your opponent's hand or the deck's contents.The only relevant information you have, disregarding tells, is the current state of the tournament, your cards, your opponents bet and your relative positions

[packattack 0]

I think everybody is putting him on too narrow a range of hands.  I really think that you have the best hand here with QQ.  The raise to 750 screams weakness, not great power like AA or KK.  I think with AA or KK a straightforward player would raise less to price in the original raiser.  I think the raiser can have a range of hands from AJ-AK or pp's <10's.  With that said, I don't know what I would do.  I think most pros would try to play a small pot and call, while a more amateur player such as myself would raise and try to take the pot right now.  I think that if you reraise then, you would definitely have to fold to an all in.

I totally agree. There are a wide variety of hands that I would re-raise with here, and 99, TT is one of them, especially in position. Another thing that nick has pointed out is that he re-raised to 750. Why would he overbet the pot if he had KK or AA? Someone earlier said that being out of position is an asset here, but I disagree. If you were in position, you would be able to bluff his KK if the flop came an Ace. Being out of position, you are not able to bluff at this pot on the flop.

[nitrolife 0]

An allin would be moronic preflop, nuff said.A fold is'nt very great because of implied odds.A call sends the wrong message for MY style of play. I'd re-raise here to send the message I will defend my raises and not be pushed out of pots.....no matter what stage of the tournament. NL holdem poker is not about cards. Personally, this is one of the few times I would min. raise. It affords you a great opportunity to take the hand down post flop....but it was not a quiz option, so I'll skip the reasoning.Bottomline....QQ is not the best possible hand, but it ain't far from it. If you won't gamble with QQ to an obvious overbet you should take up lawn darts.

[Uppie_ 0]

My feeling is if you re raise you have to re raise at min to 1400 that is a good part of your stack at this early early stage of the tourament your not going to win right here no matter what happens, and sense say he flat calls so there is roughly 3000 in the pot at least if the flop comes low you bet and your bet amount should be at least 1500 then what do you do if he re raises you you have risked 30% of your chips at a stage where no matter how the hand comes out isn't going to make or break you in the tourament if you double up so you have 20,000 big deal so much time left it doesn't matter there are going to be much better chances to build up chips in the next 4 hours then this one. Also by laying this down he might make a play on you for a bundle of chips when you have the goods.

[rivercardbandit 0]

I said re-raise. I'm tight-aggressive, so if I've a quality hand, I'm going to push back and try to take down his 750 right there. If he re-raises all in, I consider folding putting him on K's or A's or AK. If he calls and the flop is unfavorable, I can still fold with 3/4 of my chips and still be able to make a run.Although, I'm most likely wrong and have just opened myself up to huge amount of ridicule.

[Awful 0]

You forgot the most important part of the quiz, Daniel.What is his answer when you ask the person "Do you play on the internet?"

[Guest XXEddie]

Ill go through them allCall-Since you havent seen him before, calling is certainly an option it gives you the chance to bet first if you wannaFold-You dont know him and have no read of him whatsoever, folding cant be an option in my opinionAll-in-Way to big of a bet hands you have dominated like AQ or a smaller PP will be able to get away from this, and your only gonna get called if your beat(or maybe AKs)Raise to 2500-my choice here, gives those weaker PP the ability to call here, I also have a chance to fold here, if I raise and my opponent moves allin he prob has AA or KK...(maybe AKs but I doubt he would go allin) so it gives me a chance to avoid losing all my chips if he does have Aa or KK