Kate: "When is a read good enough?"

Kate has hit a pair of queens on the flop. Her opponent spiderpig44 is betting every street, but only half pot on the river. Kate decides to call this last bet as well. A good move?

Kate: Hey Le Douchi!

With this hand, I stumbled upon a kind of philosophical problem. When is a read good enough?

I've seen my opponent betting the pot on the river with a strong hand before. In this spot, however, he only bets half. I wasn't sure what to make of it but decided to call. It was more of a gut decision. I wasn't really able to assess my equity. "He wouldn't lead an ace like that and definitely wouldn't bet a king like that in the first place". That's basically what ran through my mind.

Of course, I already would have folded on the flop against a normal continuation bet of 2/3 the pot. What do you think about my calldown?

Le Douchi: Hey Kate!

I think you should have folded on the flop, at the latest on the turn. The way you played it, your call on the river seems OK to me, though.

Let me explain that in a bit more detail: Your opponent can probably be classified as a weaker player. On average, he will hold way better hands on the flop than a good player. Weak players tend to play too many hands in early position and too few hands in late position. That's because these types of opponents are often not aware of the impact position can have in poker.

Your assessment that he's bluffing on flop and turn because he would have bet an ace bigger is simply wrong. My experience tells me that a lot of players haven't read the basic lesson "Why do you bet?" and just bet whenever they feel like it. The reason for their bets can't be discerned, still they're doing it and you're simply paying off the wrong bets with your queen!

On the river, where you actually shouldn't end up in this hand, I would have called as well due to the great odds. The information that you'll gain in such a spot could be highly valuable, too. When you're behind against such a player here, you can easily count on getting a tenth of the pot as future profit. In the end, there's a good chance that he'll leave his entire stack at the table sooner or later—and with the info you got you will be one of the favourites to hit that jackpot first.

With that said, keep in mind that you can save a lot of money in situations like this when you thoroughly observe the players in hands that you're not involved in. Let other people pay the price for valuable information like that and simply rake in the profit afterwards!

What do you think about this hand? Was Kate's read good enough?

 

Le Douchi: By the way, what are you doing this weekend, Kate? I'm going to put on my white jeans, jacket, gold chain and hit up a few clubs in my rented BMW 7. Naturally, I will rev up the engine a couple of times for no reason once we arrive. The 250 meters between those two red lights on our way will obviously be put aside with squealing tyres, trying to zip by other people not as straight-forward as me. On top of that, I'm probably going to try and get in some fights with other people with the help of my friends.

I'd be thrilled if you'd join me—and it would be great if you could wear a mini skirt and tube top. If someone tries to hit on you, I will happily jump in and make it clear as day that he better leave my girlfriend alone. I promise I will turn on anything like a ravenous dog that comes closer than 5 metres.

Kate: Well, that sounds really awesome and all, but ... um ... I'm ... um ... I've already made plans to go fishing.

Le Douchi: Hold on, you're going fishing at night? That sounds kind of fishy to me...

Kate: No, no, I swear! There's this fluorescent bait that works at night. It's really fun. Oh, I completely forgot the time. Gotta run!

Le Douchi: Alright, maybe next weekend then, eh?

Kate: Sure thing! Don't trouble yourself, though. I will definitely get in touch. Till then!

If you're interested in playing with strategy, feel free to take a look at our best beginner strategies!

Previous episodes

• Kate & Walter: "I've called his check-raise with nothing"
• Kate & Walter: "I could have cried after his 4-bet"
• Kate & Jürgen: "I accidentally his whole stack"
• Kate & Jürgen: "I pulled off a dark tunnel bluff!"
• Kate & Jürgen: "I went all-in on the river, but was that a good move?"
• Kate & Le Douchi: "A huge bluff was my only chance"