Updated on 07 Apr 26 by
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FL: Graduation Exam Silver

by firsttsunami

Today, our quiz mainly addresses members who have already achieved the silver status. Our main focus will be on three topics that are dealt with in the silver strategy section. You can test your knowledge on: draws on the flop, way ahead / way behind and river-play. Good luck!

HOW DO YOU PLAY DRAWS ON THE FLOP?

Article: How do you play draws on the flop?

Question 1.

Preflop: Hero is SB with 8, 7

4 folds, Hero raises, BB calls.

Flop: (4.00 SB) 6, 5, J (2 players)
Hero bets, BB raises. You?

Final Pot: 3.50 BB

All opponents have folded to you and you find yourself in the SB with 87 - against a PokerStrategy.com TAG. According to the chart, this is an open-raise. You hit an OESD on the flop and make your continuation bet. The opponent raises you; how do you proceed?

  • a) I play my draw passively, because I don't think my opponent will give up a pair over the course of this hand.
  • b)
    I play my draw aggressively by 3-betting the flop; I don't have showdown value with my 8-high and the opponent could give up a 5 or a 6 on the turn because he might think he's behind against a jack. My outs to the 7 and the 8 could still be live and I thus don't need much fold equity. If he calls the turn, I check/fold the river, though.
  • c) I play my draw aggressively by 3-betting the flop, for the same reasons mentionned under b). In case I'm unimproved on the river, I however still bet, because some opponents only fold a pair to the third bet and the opponent could also get rid of a flush draw (if there is no more ) with a better high card.



Question 2.

Preflop: Hero is BB with 8, 9
UTG raises, 4 folds, Hero calls.

Flop: (4.40 SB) A, K, J (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets. You?

Final Pot: 2.70 BB

You've passively defended your BB against a TAG from UTG with 89. You hit a strong draw, but at the same time, you have to face a board which will hit his UTG range very often. What's your plan?

  • a) I keep playing passively with check/call, hoping to hit my outs. In case I improve, I play donk/3-bet.
  • b) I check/call the flop and check/raise the turn as semi-bluff. In case I improve, I also play check/raise.
  • c)
    I check/raise the flop and also bet turn and river in order to get hands like KJ, QJs, QTs, JJ or TT to fold at the river the latest.



Question 3.

Preflop: Hero is BB with A, 2

2 folds, CO raises, 2 folds, Hero calls.

Flop: (4.40 SB) 5, 6, Q (2 players)

Hero checks, CO bets, You?

Final Pot: 2.70 BB

You defended A2 passively against a CO open-raise and you're up against a TAG again. You hit a flush draw. What do you do?

  • a) I keep playing passively, because I have showdown value with my A-high. It doesn't make sense to play aggressively.
  • b) I check/call the flop in order to check/raise the turn, which allows me to generate more fold equity against a pair.
  • c) I check/raise the flop due to my good equity. I'm ahead quite often with my A-high and this allows me to protect against 6 outs. The opponent could even fold a better A-high if there is a good card which connects with the 5 and the 6 on the turn or river.



Question 4.

Preflop: Hero is BU with J, T

MP2 calls, MP3 calls, CO folds, Hero raises, SB folds, BB calls, MP2 calls, MP3 calls.

Flop: (8.40 SB) 8, Q, J (4 players)

BB bets, MP2 calls, MP3 calls, Hero raises, BB 3-bets, MP2 calls, MP3 calls, Hero calls.

Turn: (10.20 BB) A (4 players)

BB bets, MP2 calls, MP3 calls. You?

Final Pot: 13.20 BB

You raised with JT after two limpers. All of your opponents are unknown. The big blind decided to call, too, and you hit a good flop. The BB donks into you and after both of the others call, you raise for value with your flush draw, gutshot and pair.

On the turn, the BB has the initiative and bets again. MP2 and MP3 just call. With the ace, your have improved to a double gutshot with flush draw. What do you do?

  • a) I only call because I'm clearly behind. I don't want to give the BB the opportunity to 3-bet and isolate himself against me.
  • b) I raise again on the turn, because my outs to trips/two-pair/straight and flush are easily above the average equity of 25%.
  • c) I fold on the turn because I'm obviously behind with third pair.



Question 5.

Preflop: Hero is CO with T, 9

2 folds, Hero raises, 2 folds, BB calls.

Flop: (4.40 SB) 7, 6, Q (2 players)

BB checks, Hero bets, BB raises, Hero calls.

Turn: (4.20 BB) A (2 players)

BB bets. You?

Final Pot: 5.20 BB

You open-raised with T9 from the CO. The big blind defends passively and confronts you with a check/raise when you conti-bet the flop. You decide to just call and an ace shows up on the turn. Your opponent, a reasonable TAG, bets - how do you react?

  • a) I raise again on the turn. I have a strong draw with my flush draw and gutshot, so I only need very little fold equity here. I would play an ace the same way. The turn-raise displays a lot of strength and the opponent could probably fold at least every pocket pair, a 6, a 7 and sometimes even a queen. If Villain calls, I bet the river again unimproved.
  • b) I call the turn and fold on the river unimproved. I don't want to be confronted with a 3-bet and a lots of draws are possible on the board, so I don't think a better hand would fold.
  • c) I call the turn and raise the river, even unimproved. I would also sometimes play a strong ace this way in order to avoid a direct fold from Villain on the turn. As semi-bluffs aren't possible anymore, the opponent will give me credit for this raise and I can generate fold equity against better pairs.



WAY AHEAD / WAY BEHIND

Article: Way ahead / Way behind

Question 6.

Do you know what wa/wb means?

  • a) wa/wb means that your opponent has only very few outs against you in case you're ahead. If you are behind, however, you only have only little outs against your opponent.
  • b) wa/wb means that the opponent still has a few outs against me, but I have only little outs against him in case I'm behind.
  • c)
    wa/wb means that the opponent doesn't have any outs against me in case I'm ahead, but I still have a lot of outs to improve to a stronger hand.



Question 7.

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, 5

4 folds, Hero raises, BB calls.

Flop: (4.00 SB) A, 8, 6 (2 players)

Hero bets, BB raises. You?

You have open-raised the SB with A5 and you're up against a TAG again. You hit your top pair on the flop and your conti-bet is raised by the opponent. How do you proceed?




Question 8.

Preflop: Hero is CO with A, 7

2 folds, Hero raises, BU folds, SB 3-bets, BB calls, Hero calls.

Flop: (9.00 SB) A, 6, 4 (3 players)

SB bets, BB calls. You?

Final Pot: 5.50 BB

You open-raised from CO with A7. A TAG 3-bets you from SB. A fish from BB cold-calls 2 SB and you hit your top pair on the flop with position. SB bets and the fish flat-calls the flop with a WTS of 44. Is this a wa/wb situation?

  • a) This isn't a wa/wb situation, because there is a third player in the pot. Wa/wb situations appear mostly in heads-up, so I raise the flop in order to protect against the fish.
  • b) This isn't a wa/wb situation. My top pair is strong enough to call the flop and raise the turn in order to get maximal value for my hand.
  • c) This is a 3-handed wa/wb situation. Both opponents don't have significant outs against me in case I'm ahead and I don't want to isolate myself against the SB who could 3-bet. Furthermore, I'm in position and can easily control the hand. I'd rather stay passive and induce further bets from a high pocket pair and bad calls from the passive fish.



HOW TO PLAY ON THE RIVER?

Article: Post-flop: How to Play on the River?

Question 9.

Which spot is the best fit for a check/call for bluff-induce on the river? Villain is unknown.

Situation A

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, 5

4 folds, Hero raises, BB calls.

Flop: (4.00 SB) J, 8, 5 (2 players)

Hero bets, BB calls.

Turn: (3.00 BB) 3 (2 players)

Hero bets, BB calls.

River: (5.00 BB) K
(2 players)


Situation B

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, 9

4 folds, Hero raises, BB calls.

Flop: (4.00 SB) J, 8, 9 (2 players)

Hero bets, BB calls.

Turn: (3.00 BB) 5 (2 players)

Hero bets, BB calls.

River: (5.00 BB) J (2 players)


Situation C

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, 6

4 folds, Hero raises, BB calls.

Flop: (4.00 SB) J, T, 6 (2 players)

Hero bets, BB calls.

Turn: (3.00 BB) 5 (2 players)

Hero bets, BB calls.

River: (5.00 BB) Q (2 players)




Question 10.

Which board development is the best fit for a bluff-bet on the river in case you hold a busted draw or a small pocket pair which is 5th pair in this case?

Situation A

You're holding 87

Board development: T95QA


Situation B

You're holding 75

Board development: 649KA


Situation C

You're holding 22

Board development: 587A3