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Any comments on how I played the hands below are welcome. Please send them to .
Six players, $12 in the pot.
Player, #10, to my
left, bets $2. Players #1, #6, and #7 call. Player #8 folds.
There are now five players (counting myself) and $20 in the pot.
The pot is laying me exactly 10-to-1 odds (I would be betting $2 for the
chance to win $20). If you have a gutshot, you are about an 11-to-1
underdog to fill it (of the 47 cards I haven't seen, 4 will help me:
43-to-4, or 10.75-to-1), so the pot is not laying me the correct odds.
Plus, the five of diamonds could fill my straight but give someone else a
flush--a mini-disaster for me because I'd have to call down the hand (unless
another diamond fell on the river, at which point I would fold).
Player #10 probably has an ace with a marginal
kicker (he would have raised
preflop with a big kicker). Players #1, #6, and #7 scare me more
because it's very likely that one (or more!) is on the flush draw because
they merely called the opening bet. If they make the flush, I'm beaten,
and if they don't, they will fold and not pay me off if I fill my straight.
All signs point to folding, but I decide to make a marginal call for only $2
(note--I'd never make this play in no-limit hold'em).
Five players, $22 in the pot.
What could player #6 hold? I find
it hard to believe that a player would hold onto pocket fives after being
bet into on a flop that has two overcards (plus another player, #1, called the opening flop bet between the opener and player #6). It's
also possible that he was slowplaying a set of tens or threes. (He
probably would have raised preflop with pocket aces--people hate to lose
with this hand by being outdrawn by inferior hands allowed to enter the pot
for only one bet.) Maybe he has A-K or A-Q, but he would have raised
preflop. I put him on A-5, a set, or a flush draw.
A-5 is not a great hand to play preflop, but it may be suited, and Player #6 was
in late position in the cutoff. I'm hoping that he does have a
set,
however, since I will be able to extract a lot of money from him. The
old adage is that if you don't win a lot of money or lose a lot of money
with a set, you're not playing it right. Tricky players will raise with
a flush draw on the turn. Player #6 is hoping that I'll fold and
hoping that Player #10 will fold here or on the river. A raise like
this is a semi-bluff. It could take the pot immediately, but you still
have outs if you are called. It is a strong play and the one I'm
worried most about.
Now the question is whether to "smooth call" or to
reraise. The advantage of smooth calling is that Player #10 will
probably call one more bet because if I call, the pot will be laying him
38-to-4 odds. Thus, if he fills a draw more than 10.5% of the time, he
will be making the right call. If I reraise, he could fold, although I
could be reasonably certain Player #6 will call. I'd be even
money-wise before the river, but I'd lose whatever Player #10 could give me
on the river bet. Plus, I'd probably lose a check-raising opportunity
because I showed strength.
Now, it may seem that I would want to reraise to get a flush draw to fold,
but you should know this NEVER happens in low-limit. If Player #10 has
two diamonds, he would be correct to cold call two more bets. He would
be risking $8 (the two big bets) to win $42 ($46 if Player #6 calls my
reraise). The pot will be laying him 42-to-8 (5.25-to-1) and he is a
37-to-9 (about 4-to-1) dog to fill his flush. In short, you will NEVER
chase out a flush draw in low-limit, even with two big bets.
That said, I don't think that Player #10 is on a flush draw. He opened
the betting into a large field after the flop and turn. He's clearly
on the defensive, hoping that his hand holds up. Player #6, if he
semi-bluffed with a flush draw, will not fold for one bet.
I decide to smooth call the two bets. Player #10 calls the extra bet.
Three players, $46 in the pot.
Player #10 checks too, also afraid of the flush. Player #6 bets $4.
There is no way I will fold this hand for one bet. There is now $50 in the pot, and calling would cost me only $4. If I have even a 12.5% chance to win, I should call. However, I can't raise, either. Player #10 would fold to a raise since I'm certain that he doesn't have the flush (there's no way he would have checked on the river with one player left to act). Plus, if I call, there's a chance that Player #10 will make a crying call for $4, which I still have a chance of winning.
I call $4 and Player #10 folds.
Player #6 has two pair. This hand makes sense now. A-T suited is usually a raising hand (at least, I would raise with it), but Player #6 probably did not want to raise after two people had already called the big blind. I really thought I was beaten by a full house more than the flush, but this hand just proves that you can't fold a made hand on the river for one bet if you have a reasonable chance of winning. Saving $4 would have cost me $47.50.
My raise works like a charm: every player (including the two blinds) folds to Player #3, who calls the extra bet. This outcome is exactly what I wanted to see, but it rarely occurs in low-limit hold'em. Bad players will often cold-call two bets preflop with hands such as K-J, 7-7, any ace, or suited connectors. You profit off this kind of player in the long run, but they will beat you a fair amount of the time. A-T suited is not a huge favorite over two random cards. Moreover, some people will even cold call a raise with A-K instead of rereaise, which is the proper play in limit hold'em.
I have "bought the button" with my raise. This means that my raise has forced everyone who would have acted after me to fold. Because I now act last in this hand, I am the theoretical "button." The chance to buy the button is one reason why raising (and reraising) is such a strong play. If you've bought the button and the flop hits you, bet away, but if the flop is ragged, you might still be able to bet if it's checked to you because your opponents will often put you on a big pair.
I'm heads-up against Player #3, with position on him.
Two players, $16.50 in the pot.
Player #3 checks.
This is a good sign. A lot of strong players defending their big blind will bet into the preflop raiser on a ragged flop with any pair, hoping to get the raiser's A-K or A-Q to fold. I hate being put to this kind of decision. Most of the time I will fold, but calling or raising is not a bad play, either. But you must have position if you are going to call or raise. It takes a lot of guts for a player whose flop raise is called to come out betting again on the turn, this time for a big bet. This is because an overcard could easily fall on the turn. If Player #3 bets into me on the turn and the turn doesn't help me, I can fold with good conscience.
I decide to bluff at this pot, and if I'm raised, I will fold. Player #3 calls.
Two players, $22.50 in the pot.
A check from me now would almost certain signal two big cards rather than a big pair. If there's a 27% or greater chance (6 / 22.50) that my opponent will fold to a big bet, then the bluff is worth running. The weakness that Player #3 has shown (check-calling) convinces me that he might indeed fold.
But he calls my $6 bet.
Two players, $34.50 in the pot.
My opponent put me to a more difficult decision than I had expected to make. I had expected him to check, and then I would have checked behind him (with some hope that my A-T was still the better hand but expecting to see him turn over a pocket pair or T-9).
There's now $40.50 in the pot. If there's even a 7% of my winning, I should call for $6. Many players on a draw will bet the river anyway, hoping to steal the pot. You've heard it before--the only way they can win the pot is to bet at it. I hadn't considered that my opponent could be holding a hand like 8-7 suited and was drawing at a gutshot (a terrible play given the pot odds, but it happens all the time in low-limit hold'em). Something is fishy here. If he had a full house on the turn, he probably would have check-raised me then. And if he filled up on the river, he might try to check-raise there (although betting out is the proper play). I think he might be bluffing me!
All of this thinking is academic. I have to call for $6.
I gave my opponent more credit than he deserved. I usually fold K-J suited from under the gun. It's trouble hand from early position. His call after my flop bet was a mistake. If I held A-A, A-K, A-Q, A-J, K-K, K-Q, Q-Q, or J-J (all preflop raising hands with the exception of K-Q, unless suited), he would be an underdog who would not only be losing, but one who might have to pay me off to the river if we caught the same pair. His call on the turn was even worse. He no longer had the back door flush draw and was now drawing to overcards. He had six outs and was a 6.67-to-1 underdog to make a pair, which might be beaten already. He should have folded here for sure.
I began this hand by bluffing, then called a bluff to win the pot. Winning with ace high, particularly when you think your opponent is bluffing you with a busted draw or, in this case, with big cards, is a great feeling. I don't play many hands like this one, but it confirms the rule of thumb that you should be absolutely convinced that you're beaten before you fold to a river bet when the pot is considerable.
I think I may have come off a bad beat or two prior to this hand because I make the very bad play of calling with this hand. As bad as K-9 is from early position, if I were going to play it, I should have entered the pot for a raise.
Player #6 raises to $6, Player #8 calls, Player #3 (the small blind) reraises to $9, Player #4 folds.
This is the reason why you don't call with K-9 from early position. If someone raises the pot, there's an excellent chance that your K-9 is in bad shape. Not only has Player #6 raised, but Player #3 behind him has reraised. There's a saying that you should always fear a raise from the small blind in a pot with many players. This is because the small blind will be first to act at every stage after the flop. I'm sure Player #3 has A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, or A-K. Now I have to decide whether to cold call two bets with a mediocre hand that's probably dominated.
I must have been on tilt, because that's exactly what I do. Players #6 and #8 call the extra bet behind me.
Four players, $39 in the pot.
Player #3, who had three bet pre-flop, bets right into me.
At this point, I should either fold or raise. Calling is the worst thing I could do because it gives me no more information than I had before it was my turn. If I raise and am reraised, then I can fold with the understanding that I'm probably beaten. I would probably get reraised by A-K or A-A but maybe not by K-K. The only hands that might call a raise would be T-T, 7-7, Q-J, 9-8, or two hearts.
I raise to $6, thinking about how much my poor initial decision has already cost me.
Player #6 does indeed reraise to $9. Player #8 folds. Player #3 cold calls the two bets, and it's back to me.
I told myself that if I were reraised, I would fold. But Player #3's cold call makes it more attractive to stay for one more card, especially since I can stop the raising with a call. Player #6 has a very big hand: A-A, A-K, T-T, or 7-7. Maybe Q-J of hearts or 9-8 of hearts. Realistically, only runner-runner clubs or 8-6 (no hearts) would give me a probable winning hand. Another king might still leave me outkicked. The pot is laying me 21-to-1, which is too good to pass up. I call for another $3.
Three players, $66 in the pot.
Player #6 calls now, maybe thinking that I have a straight. Player #3 calls too.
Both calls give me a lot of confidence. Maybe I'm right about their holding A-A and A-K.
Three players, $84.00 in the pot.
Player #3 check, and I check, sure that I'm beaten. There's no way that a bluff would work now.
Surprisingly, Player #6 checks too. The river ten must have been a scary card for everyone.
I was right about someone holding A-K and, as I feared, Player #6 flopped a set that turned into a full house. I had lost to both players! It turns out that I had only four outs, which means that if I could have seen everyone's cards before the river, it still would have been right for me to call a single bet on the turn. I was a 10.5-to-1 dog to fill my boat, and the pot would have been laying me 13-to-1 ($78 pot for $6 bet).
It was a mistake for me to bet on the turn. If Player #6 raised me (as he should have), then Player #3 might have folded. Then, technically, I would be wagering $6 to win $84, but I'm really wagering $6 to win $18--the money put out on the turn. The turn bets would be laying me only 3-to-1 (with $6 of the pot being my opening bet!) compared to the 10.5-to-1 odds against my boating up.
In fact, it was a mistake for me to be in this hand in the first place. This example is a good one to show you just how badly things can turn out for you when you make a good, but not great, hand with mediocre pocket cards. The problem with K-9 is that the flop can hit you, and you can still lose to a wide variety of hands. What makes it worse is that you will often call down with a hand like a pair of kings with nine kicker.
I ended up losing $24 on this hand, but I could have lost $30 since I would have called a raise from Player #6 on the turn. The moral of this story is to never stray from your game, especially when you are having a down session.
Player #2 calls $3, while Player #3 raises to $6. Players #4 and #5 fold. Player #6 cold calls two bets, Player #7 folds, and the action is now on me.
Given that I've got to cold call two bets to play, a fold seems to be in order here, but let's take a closer look. Is this hand normally worth $6 to play? Not usually. However, I can be reasonably certain that the pot will be laying me at least 3-to-1 since I don't expect Player #2, the opener, to fold for a single bet. Player #6 has already cold called the raise, and there's a good chance that Player #1 in the big blind will call for an extra bet. And if Players #9 and #10 fold, I will have bought the button just by calling. However, a rereaise from either of them would make my cold call of $6 a terrible play. I must have been craving some action, because I do make a very marginal (okay, slightly bad) cold call.
I call $6. Players #9 and #10 fold. Player #1 (the big blind) calls the extra bet, as does Player #2.
I'm hoping that the flop will either hit me big (an open-ended straight or flush draw) or miss me by a mile. A flop such as 9-7-4 or Q-J-5 (and even A-9-8) would make this hand a lot tougher to play.
Five players, $31.50 in the pot.
Players #1 and #2 check and, predictably, Player #3, the preflop raiser, opens the betting for $3. Player #6 calls, and the action is on me.
I decide with two people left to act behind me, I need to "fast play" this made hand. To fast play means to come out betting or raising with a strong but still-vulnerable hand. It may seem that I hold a monster hand, especially with the rainbow flop, but not so. Let me explain.
If I smooth call, hoping to reraise on the turn, my call will put $37.50 in the pot. Let's say that Player #1 holds a hand such as 8-7 of diamonds. He has bottom pair and a gutshot straight draw. As far as he knows, there are four nines left in play that will fill his straight. His odds of hitting the straight on the turn are 43-to-4, or better than 11-to-1. If I smooth call, the pot will be laying him 37.5-to-3, or 12.5-to-1. Thus, it would be right for Player #1 to call, hoping to fill his gutshot! Now, I don't know for sure that Player #1 holds a nine or an eight, but there's a decent chance that Player #1 or Player #2 holds one or the other. And if Player #1 calls only one bet, it would be an even better decision for Player #2 to call with a gutshot draw (he would be getting 13.5-to-1 from the pot).
Now, splitting the pot isn't a catastrophe, but it's something you want to avoid if you can win the pot outright for just an additional small bet. If I raise to $6, then calling with a gutshot draw would be a bad play on the parts of Players #1 and #2. A raise from me would bring the pot to $40.50. Player #1 would still be getting 11-to-1 from the deck, but now the pot is laying him only 6.75-to-1. (And even if Player #1 made the wrong play and cold called, Player #2 would still be getting only 7.75-to-1 from the pot--not nearly enough to draw at a gutshot).
If all this weren't reason enough already, there are an assortment of hands that many players will play to the turn if the flop hits them in the slightest way. Hands I'd want to knock out here with two bets include T-9, A-x of hearts, spades, or clubs, and Q-8. Runner-runner happens!
The last reason to raise is to put pressure on Player #3. With a preflop raise and an opening bet on the flop, he may very likely hold A-K. I'd want him to fold this hand now. It would be right for him to call my raise with his gutshot, but if he is going to do so, I want to punish him for trying.
I raise to $6. As I had hoped, players #1 and #2 fold. However, Player #3 reraises! Better yet, Player #6 cold calls two more bets.
Right now, I have the "stone cold" nuts. There aren't any two cards out there that could beat me. If Player #6 had folded, I would have smooth called, expecting to hit Player #3 for a raise on the turn since we'd be heads-up. Player #6 might have a set of tens or jacks, but I hope he does so that he'll call me down. I decide to cap the betting here because I know that both of my opponents will call.
Three players, $67.50 in the pot.
Player #3 lays off and checks, as does Player #6. I bet $6, and both of my opponents call.
Three players, $85.50 in the pot.
Player #3 checks, as does Player #6.
I sense my straight is still good because I don't think that Player #6 would risk my checking this hand down. I bet $6, Player #3 calls, and Player #6 folds.
I show my straight, and Player #3 mucks his hand without showing.
I win the $97.50 pot ($94.50 after the rake) with my straight to the jack.
I'll never know what Player #3 held, but I suspect it was a hand like A-J or J-T suited. Maybe J-J or T-T.
I'm not sure if fast playing won me this pot since Player #1 or #2 probably would have cold called two bets on the flop with K-Q and the open-ended straight draw. In retrospect, capping on the turn may have cost me some money. I made an extra $6 by capping. However, if I had merely called the reraise, there's a chance that Player #3 would have bet out on the turn and Player #6, true to form, would have called. Then I could raise for a big bet, and there's a good chance that both of my opponents would have called. I would have made $12 doing this, so I could have netted an extra $6. However, if either of my opponents folded to my raise, I would have made the same amount, and if both folded, I would have netted $6 less.
Not every player you meet online is going to be thinking this deeply about pot odds when deciding whether to draw at a gutshot. However, most players--even bad ones--will sense that cold calling two bets to draw at a gutshot is wrong, while they might take a shot for a single bet. And very often they'd be right to do so.
Given this scenario, one of my favorite ways to play this hand in PLHE and NLHE is to play "second-hand low." T.J. Cloutier describes this play in one of his NLHE books. You flat call the small bet, hoping that someone behind you raises. Then, you have the opportunity to reraise, hopefully knocking everyone else out except for the reraiser. Obviously, aces is a huge favorite against any random hand heads-up. The hand with the best chance against aces is T-9 suited, which is slightly better than a 4:1 dog. You can see why this play doesn't work so well in limit play.
I call $0.25. Player #2 folds. Player #3 ($23.55), the button, calls, and Player #5 ($29.75), the small blind, raises to $1.25. The big blind folds.
This is exactly the situation that I'd hoped for. I'd like to get heads-up against Player #5 by knocking out Player #3 with a big raise. I'm risking that Player #5 will fold, but you'd be surprised how often this very conspicuous play of limp-reraise works. I raise the maximum to $4.25.
The button folds, but Player #5 ($19.85) reraises to $10.00.
I figure he holds K-K, Q-Q, or A-K, so I want to get as much money into the pot now. I decide to put my opponent all-in, raising to $20.50 to $30.50. At this point, very few players will fold to an all-in reraise after having reraised themselves. Even if they suspect that they might be losing, they've come too far to fold without seeing the flop. My opponent is one of these players. He calls for the rest of his stack.
Two players, $60.85 in the pot.
My opponent can only hope for a king, four diamonds, or an unlikely combination of cards that would give him a winning or tying straight.
This became a pretty straightforward hand after the reraising before the flop. You just sit back and watch the cards fall, hoping that your opponent doesn't catch a miracle card. With aces, I don't usually like to see a flop in PLHE or NLHE against more than two opponents. Too many things can go wrong. If you play second-hand low with aces and are reraised, you can reraise all-in with confidence that you will be called most of the time. Occassionally, the first raiser will fold to your initial reraise, but that's the chance you take.
The side pot was created because of my last reraise. I wanted to put my opponent all-in with the least amount of money, and I estimated a little bit on the high side. Why didn't I raise for all of my stack, which was $74.07 before the last reraise? Had I done so, I would have created a main pot of $60.20 and a side pot of $48.47 for a total pot of $108.67. Now, there would be no way that I could lose that $48.47 since Player #5 had only $29.75 at the beginning of the hand. However, poker sites take the rake off the total pot, not the main pot. Because the site that I was playing on caps the rake at $3 for PLHE, I could have pushed all-in and paid the same amount of rake. However, had Player #5 had only $9.85 left (instead of $19.85) after his reraise to $10, an all-in reraise on my part would have created a total pot of $98.67 instead of $40.20. I would have lost an extra $1 in rake. Raising just enough to put your opponent all-in is a good habit to get into, even if it may not always make a difference. Why pay more rake than you have to?
I fold this hand from the small blind about half of the time. If I call for an extra dollar, I'll probably be up against three opponents and out of position (that is, unless the big blind exercises his option and raises, at which time I'd fold). If only one player had called the bet by the time the action was on me, I'd fold. But it costs only a dollar to call, and I know I'd be kicking myself if I folded and the flop would have hit me hard. I wouldn't miss a dollar in the long run, but knowing that I missed out on a large pot could put me on tilt. I call for $1.
The big blind checks.
Four players, $8.00 in the pot.
Player #9, the big blind, checks. Player #4 bets $2. Player #7 folds.
It's weird for Player #4 to bet out. Third to act, he would be expected to slowplay trip jacks. If he's holding just two big cards, he's probably thinking that he needs to get only Player #7 to fold since I and the big blind showed weakness by checking. At best, he has a hand like A-7 or two spades.
I decide to run a play that usually scares me whenever I'm bluffing: calling. Whenever I bet into a flop that holds a pair, I'm always wary of the player who acts after me and calls. I expect him to hit me for a raise or check raise on the turn. So I'm hoping that my call sets off the same warning bells in my opponent.
I need for Player #9 to fold if I call. If he calls, I've got to put him on a jack or two spades. If he calls, I'm all but ready to release me hand on the turn. I call for $2.
But Player #9, who I've sensed to be a fairly solid player, folds.
Now, for my play to work correctly, I must bet out into my opponent on the turn, unless the card is a jack. A spade is just fine, since my opponent may have put me on spades.
Two players, $12.00 in the pot.
If my opponent holds a hand like A-7 or K-7, the 8 scares him. I could be holding a hand like 9-8 or T-8, drawing to a gutshot. Or, even scarier, I could have been holding T-9 and am now betting into the trips without fear. You see, for my opponent to have any confidence at all, he would need to hold a pocket pair of nines or higher or a jack, and (because of the possibility of the straight) he wouldn't feel great about the latter unless he held J-7 or J-8.
In other words, my opponent would have to be strong or very strong in order to call a big bet. Even if he held two spades, if I bet, the pot would be laying him 4-to-1, and he's now 5-to-1 to hit his flush (which might still lose to a boat). Even if he hit his flush, the pot would still lay him only 5-to-1 on the river unless there was a called raise.
I bet $4. If I'm raised, I'm prepared to release the hand, but it would take a real gambler to risk two big bets on a stone cold bluff.
Happily, the hand ends with my opponent folding.
I win the $12 pot ($11.20 after the rake) without a showdown.
Winning a hand like this one is a big confidence booster. Normally, I don't advocate taking big risks when you're in the blinds (you'd be stunned at how much money one loses when the flop hits your blind just well enough), but the situation made such a play a good risk. Throughout the hand, I just kept reminding myself that I would fold the hand if any opponent played back at me. I never got to see my opponent's cards, but if I had to guess I would put him on A-x, K-Q, a small pocket pair, or even something as good as 7-6 suited. This was a small pot, but it's necessary to win a few of these per session to stop any major bleeding or just to give yourself some momentum.
There's $17 in the pot already, counting my big blind. I often fold A-2 offsuit in this instance, but the pot is laying me almost 9-to-1 odds. Player #7 could easily have me dominated with A-A, A-K, or A-Q, but there's also a chance that he's holding K-K, Q-Q, or J-J. The two cold callers could have anything. Many low-limit players will call two bets with any pocket pair, and many will make the mistake of not reraising with A-K. If I call, what I'm really hoping for is to flop two pair, trip twos, three diamonds, or a gutshot straight draw, since a pair of aces with my low kicker will probably still be losing.
The odds of flopping two pair are almost 50-to-1, and so many bad things can happen even if I do. I could still be dominated by a hand such as A-A, and if the board happens to pair, I will probably be losing because my pair of twos won't even play. As tempting as the pot odds are, the smart play is to fold my big blind, which I do.
Three players, $17.00 in the pot.
Player #7, who showed strength pre-flop, now checks. This signals one of two things to me: a big pair, such as kings or queens, or an absolute monster--a set of aces. Maybe a hand such as K-Q of hearts. Player #8 bets $2, and Player #2 folds. Player #7 calls for $2.
Now I'm a little annoyed. I suspect that my A-2 may have been good. There's a good chance that Player #7 has a big pair but not aces, and Player #8 may have the same or something as bad as pocket nines or tens.
Two players, $21.00 in the pot.
It's possible that Player #7 has A-A or J-J and has now trapped Player #8. But Player #7 calls again (a crying call, probably), and I'm more convinced than ever that he holds K-K, Q-Q, or two hearts. It would take a very patient player to slowplay a set of aces or jacks at this point, especially since Player #8 will probably call another bet if check raised.
Two players, $29.00 in the pot.
This jack on the river annoys me even more. I suspect that at worst, my A-2 would have split the pot with Player #8, since he would have to hold A-K, A-Q, A-J, A-T, A-9, A-8, or A-5 to beat my hand (sets notwithstanding). A-K is not likely since he probably would have reraised Player #7 before the flop. Throw in the possibility of his holding a smaller pocket pair, and I'm suddenly wishing that I had played this hand after all.
I did make the correct play, after all, since Player #8's ten kicker would have played. It's rare when we consider hands such as these as victories, but that's exactly what they are. Had I called pre-flop, I would have tossed in $2. I would have bet out on the flop to see where I stood, and there's a decent chance that Player #8 would have raised. In any event, I'm obligated to see this hand to the showdown, checking and calling, so count me in for two big bets--one on the turn and one on the river. Overall, I would have lost at least between $12-$14 had I called pre-flop. This is almost the amount you would win in an average $2/$4 game (where the average pot is between $21-$28), so you can see how detrimental losing at showdown can be to your overall bottom line. Try to think about folding your hand here as being almost as good as winning a pot (not quite, I know). Eliminating bad plays such as this one will put you well on your way to becoming a winning player.
Analyzing a hand such as this one makes me want to play low limit hold'em all the more. What terrible plays on the parts of Players #7 and #8! Player #7 raises from early position with a very marginal hand (K-Q), and Player #8 cold calls two bets with a hand that could easily be dominated. Not only that, but Player #7 calls the flop bet with absolutely nothing! The turn produces a gutshot straight draw for Player #7, which convinces him to call a big bet. At this point, Player #7 is more than a 10-to-1 dog to fill his gutshot, and the pot is laying him only about 5-to-1 at the moment. Even if Player #7 were to spike a ten, and even if Player #8 were to call a raise on the river, the pot would still be laying him implied odds of only 29-to-4 ($21 + $8), or a little better than 7-to-1. Pay attention here, because these types of players are the ones who make playing low-limit hold'em lucrative.