Jonathan Little Poker Strategy: Get Maximum Value With The Nuts

If you want to increase your poker skills and learn to crush games, check out Jonathan Little’s elite training site at PokerCoaching.com.

I was recently told about a hand from a $550 buy-in live poker tournament that illustrates a common mistake many poker players make on a regular basis.

Preflop

Early in the tournament with blinds at 200-400 with 30,000 effective stacks, a tight player limped in from under the gun. The player next to act also called, and then our Hero called from middle position with 10♣9♥.

While this call may seem reasonable enough, folding is the best play unless your opponents will play particularly poorly after the flop. If the stacks were much deeper, perhaps 300 big blinds instead of 150 big blinds, limping then would become acceptable due to the increase implied odds.

When you splash around with marginal hands, you want to have the potential to win a huge pot. Especially as stacks get shallower, you should fold middle offsuit connectors, even when it only costs one big blind to see the flop.

The Flop

The small blind and the big blind both elected to see the flop as well. It came down J♦8♥7♣, giving Hero the straight. That is lucky!

The blinds checked to the initial limper, who bet 1,000 into the 2,000 pot. The second position player folded. Hero decided to call.

At this point, Hero must raise if he wants to have any chance to win a significant pot. While slow playing the nuts that is not vulnerable to being outdrawn is always an option, when it is somewhat likely that you are against a decently strong hand, raising is usually the best play. Notice that the flop bettor could easily have a set, two pair, overpair, or top pair. There are numerous hands Hero can get called by that are drawing almost dead.

The Turn

The blinds folded. The turn was the 3♠. The opponent checked and Hero bet 1,000 into the 4,000 pot.

If Hero wants any chance to win a large pot, he needs to start building the pot. Betting 1,000 into 4,000 is not going to get the job done. Hero should make a sizable bet of 3,000 or even 4,000 into the 4,000 pot, allowing him to then reasonably make a sizable river bet.

Hero probably thought his opponent’s turn check indicated weakness, but it is important to realize that your reads will often be incorrect. Betting tiny to try to get called by absolute garbage on a somewhat coordinated board is futile. Simply bet large and try to get maximum value from your opponent’s decently strong made hands and draws.

The River

The opponent called the 1,000 bet. The river was the 2♥. The opponent checked and Hero bet 5,000 into the 6,000 pot.

Finally! Hero picked a decent bet size. That said, once the opponent check-calls a tiny turn bet, his range is likely quite marginal, meaning Hero should at least consider betting a bit smaller, perhaps 3,000 into the 6,000 pot to try to target the opponent’s marginal made hands.

The Outcome

The opponent thought for a while before folding Q-J (top pair) face-up.

While the opponent’s fold is much too tight, it is important to realize that if Hero raised the flop, he would have almost certainly won a gigantic pot, probably getting a full double up. As played, he won almost nothing.

If the opponent happened to make an overly tight fold with top pair against a flop raise, Hero should adjust by bluffing with a wide range of marginal draws, allowing him to win all the pots when this opponent fails to flop the effective nuts.

In general, when you flop a premium hand, you want to get money in the pot. And you don’t get money in the pot by playing passively or betting small.

Level Up Your Game

If you want more resources to help you improve your game, check out the Card Player Poker School powered by PokerCoaching.com.

Sign up and get access to nearly 70 FREE courses. Topics include the Five-Day Preflop Challenge, Mastering The Fundamentals, Crushing Small Stakes Cash Games, How To Beat Loose Live Games, and 25 Biggest Leaks And How To Fix Them. Students also get free downloadable preflop GTO charts, interactive hand quizzes, and free training every week.

Jonathan Little is a WSOP bracelet winner, two-time WPT winner, and the 2024 PokerGO Cup champion with $9 million million in live tournament earnings. He is a best-selling author of 15 educational poker books, and the 2019 GPI Poker Personality of the Year. If you want to increase your skills and learn to crush games, check out PokerCoaching.com/cardplayer.