When you're headsup with another player and think you might be ahead, you need to figure it out and make the right play. If you're ahead (or think they'll fold), raise. If you're behind, fold. If you have odds and will get paid off if you hit, call. However, if you're in a multi-way pot, things become a little more difficult.
There are times when you can have the best hand and still be an underdog. In Omaha, this is a regular occurrence, but it is true in Hold 'em as well. Imagine a hand where an opponent made a call with 22 (no heart) and a flop of Th9s5h. You have [Qh Jh] for an open-ended straight draw and flush draw plus two over-cards. You have 9 flush outs, 6 more straight outs (excluding the two hearts) and 6 pair outs for 21 outs total. You're over 72% to win. From his perspective, the only hands he can beat are 2 over-cards. That means if he is ahead, you still have 6 outs for a bigger pair.
If you're willing to push this hand hard, then you have to at least have a draw bigger than that like a straight draw or flush draw, which would give me enough outs (10 for a gutshot and 2 over-cards to 15 for a flush draw and 2 over-cards) to be only a slight underdog or even a slight favorite. This is a drastic example so let's move on.
In a multi-way pot there are often times when you believe that you're ahead and you still can't call. Not only is there a chance that you're behind, but you think you'll get called by big draws if you raise. Here is a real hand I played last night...
I have Kc Jc and limp after 2 others on the button. The blinds and the 3 of us limpers see the flop...J96 (2 spades). The SB whom is a habitual semi-bluffer/(thinks he's tricky) player leads out for about 75% of the pot. I'm not too worried about him because I think he is the type that would check-raise big if he two pair or better (bad play btw). If it were heads-up, I'd probably raise trying to take away his odds and/or find out where I'm at. The problem was that he got called in 2 places before it got around to me. Now I have a choice. I can raise big or fold. I believe that this situation is a bad place for a call. Because I believe that the SB could very likely have a drawing hand and I think the two callers are also drawing (this board is too coordinated to slowplay something), I'm likely to get called on a flop raise. Also, because of the way this hand has played out so far, it is difficult to put an opponent on any rational hand range. The worst part about this hand is that I don’t know what turn card I want to see except maybe another jack or a non-spade deuce/trey/four.
This is a hand that I'm either barely ahead or way behind already. Either way, I may get more than one caller for my raise at which point I'll be put into a difficult situation on later streets if I'm called and a semi-scare card appears. The board is so coordinated that I'll most likely not know where I stand for the rest of the hand. The turn/river is where the money is made or lost with big stacks and I'll have to guess if I'm ahead or not. I can fold and save myself heartache and if I'm losing any EV, it isn't much.
So if you're put into a situation where you're either barely ahead or way behind, it is any easy fold. There is no need to play thin edges unless you're in a game where you think you're the worst player at the table and need every possible edge you can get.
There are times when you can have the best hand and still be an underdog. In Omaha, this is a regular occurrence, but it is true in Hold 'em as well. Imagine a hand where an opponent made a call with 22 (no heart) and a flop of Th9s5h. You have [Qh Jh] for an open-ended straight draw and flush draw plus two over-cards. You have 9 flush outs, 6 more straight outs (excluding the two hearts) and 6 pair outs for 21 outs total. You're over 72% to win. From his perspective, the only hands he can beat are 2 over-cards. That means if he is ahead, you still have 6 outs for a bigger pair.
If you're willing to push this hand hard, then you have to at least have a draw bigger than that like a straight draw or flush draw, which would give me enough outs (10 for a gutshot and 2 over-cards to 15 for a flush draw and 2 over-cards) to be only a slight underdog or even a slight favorite. This is a drastic example so let's move on.
In a multi-way pot there are often times when you believe that you're ahead and you still can't call. Not only is there a chance that you're behind, but you think you'll get called by big draws if you raise. Here is a real hand I played last night...
I have Kc Jc and limp after 2 others on the button. The blinds and the 3 of us limpers see the flop...J96 (2 spades). The SB whom is a habitual semi-bluffer/(thinks he's tricky) player leads out for about 75% of the pot. I'm not too worried about him because I think he is the type that would check-raise big if he two pair or better (bad play btw). If it were heads-up, I'd probably raise trying to take away his odds and/or find out where I'm at. The problem was that he got called in 2 places before it got around to me. Now I have a choice. I can raise big or fold. I believe that this situation is a bad place for a call. Because I believe that the SB could very likely have a drawing hand and I think the two callers are also drawing (this board is too coordinated to slowplay something), I'm likely to get called on a flop raise. Also, because of the way this hand has played out so far, it is difficult to put an opponent on any rational hand range. The worst part about this hand is that I don’t know what turn card I want to see except maybe another jack or a non-spade deuce/trey/four.
This is a hand that I'm either barely ahead or way behind already. Either way, I may get more than one caller for my raise at which point I'll be put into a difficult situation on later streets if I'm called and a semi-scare card appears. The board is so coordinated that I'll most likely not know where I stand for the rest of the hand. The turn/river is where the money is made or lost with big stacks and I'll have to guess if I'm ahead or not. I can fold and save myself heartache and if I'm losing any EV, it isn't much.
So if you're put into a situation where you're either barely ahead or way behind, it is any easy fold. There is no need to play thin edges unless you're in a game where you think you're the worst player at the table and need every possible edge you can get.
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