Here are the answers and explanations for our $2/$5 live poker quiz.
Hand #1
Live $2/$5. 6-Handed. Effective Stacks $500.
Hero is UTG with A♥ 3♥
Hero raises to $15. 2 folds. BTN 3-bets to $45. Hero…
A – Fold
B – Call
C – 4-bet
The correct answer is A, fold.
Given that the effective stack size is only 100 big blinds, and the fact that the 3-bet is on the larger side, this hand is best suited to go into the muck.
Hand #2
Live $2/$5. 6-Handed. Effective Stacks $500.
Hero is in the UTG with A♥ 4♥
Hero raises to $15. 2 folds. BTN calls. SB calls. BB calls.
Flop ($60): A♠ 8♦ 7♣
SB checks. BB checks. Hero…
A – Check
B – Bet
The correct answer is A, check.
With so many players in the pot, the likelihood that your hand is the best is much lower than in a heads up pot. You are likely to have the best hand right now, but it’s definitely not strong enough to bet for value or for equity denial. On top of all of this, you are also out of position against one player which makes it harder to realize your equity.
Hand #3
Live $2/$5. 6-Handed. Effective Stacks $500.
Hero is in HJ with K♥ J♣
UTG folds. Hero raises to $15. 2 folds. SB calls. BB calls.
Flop ($45): K♠ 9♦ 6♣
SB checks. BB checks. Hero…
A – Check
B – Bet
The correct answer is B, bet.
There are 3 big differences between this situation and the previous one:
- You are in position against both players
- Your kicker is much stronger
- There are only 3 players fighting for the pot.
There are plenty of worse hands that will call you here and you need to make the draws pay. A good bet size would be anything from half pot to 3/4 pot bet. A smaller bet would give the 3rd player amazing odds to continue with a lot of hands in case the Small Blind calls.
Hand #4
Live $2/$5. 6-Handed. Effective Stacks $500.
Hero is in HJ with K♥ J♣
UTG folds. Hero raises to $15. 2 folds. SB calls. BB calls.
Flop ($45): K♠ 9♦ 6♣
SB checks. BB checks. Hero bets $23. SB calls. BB folds.
Turn ($91): 3♥
SB checks. Hero…
A – Check
B – Bet
The correct answer is B, bet.
The is one of the best cards in the deck for your hand and also your range. All of the Small Blind’s draws have missed and almost none of his hands improved to beat you (except K3s or 63s if he plays that wide of a range). In this case, you absolutely have to continue barreling here. A proper bet size would be anywhere from 3/4 pot to a hefty overbet.
Hand #5
Live $2/$5. 6-Handed. Effective Stacks $500.
Hero is in HJ with K♥ J♣
UTG folds. Hero raises to $15. 2 folds. SB calls. BB calls.
Flop ($45): K♠ 9♦ 6♣
SB checks. BB checks. Hero bets $23. SB calls. BB folds.
Turn ($91): 3♥
SB checks. Hero bets $65. SB calls.
River ($221): 2♠
SB checks. Hero…
A – Check
B – Bet
The correct answer is B, bet.
You should have the best hand often on this runout after this line. Not value-betting here would be atrocious for your winnings. Your opponent is likely standing there with a weak Kx and will end up calling with it when so many draws have missed.
I would not be shocked if you’d get looked up by even some 9x hands if your opponent is on the sticky side. The correct bet size here is anywhere from 3/4 pot to a big overbet. If your opponent is a calling station when draws miss, then go for the overbet.
Hand #6
Live $2/$5. 6-Handed. Effective Stacks $500.
Hero is in HJ with 8♦ 8♠
UTG folds. Hero raises to $15. CO 3-bets to $45. 3 folds. Hero calls.
Flop ($97): K♥ T♦ 6♣
Hero checks. CO bets $40. Hero…
A – Fold
B – Call
C – Raise
The correct answer is A, fold.
King-high boards are extremely favorable for the 3-bettor. So much so that even a middling pocket pair such as 8s is too weak to continue.
Hand #7
Live $2/$5. 6-Handed. Effective Stacks $500.
Hero is in HJ with T♦ T♠
UTG raises to $20. Hero raises to $60. 4 folds. UTG calls.
Flop ($127): J♠ 9♦ 4♣
UTG checks. Hero…
A – Check
B – Bet
The correct answer is B, bet.
As the 3-bettor, especially if you are playing a solid, merged 3-betting strategy from these positions, you have a large equity advantage on most flops. This one is no different. When this is the case, an aggressive strategy is in order and TT is going for a bet here for value and some protection.
Hand #8
Live $2/$5. 6-Handed. Effective Stacks $500.
Hero is in HJ with A♠ 6♠
UTG folds. Hero raises to $15. CO folds. BTN calls. SB calls. BB calls.
Flop ($60): J♠ T♠ 4♥
SB checks. BB checks. Hero…
A – Check
B – Bet
The correct answer is A, check.
In multiway pots, the frequency at which someone has two-pair or better is much higher than in heads-up pots. Because of this, betting ranges should be much more polarized which means it consists of strong hands and high equity bluffs. But because of the fact that you have to play out of position, even against just one player, you need to play a more defensive strategy for the benefit of your entire range’s EV.
Range checking — checking with 100% of your range — in these positions allows you to realize more equity on average. And you will realize that equity more efficiently by putting less money into the pot while behind.
Of course, you can exploitatively bet your super strong hands when the board is this wet, leaving that betting range unbalanced towards value. Virtually 0% of opponents in a $2/$5 live game will be capable of identifying and exploiting such a strategy.
Hand #9
Live $2/$5. 6-Handed. Effective Stacks $500.
Hero is in HJ with 6♠ 5♠
UTG folds. Hero raises to $15. CO folds. BTN calls. SB calls. BB calls.
Flop ($60): J♠ T♠ 4♥
SB checks. BB checks. Hero checks. BTN bets $30. SB calls. BB folds. Hero calls.
Turn ($150): 3♠
SB checks. Hero checks. BTN bets $100. SB folds. Hero…
A – Fold
B – Call
C – Raise
The correct answer is B, call.
Yay, you made the flush! But now you need to take into account the fact that your opponent has decided he has a strong enough hand to bet 2/3rds of the pot against two players, both of whom could have made the flush. You need to proceed with caution when your flush is so low. If you raise here, you won’t get called by that many worse hands.
Hand #10
Live $2/$5. 6-Handed. Effective Stacks $500.
Hero is in the BB with 8♥ 7♥
UTG folds. HJ raises to $20. CO folds. BTN calls. SB calls. Hero calls.
Flop ($80): Q♦ 8♣ 6♥
SB checks. Hero checks. HJ checks. BTN bets $40. SB folds. Hero…
Pick the TWO best options.
A – Fold
B – Call
C – Raise
Both calling and raising make sense in this situation.
On the one hand, calling is good because there are still a bunch of possible draws and even worse made hands that are betting here. Plus, you can improve to a pair+draw on the turn, which you can use to check-raise bluff and represent the made straight (assuming the turn is a 4, 5, 7, 9 or T).
On the other hand, the hand also work great as a check-raise because you are blocking 2-pair and set combinations and you can continue bluffing when your hand improves to a pair+draw on the turn. It’s up to you which way you prefer to go in this case.
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