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2.) You had held two pair – sevens and fours. Both of your sevens had been gone. a pair of aces on the board had bet, and the bettor had been raised by a four-flushes which seemed to have live cards. You had been the third to act, would you have folded or called?

Ans : Folded. You wouldn’t have been doing much folding on the sixth street, but here the reasons to fold had been clear. Your two pair had been mediocre, you had two dead cards, and you had been looking at what could have been trip aces or better and a possible flush. The odds hadn’t justified staying in here, so you should have folded the hand.

3.) You had trip nines, two of which had been showing. The other nine had been alive, and, having looked at your three kickers, you had noticed that three cards that would have filled you up had been gone. In middle position, a pair of sevens had bet, and two callers had followed the bettor, one with a pair of fives and another with a four-straight. Would you have called or raised?

Ans : Raised. Trips would have won many pots, and you would have wanted to protect the hand. If the possible straight had raised, it would have been best to call, but a call from him would have meant he’d probably been on a draw. You should have made him pay, and driven out others with your raise. Many times you would have called with trips, since most people would have stayed in on the sixth street. But a raise could have been justified if you had believed you had had the best hand.

4.) You had had four to an inside straight draw. One of the cards that would have completed your hand had been dead. a pair of kings had bet, and the bet had been called by both a four-flush and a pair of sixes. Would you have called or folded?

Ans : Folded. You could have made the case to call if you had had a quality straight draw or a good pair with the four-straight, but here it would have been best to fold. The odds had been a whopping 10.5-to-1 to get your straight – facing those kinds of odds; you should have been done with the hand.

5.)You had made a flush. a pair of nines had bet, and the bettor had been raised by a possible straight showing on the board. There had been two callers: a player who had had a pair of fives and a player who had had three suited cards on the board. Would you have called or raised?

Ans : Raised. You would want to play this hand aggressively. You shouldn’t have let a flush draw stay in cheaply, and driven out these other players. This hand was very solid, but it had not been a monster, and it therefore had needed to be played hard.

6.) You had held a pair of queens on the board in middle position. You had stayed in on the fifth street because you had had a three-flush, but you had got no help here. a pair of kings had bet and had received two callers who had looked to be on straight and flush draws respectively. Nothing too threatening would have followed behind you. Your kickers would have included an ace and jack, of which just one had been. Your queens had also been live. Would you have called or folded?

Ans : Folded. If you had said, ‘call,’ your answer would have been understandable – you would have had a lot of possible outs here. But if peter had been holding just one pair here and he’d been beaten already, he would have folded. The kings very well may have had two pair, so even if you had made two pair on the river you would have had a good chance of losing. Trips would also have lost to the straight or flush draws if they had completed their hands. It had stunk to fold on the sixth street, but doing so would have been the right decision.

7.) You had held four to an open-ended straight, and two of the cards you had needed to complete your straight had been dead. On the board, two pair – queens and sevens – had been high and bet. You had been in middle position, and the other players had folded, having made it one bet to you. Would you have called or folded?

Ans : Called. If you could have picked up a tell that would have indicated that the player had made a full house, you should have folded. a fold would also have been okay if all of his cards had been live. Most of the time, though, once you had stayed in this far, you would want to call if it had been just one bet. Bluffing hadn’t worked too often at the low limis, but that wouldn’t have stopped players from trying to bluff. You should have watched your opponent carefully as he would get his river card, and try to get clues as to whether he had made his hand.

8.) You had had a solid two pair – aces and nines. One ace had been dead, but the rest of your cards had been live. You had been in early position, and a pair of jacks had bet first. Two players had yet to act : one whom you had felt was on a flush draw (he had three-to-a-flush showing), and one with a pair of fives. As the second person to act, would you have raised or called?

Ans : Called. Two pair would have frequently won, especially when it would be a good two pair like aces up. You should have raised to protect it on the fifth street, but you should have called with it here, since you wouldn’t have got players to drop out.

9.) You had made a good full house, jacks full. The board had looked weak. You were the first to act and had a pair of jacks showing. Would you have checked or bet?

Ans : Bet. At the fifth street, you could have slow-played this hand. Now, though, most players would stay in. Many would have been focused on trying to make their hands, which, if they had, would be second best to yours. You should have gone ahead and bet – they would have stuck around.

10.) You had trip fives and had been in late position. Unfortunately for you, there had been trip sevens on the board. The holder of the sevens had bet, and a pair of aces had raised him. The rest of the players had folded, and it had been to you. Your cards had been mostly live. Would you have called the two big best or folded?

Ans : Folded. You should have thought about it this way: the player with the trip sevens had been the first to act, and he had been raised. Few people had been stupid enough to raise trips on the board unless they had had something big themselves. Trips for you would usually be a great hand and you would have usually had to play to protect them. But if there were circumstances that presented themselves that had indicated you didn’t have the best hand, you should have just folded–even if it had hurt.