There are 1,326 possible combinations of cards from a standard deck but there are only 169 non-equivalent starting hands in poker. This number is made up of 13 pocket pairs, 78 suited hands and 78 unsuited hands.
With the 2016 World Series of Poker now just about a month away, I’ve been going back through hands I played at last summer’s WSOP. Today I’m sharing another from a $1,500 buy-in no-limit hold’em event, this one coming from very early on Day 1.
That's My Strong Hand
The first level had just started and we were only playing six-handed as players were still arriving. Partly because it was short-handed, I raised from under the gun with , the player to my left immediately reraised, and the next player to act cold-called the three-bet. It folded back to me and I called as well.
As you’ll see, I managed to flop a five-high straight plus a nut-flush draw in this three-way pot. I checked, the three-bettor continued, and the cold-caller called again. Noting that a lot of turn cards could kill further action, I decided to check-raise, and after the three-bettor folded the caller stuck around by calling once more.
I was lucky to flop so strong, but even luckier that my remaining opponent ended up playing the hand in a way that would get me off the hook if I didn’t have such a strong holding. Always be sure to play your hand in a manner that keeps in a wide range of marginal made hands that you crush.
Take a look:
How would you have played the hand? Let me know in a comment below.
Jonathan Little is a professional poker player and author with over $6,200,000 in live tournament earnings. He writes a weekly educational blog and hosts a podcast at JonathanLittlePoker.com. You can follow him on Twitter @JonathanLittle.
Take My Strong Hand
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What Is My Poker Hand
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tournament strategyJonathan LittleWSOPno-limit hold’empositionvalue bettingcheck-raisingmulti-way potsshort-handed strategyRelated Tournaments
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Jonathan Little