Let's talk Texas Holdem poker hands and how to play like a PRO?

[wwzsocki]

I haven't seen a thread in this section with a discussion about poker hands played in various Texas Holdem games by our members.

Few times I wanted to share a tricky hand to discuss the in and outs of poker, with fellow poker players from around the world, but to my surprise, there was no thread for this, at least an active one.

Additionally, yesterday I saw a few hands shared in the WO thread and thought that this is the right time to start a thread where anybody would be able to share poker hands and discuss them.

Let's make a few rules:

1. Only Texas Holdem hands, but feel free to talk about poker (texas holdem), as a whole too, strategies, etc. This has not to be a hand per se.
2. No spamming or off-topics not related to poker, let's focus on hands.
3. The best hands will be added to the opening post.

like I said, I have seen a great hand in the WO thread yesterday shared by @BitcoinGirl.Club, so maybe let's start from this one.

HAND NR.1

How fucked you will feel after this?

The guy had QQ and I had KK33 two pairs in the flop! I knew there is a little chance to have a flash in the flop since there are three diamonds already but how the fuck is going to know that the other guy was just relaying on QQ and called my big bet! Even in the trun I was still in the game and placed bet again. He called again. Still he was relying on only QQ but in the river he got fucking luck and I am out!!!

Fucking luck never been with me in this gambling game...

Pre flop
Seeing K3 I gone with my regular bet amount I think I called BB

Flop
Since I have now KK33 I gone with higher amount, I think half of the chips I had in the table. Two pairs with K so you do not doubt much of course. But the other guy called!

The Turn
Since the other guy called I was thinking may be he had a flash but I have already invested a lot of chips and god damn it, it's KK33. I had other thought in mind that the guy is bluffing since he has almost double chips on board than me so he can have the luxury. The only way to test it is to bet an unusual amount and give him a shock. So I gone ALL IN!

But I got shocked when he called that too. And I was feeling fucked as well. I was just hoping the best for me.

River
When I saw diamond then I was pretty sure that the guy had a flash now if he had not in the first three card from Flop. But still I was hoping the best for me.

And finally when the card showed I felt fucked up! The guy was just taking chance with his QQ and got lucky. He was not in the game before River round. Bluffed with calling my ALL IN and he won!

Fucked!!!

[1714124942]

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[1714124942]

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[wwzsocki]

Fucking luck never been with me in this gambling game...

Poker is such a beautiful game because this is a game of skills and this hand, was very tricky to play.
I understand your frustration, but many times the river card would bring the nuts to the opponent, anyways this time the odds (luck  ) were on his site from the beginning.

You haven't said too much how this hand was played out exactly, but TBH just after the flop, your hand had fewer odds compared to his.
There were still 11 cards in the deck which could improve his hand, compared to only 4 cards on your site, it's like 3:1 on his favor.
Not mention, that if on the turn Jack or 10 would hit the deck, then he would have another draw to the straight and even more outs, but luckily there was a 6.
So, he was not blindly betting with a pair of queens, only had a flush draw with the possibility for an inside straight draw, which gives almost 14 outs that could make his hand better in the best scenario.

When you see such flop, then you have to play calm and be prepaid to throw away two pairs or even a straight, because there is a huge possibility for a flush.
So, in my opinion, you are not unlucky, only need to play more and gain more experience. With such flop, I would try to keep the pot size small and control the action if possible.
I don know how betting looked like pre and post-flop, so it is hard to discuss the play further.

Many times one will lose with 9, 8 suited when having AA, KK because this is the best hand (at least for me) to play against such type of nuts pre-flop, it gives such a massive amount of draws and possibilities when opponent end up having a pair of Aces on the river, against a flush draw, straight, three of kinds or two pairs at least, exactly like in your game. With two AA one has literally only two outs. Mostly stays at one pair of AA such as started pre-flop, but sometimes you will see such flop like here and have to adjust the play accordingly.

My suggestion: start counting outs, try to calculate odds when playing and of course play more not less   .

[tyKiwanuka]

I haven't seen a thread in this section with a discussion about poker hands played in various Texas Holdem games by our members.

Here you are https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5214582

[Pffrt]

I was unlucky yesterday. Didn't capture a screenshot though. I had A,8 on my hands while on the table, it was A,8,3,6 till the fourth. Since nothing higher card was possible in general (it could be, could be three of a kind which I took risk), the fifth card was 10 which ruined me. The other hand had A,10. I always got screwed with the fifth.

[wwzsocki]

Here you are https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5214582

Just like I said:

... to my surprise, there was no thread for this, at least an active one.

The thread you quoted is not active from almost 6 weeks, so I wasn't able to find it on the first few pages of the gambling discussion board.

But thank you for the link and please don't tell me to use the search function because it never worked for me  .

snip

The last comment in this linked thread is from March 19. 2020.

[Tipstar]

Flush is really a powerful combination in a Texas holdem, beating straights and three of a kind. The only unexpected entrant would be a Full house.
In the illustrated bet even if the 4th card would have been a 6 of diamonds and the last turned up to be a 3 of any kind, other player would have won with a turn of events.

[buwaytress]

I haven't seen a thread in this section with a discussion about poker hands played in various Texas Holdem games by our members.

Here you are https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5214582

Damn you got there first. But yeah, there's at least two threads also already dedicated to Poker, they're not much discussions there but I've seen some and you should join the weekly tourneys too, get them all discussing. I've dropped out basically, as I can't really find the time to play, though the bigger reason is that I'm really shitty at it and will only be throwing money at it.

I know at least 2 of the guys there are dead serious good.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5217547.0
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5236603.0

[naikturun]

I think whatever amount of bet you use he will continue to CALL because the card is QQ and K is already there plus he has Q diamond of course he will come.I want to ask why you CALL with K3 you should FOLD and wait for a better card.
no offense but such a card is not worth playing.

[mu_enrico]

Flush is really a powerful combination in a Texas holdem

"Powerful" may not be the best term for a flush mate. I think you'll naturally aim for a flush if your cards have the same suit, not like BitcoinGirl.Club's case. Also, it is risky if you have only one matched card since the opponent can also have the same suit with the higher number. The cursing explains the situation very well, lol.

[naikturun]

Flush is really a powerful combination in a Texas holdem

"Powerful" may not be the best term for a flush mate. I think you'll naturally aim for a flush if your cards have the same suit, not like BitcoinGirl.Club's case. Also, it is risky if you have only one matched card since the opponent can also have the same suit with the higher number. The cursing explains the situation very well, lol.

dude Q is the number three higher in holdem and K already there and the only 1 can beat Q is with A.
this turn only have 2 player that probability he has A is lower than 10%, he just wanted he has K not diamond

[Casdinyard]

Getting flush with poker is uncommon, actually it is a pretty great card to have you won't feel scared to call especially if you have a two of a kind plus the 3 on the table you'll feel safe about it. With the cards like dealt like that, having two pairs with 4 of the same kind ( diamonds ) is scary, one diamond is enough to make a flush, If I were holding those cards I'd fold them. That's a four of a kind on the table, if it happens that you have the ace of diamonds then you will beat the opponents hand no matter how high his cards are.

[RapTarX]

I'm playing Texas Holdem for last two days on swcpoker. I had little knowledge on this, however, I lost 2mBTC so far. It was a bad day today morning. I had gone all in with K top flush but unlucky that other side had the same of A top flush.

[mu_enrico]

dude Q is the number three higher in holdem and K already there and the only 1 can beat Q is with A.
this turn only have 2 player that probability he has A is lower than 10%, he just wanted he has K not diamond

That part of my comment is about the general case, not only about the above hand.

If you talk solely about the BitcoinGirl.Club's case, it was rare, four cards ♦, and Q♦ opponent. just like what you said.

Watch this for more lol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wX_mM5lyCA

PS: flush is strong but not that strong.

[webtricks]

I played a lot of poker in college days however, with job and all, it's been a while since I last played poker. Then I saw Yahoo's thread on SwC poker tournament. I joined right away and it's been a first time I played online poker. So from last 4 weeks, I am playing poker once again, relieving my college days.

I have played like 1000+ hands in last 25 days, maybe more. But I will always remember one hand. It was on SwC Cash Table. I got Q10s (diamonds). 8d, Ah and 5d were dealt on flop. Although I didn't have any strong hand, I raised. 3 players folded while two called. Jd was dealt on turn. I hit the flush. I was sure that no one will have stronger hand if non-diamond card would deal on river so I raised twice. One of the two remaining opponent folded while other called. Now river card was dealt and it was Ac. Opponent had first turn and he raised to the pot amount. Now it was my analysis time, I made the use of my Time Bank and thought of all possibilities. I was sure about one thing, the opponent don't have AA because he was very calm in pre-flop. Players usually go wild in pre-flop if they get AA. So only possibility was Full House. I was continuously thinking is he holding two 5 or two 8 or one Ace and one 5/8. What made him playing so calm before seeing river card. Finally I reached the conclusion that he's holding one Ace and he's raising on 3 of a kind hand. So I went all-in and he went all-in too. Bang! He got K9s (diamonds) and I had Q10s (diamonds). That was the most unexpected result for me.

He was one of the best player I ever faced so far. Not giving away the hint that he had flush on river by playing soft and then raising on river to mislead the opponent.

[figmentofmyass]

I got Q10s (diamonds). 8d, Ah and 5d were dealt on flop. Although I didn't have any strong hand, I raised. 3 players folded while two called. Jd was dealt on turn. I hit the flush. I was sure that no one will have stronger hand if non-diamond card would deal on river so I raised twice. One of the two remaining opponent folded while other called. Now river card was dealt and it was Ac. Opponent had first turn and he raised to the pot amount. Now it was my analysis time, I made the use of my Time Bank and thought of all possibilities. I was sure about one thing, the opponent don't have AA because he was very calm in pre-flop. Players usually go wild in pre-flop if they get AA. So only possibility was Full House. I was continuously thinking is he holding two 5 or two 8 or one Ace and one 5/8. What made him playing so calm before seeing river card. Finally I reached the conclusion that he's holding one Ace and he's raising on 3 of a kind hand. So I went all-in and he went all-in too. Bang! He got K9s (diamonds) and I had Q10s (diamonds). That was the most unexpected result for me.

He was one of the best player I ever faced so far. Not giving away the hint that he had flush on river by playing soft and then raising on river to mislead the opponent.

it's pretty common for people to slow-play flushes in that spot then bet the river. K-high flush vs Q-high flush, always a tough cooler.

i approach with caution when the board pairs up like that on the river. i'm not folding there but i'm likely just to call rather than re-raise all in.

I haven't seen a thread in this section with a discussion about poker hands played in various Texas Holdem games by our members.

Here you are https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5214582

granted, it's been dead for 6 weeks.

i was gonna pull up a few interesting hands i played recently but i've only been playing on SwC and my hand history wasn't saving. the in-software hand history is impossible to parse for starting hands. even if you can find a hand you're looking for, you have to manually replay and transcribe it yourself.

oh well, it's saving now. i'll share some hands later.

[wwzsocki]

...i approach with caution when the board pairs up like that on the river. i'm not folding there but i'm likely just to call rather than re-raise all in.

Exactly, I think also that slow play is the best way to play such hands, but sometimes it's just hard to believe that indeed he has a draw or hit the flush on the river and is not trying to bluff from the beginning. The best-case scenario is to have nothing, so there is no moral dilemma of going all in, only to check the filling of a bluff  , but the situation is totally different, when you have something, like in HAND NR.1 were @BitcoinGirl.Club had two pairs.

Sometimes, when you play too many hands with the same players, they will finally remember, that you try to play such draws slowly and are likely to fold when re-raise and all-ins come to action on the turn or river. Many regs will try to use it against you and start to bluff more often. I like to fool them into such play and call these costly all in bluffs  . I try to change my play constantly and sometimes even show stupid bluffs or calls to let them think that I am not reg or good tight-aggressive player, only a random fish because they will play differently with such opponent.

I personally also like to use such flush draws for bluffs and to scare out opponents on the turn or river. Of course, everything depends on betting, position, signs I see from other players involved, with how many I am playing such pot and so on. Still, there are going to be times when you make all the right decisions, but still lose in the end. This is the beauty of poker.

[adzino]

Poker does depend on luck and somewhat on skills too. You could go all-in every round and end up making thousands or you could end up broke. Though I still do believe luck plays more vital role over here.
The guy playing with pocket Qs was actually smart enough to not fold. Not sure why bitcoingirl is surprised over here. Just because a K poped up in the flop and he was still playing? The dude had a chance of getting 3 oak and a flush!

[Wexnident]

Unlucky. It was a nice draw of cards until the chances of the other party having a flush actually became a higher cause of the river. The other guy was probably betting on the Q pair but then bam, river turned up and suddenly increased his odds. That's a 1/4 chance of actually drawing it. The guy was probably half bluffing and half pushing though, he had a pair of Q's which is not that strong nor weak, hence his chances are at most in the middle.

Probably after the flop, his mind turned since he just needed 1 more card for his flush. Probably the reason why he still pushed since even if he just called, he still has the Q pair to back up to. Besides, his hand was the pairs of Q itself, giving him a lot of room to work with tbh. Probably just counted his chances and bluffed his way halfway and then played to win by the end.

[wwzsocki]

...The guy was probably half bluffing and half pushing though, he had a pair of Q's which is not that strong nor weak, hence his chances are at most in the middle...

To know exactly or at least to try to figure out what the opponent was counting for and his play, we need more information on how the betting looked like pre-flop and later post-flop, on the turn and river. These details about this particular hand were not shared fully in the original post, so we can only try to make our best guess here. If he shoved all-in with his QQ hand pre-flop, then is obvious that he blindly counted on his pair, so all depends on betting to be able to figure out his play here.

...I went all-in and he went all-in too. Bang! He got K9s (diamonds) and I had Q10s (diamonds). That was the most unexpected result for me...he had flush on river by playing soft...

Indeed this is a common mistake and very costly mistake because many not experienced players will shove all-in in such a situation. I made such mistakes a few times also and learned very fast that you have to hold the Ace (best hand), to do this. Many times I called with 9 or Even a king to be beaten by higher card. Such mistakes start already pre-flop because many players play too many hands and they bet with 5, 9 off suite pre-flop, see a flush draw post-flop and bet to the end to see a higher card with the same color on the river.

This is also the reason why so many players play every Ace hand because the flush is a common outcome in poker. Here are the exact probabilities in Texas Holdem:


https://www.888poker.com/how-to-play-poker/hands/flush-poker-hand-ranking/

As you can see on the deck with only 2 cards there are almost 20% chances of winning, which is a lot.

[BitcoinGirl.Club]

HAND NR.1

Just found this thread and let me share you what exactly I had in mind and how I moved forward as the hand was progressing. I can not remember all correctly however as far as I can recall this is how I progressed:

Pre flop
Seeing K3 I gone with my regular bet amount I think I called BB

Flop
Since I have now KK33 I gone with higher amount, I think half of the chips I had in the table. Two pairs with K so you do not doubt much of course. But the other guy called!

The Turn
Since the other guy called I was thinking may be he had a flash but I have already invested a lot of chips and god damn it, it's KK33. I had other thought in mind that the guy is bluffing since he has almost double chips on board than me so he can have the luxury. The only way to test it is to bet an unusual amount and give him a shock. So I gone ALL IN!

But I got shocked when he called that too. And I was feeling fucked as well. I was just hoping the best for me.

River
When I saw diamond then I was pretty sure that the guy had a flash now if he had not in the first three card from Flop. But still I was hoping the best for me.

And finally when the card showed I felt fucked up! The guy was just taking chance with his QQ and got lucky. He was not in the game before River round. Bluffed with calling my ALL IN and he won!

Fucked!!!