Free Cards
The
Danger of Free Cards
By Barbara Feiner
Free
cards may be something to celebrate when you’re
playing Monopoly, but they can spell trouble at the
poker table.
By
definition, you give your opponent a free card when
you check instead of betting, thus allowing him to see
the turn or river card without forcing him to call
your bet (making him “pay to play”). This is a
common mistake among novices who play too tight.
As
psychologist and poker analyst Alan N. Schoonmaker,
PhD, points out in his must-read book, “The
Psychology of Poker,” playing too conservatively
“makes you check with hands most players, especially
good ones, would bet. You do so to ‘save money,’
but it is a very expensive habit. Checking gives your
opponents free cards, and some of those cards will
beat you. You mustbet (and raise) more often.”
More
advanced players sometimes give their opponents a free
card when they’re slow-playing a monster hand in an
attempt to trap them into making a sizable bet. It’s
a move many a pro will make, but the strategy can
sometimes backfire.
Top
pro Daniel Negreanu learned this the hard way when he
was in a showdown with rising star Kassem “Freddy”
Deeb during the No-Limit Hold’em event at the 2004
Championship Poker at the Plaza tournament.
In
heads-up play, Negreanu was the chip leader. He had
steadily slow-played Deeb, which allowed him to steal
more than a few pots. Then came the following hand.
Negreanu
was dealt:
Deeb
held the following, which gave him a 60% chance of
winning the hand.
First
to act, Negreanu bet $8,000, which Deeb called. The
flop came down:
Negreanu
had a set of queens and a 96% chance of winning the
hand. He decided to bet only $15,000, hoping Deeb
would think he was bluffing. Deeb took the bait and
raised $30,000, which Negreanu called.
The
turn card was dealt:
Negreanu
was sitting pretty when Deeb, who had absolutely
nothing, checked. He could have ended the hand right
there by betting. Deeb, lacking even a pair, was bound
to fold. But when Deeb, who was first to act, checked,
Negreanu did the same, hoping Deeb would perceive him
to be weak -- and giving himself an opportunity to
extract more chips on
fifth street
.
The
river card was dealt:
Now,
Negreanu had a problem. There were three hearts on the
board. If Deeb happened to hold two hearts, he’d
have a flush. By checking instead of betting on the
turn, Negreanu had given Deeb a free card on
the river.
“That’s
the only card I was worried about: a heart,” a
perturbed Negreanu said aloud. “Silly me. I could
have just won this pot on the turn. What did I do?”
Luckily
for Negreanu, Deeb didn’t have the flush. But
Negreanu knew he had placed his trip queens at risk.
(Not to worry. He ultimately won the match, taking
home $310,000 for his efforts.)
The
moral of the story?
Slow-playing
a hand can be a great strategy, but you have to weigh
the advantages against the potential risks. If you
give your opponent an out on the turn, you may set
yourself up for a suckout on
fifth street
. Even when you’re sitting with a “sure thing,”
a bad beat may be only a “heart-beat” away.
_____________
About Barbara Feiner:
Barbara Feiner is a Los Angeles-based journalist who
covers the poker world.
