QA-Question of the Month for October

Thanks for all of your emails – although I can’t respond to each one individually I thoroughly enjoy reading them.  Keep them coming though – each month I choose a question and publish the answer on my site!  

To help with the overwhelming questions submitted, I am creating a new section on my site called Annie’s FAQ’s.  You’ll soon be able to see my answers to some of your most frequently asked questions.

In the meantime, here is this month’s Question of the Month sent in by Steven Smith.  Congratulations to Steven – he wins one of my Card-Sharx caricature t-shirts!

I play online and have trouble sometimes going with the middle hands toward the end of the game. In the real world what hands should you run from, like at the “all in” moment with three of a kind and only one card left to flip? I enjoy watching you play and would appreciate your advice.  

Sincerely
Steven Smith
WSOP Wannabe

Hi Steven,

Middle cards are trouble no matter when you play them. It just so happens that at the end of a tournament, you have to play some hands that are “trouble” because you just can’t afford to wait for great cards to come along. Here are two ideas you could try to carry forward. First, it’s always better to be the first one into the pot. If you’re going to play a treacherous middle hand like 8-7 suited, say, you’d rather be raising with it than calling, because if you raise they might all fold and — especially near the end of the tournament — that’s never a bad thing. Second, if you have to go all-in, try to have at least a little something-something to go to war with. An ace with a medium or big kicker, or a pair of some kind. You’re gonna get calls from hands like K-J and little pairs, and you’d like to have at least a fighting chance of winning.

About which hands to run from, I can’t tell you exactly, but I can say this: If you think you’re beat, you’re beat. Especially in beginners’ games, people are much more likely to have a hand than to be bluffing. Don’t play too loose, don’t chase, and you’ll do just fine in the game.

As for being a WSOP wannabe, hey, aren’t we all?

xoxo –Annie