Encountering a difficult ace on the river
When you have top pair, you feel like the king of the world, but when an annoying ace appears on the river, your world starts to crumble. Take advantage of the lessons in this article and be prepared to take on the game proper.
Scenario: You are seven-handed, playing in an online tournament with a $5,000 buy-in. Blinds are 400-800, and you are on the button with 98,000 chips with K♥-J♥. The player under the gun makes a raise with just over the minimum to 1,760 and everyone folds to you.
Preflop Analysis
Checking is usually the best option with hands that can flop very well, like K♥-J♥, especially when you are in position. Three-betting is also fine, but checking with suited big cards is usually recommended. If K-J is offsuit, three-betting often makes more sense to ensure that the pot is heads-up, and also to force the starting raiser to fold before the flop from time to time.
- Action: you check and both blinds fold. The flop shows J♦-6♥-3♠, and the player who raised bets 3,200.
Top Pair on the Flop
- Pot: 7,920
- Board: J♦-6♥-3♠
- Effective stack: 120 Big Blinds Effective.
Flop Analysis
Although you usually have the best hand, if a lot of money enters the pot, you will find that you usually have a marginal or bad hand. When faced with a big bet on the flop, you should check most of your possibilities. Checking makes your opponent have a lot of hands that you are crushing, which is rarely a bad thing, especially when you are unlikely to be outdrawn.
- Action: You check, and the turn shows 10♥. Your opponent bets 8,800.
Turning A Flush Draw
- Pool: 23,120
- Board: J♦-6♥-3♠-10♥
- Effective Stack: 116 Big Blind Effective
Turn analysis
A raise on the turn would be more profitable than a raise on the flop because most of your opponent’s range may have a draw, but still, checking is again the best move.
Although your opponent may have a few extra outs with 10♥, the chances of him hitting are low, and you even block some draws with your king. Although you should be unhappy about going all-in (aces, kings and queens are still within your opponent’s range), this is the only amount worth raising to, because if you raise less than that, you’ll give most of your opponent’s draws an acceptable chance to continue.
- Action: You make the call again, and the river shows A♠. Your opponent bets 20,000.
Annoying ace on the river
- Pot: 43,120
- Board: J♦-6♥-3♠-10♥-A♠.
- Effective Stack: 105 Big Blind Effective
River analysis
The Ace on the river is the worst card that could have come along because it combines so well with your opponent’s bluff range on the turn. When you’ve been losing to a lot of better hands and a lot of draws have come on the river, it’s usually time to make a snug fold with your bluff catcher.
Conclusion: Although frustrating, sometimes in poker you are ahead in the early rounds of betting, but get outdrawn on the river. Make a strategic fold and live to fight another day.