Put Your Opponent On A Hand

Pre Flop Poker Strategy

I was playing a bit of pot limit in Gutshot last night. Now, I'm not normally a fan of pot limit as I prefer no limit texas holdem poker, but I managed to triple my investment.

The table was fairly aggressive because five of my opponents at the table where some off-duty Gutshot dealers. I played pretty tight to combat this.

I had a few good hands dealt to me while sat at the table and then I got dealt pocket Queens in and early/mid position. I put in a pot-size raise and got a caller in late position. It was here that I had to put him on a few hands. To be able to call my raise he has most likely got one of the following:

• Mid to low pair : prob 10's 9's 8's or 7's
• Ace with a high but not King kicker: prob AQ, AJ maybe a loose AT.
• Anything else and he should have re-raised or folded!

The flop comes down J - 5 - 2 rainbow (all different suits) which is a great flop for my hand!

I bet the pot, as I know that I most likely have the best hand at this point. He'd been quite a tight player that night and so couldn't have 5's or 2's and it would be a very odd call pre-flop with pocket jacks.

I bet ¾ of the pot and he raises over the top pretty much putting me all in and I call.

He turns over AQu - nice! I have him dominated as long as I can dodge the aces. The turn and the river don't help him and I take down a tasty pot.

Without putting him on a hand before the flop comes out, you could suddenly get worried when he raises me back on the flop that he has trip jacks or trip fives - however by analysing the play before the flop is dealt I had a much better chance of working out where I stood.