This post and the next few posts will be an assortment of behavioral poker tells that helped me in my last $15-30 limit session. I wanted to share them and also write about them in the interest of helping me use them better in a session. Sometimes I get good tells but I don’t fully know the best strategy to make the best use of them.
In one hand, I had
[Ks] [Kc]
in the big blind. Jimmy, a regular who is prone to getting emotional, raised under the gun and everyone folded around to me. I just called. Jimmy is a tight player in early position, so I could narrow down his range to cards like AK, AQ, or a decent pair. The flop was:
[Ac] [Qh] [5d]
I check and Jimmy bets. I raise. Jimmy responds by slamming his chips very hard and angrily into the pot. This tells me that he has JJ or TT (slim possibility of KK); it’s the only hand that makes sense for this action. He’s not the type to fake anger in such a spot; he’s the type to get genuinely angry when he has a high pair and an A comes on the board. He’s also the type to take one off to try to hit his trips, instead of just giving it up on the flop. If he had responded with a calm call, I would have thought he had a hand with an Ace. Yes, he’s that transparent.
The turn comes another Q:
[Ac] [Qh] [5d] [Qd]
I bet again and he folds, complaining. The amount of complaining he does about the Ace makes me think he might have actually had KK. Anyway, this made me start thinking that considering the accurate tell I had on him, I should have checked the turn. Because I know where he’s at, and know there’s only two outs for him, I thought I should have checked to try to get a frustrated call on the river. This is what I mean by not always knowing the best line to take when I do get a reliable read.
Zach, I think you did the right thing. I mean, yes..you have put him on his hand..however we all know these players tend to go astray ;). If you check the turn and he bets then you must be CERTAIN of the hand you have put him on. Even if he checks behind you, then you have gained no more information on an important betting round. ;) However, I have already made money this week by seeing that angry bet…so why not with the angry call..lol.
~Also, I consider ANY time you take the pot with KK on an Ace flop ..Bravo!
Well, with some of these players who are super-obvious, you can make weird plays to maximize your profit against them. This is a perfect spot, where I was 95% sure where he was at (KK, JJ, or TT), so I should have checked the turn I think, to induce a possible call on river. This is not a play I would make often, just against someone who’s this obvious and obviously a bit steamed to boot. If he acts weird and bets the turn, I’d either raise him or call him; that’s how sure I was of this particular player; he’s just never the kind of guy to fake that kind of emotion in that spot.