Jonathan Little Bets a Rivered Straight, Then Gets Raised: Call or Fold?
This week we're back at the final table of a $5,000 buy-in, no-limit hold'em event from the 2015 World Series of Poker. Just six players are left, and when the following hand takes place I have about 3.2 million with the blinds having just gone up to 20,000/40,000 with a 5,000 ante.
The action begins with Jeff Tomlinson — whom I refer to as "J.T." in the video — raising from under the gun to 85,000. He was a middle-aged player who I did not know but who was playing reasonably well. It folded around to me in the big blind where I called with 8♥6♥.
The flop came J♣7♠4♦, giving me a gutshot, and we both checked. On the 6♦ turn I led for 80,000 and my opponent called. The river then brought the 5♦, completing a straight for me, and I bet 145,000 into the 395,000 pot. Tomlinson responded with a raise to around 345,000, giving me a tricky decision.
Straights are normally strong hands, except when you get raised as happened to me this time. Do you make the call here for 200,000 more into the 1.1 million pot or do you make the snug fold?
Watch what I did — and hear me explain the reasoning behind my decision — and see what happened:
Jonathan Little is a professional poker player and author with over $6,300,000 in live tournament earnings. He writes a weekly educational blog and hosts a podcast at JonathanLittlePoker.com. You can follow him on Twitter @JonathanLittle.
