Jonathan Little Splashes Around From the Button
This week's hand finds me splashing around from the button with a weak hand and a deep stack. I do end up flopping a pair and a flush draw, but somehow I mess it up.
The blinds were 250/500, and a tight-aggressive player opened for 1,200 from early position. The player in the hijack seat, a loose-aggressive player, called the raise, and when it folded to me I called as well with my J♣7♣.
With more than 105,000 to start the hand I was very deep, and as I explain in the video below while I could very well fold this hand calling is fine, too. I'm a fan of splashing around in position in tournaments because a lot of people make a lot of errors — and when you're in position you have a better chance of capitalizing on those errors than when you're not.
The big blind called as well, then the flop came Q♣7♠4♣, giving me middle pair and a flush draw. It folded to the player in the hijack who bet 2,200 into a pot of about 5,700.
I discuss reasons why I think calling seems the best play here, but I ended up raising to 5,100 — almost certainly a mistake, actually — and the hijack called, bringing the pot close to 16,000.
The turn brought the 4♥, and when my lone opponent checked I bet 4,200. Again, I'm not liking how I played the hand, as checking would have been better. My opponent called again, making the pot about 24,000.
The river was the 4♦, and my opponent bet a tiny amount — just 1,500. We're never folding to that bet obviously, getting better than 15-to-1 pot odds. Meanwhile raising is definitely not a good idea. See what happens, and hear how I discuss (and criticize) my decisions in this hand.
What a poorly played hand! Would you have played this hand differently? Would you have even seen a flop?
Jonathan Little is a professional poker player and author with over $6,400,000 in live tournament earnings. He writes a weekly educational blog and hosts a podcast at JonathanLittlePoker.com. You can follow him on Twitter @JonathanLittle.
