Calling at Showdown in Limit Holdem When You Think You’re Behind

One of the toughest things that new Fixed Limit Players have a hard time comprehending is calling down with a lesser hand when they think they are beat. They take the stance that they are saving a bet and making a great laydown. However, in a lot of cases, they may be better suited to make that last call at the river. Let me explain a great case in point.

Recently, I was playing a H.O.R.S.E. sit & go and we reached the Limit Holdem round. A player that was known to raise with any two cards above ten and small pair made it two bets to go. I then made it three bets with A-K of hearts. The flop fell Q-K-Q rainbow with one heart and the player bet out. Just to see where I was at, I put in a raise. This player then flat called me.

The turn then fell the Jh to give me a flush draw and top pair. My opponent then led out. At this point, I am wondering a few things. Does he have A-K too? Did he have something like A-10 and now has a straight. Maybe something like K-J. I did not really put him on a queen. Either event, I have top pair and flush draw and I am going to see the river.

The river the 3c, which is a harmless card. My opponent yet again bet out. I missed my flush and I could be behind to a straight, a set, or even two pair. Yes, pocket aces are a possibility but I really wasn’t giving that much credence. At this point, the pot is at least 8 to 1 and I decide that although I may be beat, I have to call. My opponent showed pocket 10′s and I take a nice pot to put me in great chip position to win the sit & go. (Which I proceeded to do.)

Many astute players recognize why I called here. The pot was laying a sufficient price to make the call. The problem is that many player in a NL mindset get hung up on making strong laydowns and pay less attention to the fact that in many cases, “it is just one more bet.” While that sounds like a calling station mentality, sometime in Limit Holdem that is the type of mentality you need to make some uncomfortable calls.

Granted, making these calls also depends on the player. If you are playing a guy that will never bet unless he definitely has at least top pair or better, then you will know when you are truly behind and need to make the laydown to save a bet. However, in many cases in Limit Holdem, the player will be relatively loose or passive and not enough of a rock to justify always laying down a substandard hand.

If you have decent pot odds, it is almost always correct to call at the river, even if you are behind. Keep that in mind and you will win increase your win rate.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Related posts:

• Three Tips to Improve Your Limit Hold’em Game Limit Hold’em is considered a science where No-Limit is considered an art form.  Of course, some people suck at science and get their preverbal tails handed to them in limit.  If you have wanted to improve your limit hold’em game,...
• Playing with Mr. Store Keeper The other week, I was in Atlantic City playing some low stakes Limit Holdem. The table that I was at had a pretty standard lineup for the lower limits. There really was only one player that played with any type...
• Playing Calling Stations in Texas Holdem One of the most frustrating player types in all of poker, not just Texas Holdem, is the calling station. What makes the calling station so frustrating is that many times, you cannot get them to fold a hand, no matter...
• Answers to Limit Holdem Scenarios Last month, I posted some scenarios regarding Fixed Limit Holdem play. Did you check them out? If so, how do you think you did? Here are my answers, which of course are not the ONLY answer. Scenario: You are on...
• Limit Holdem Scenarios How good is your limit Holdem? Take a look at some of the questions that I am about to pose and formulate your own answer. I will give the answers in future posts. Scenario: You are on the button with...