Poker Skills Test
by
J. Phillip Vogel
This
Poker Skills Test will challenge and compare your actions to the odds
in this interactive
lesson.
I
have concocted a simple test to see how good your poker
skills are.
Read
the scenario, note your answers and compare how your poker skills
compare to our
experts.
A
full analysis with a play-by-play breakdown of
the
odds
and percentage is at the end of the lesson.
If at any point,
you fold or go
all-in, jump to the appropriate section (Flop, Turn, or River) and see
how
favorable or unfavorable the odds were at that stage of the hand.
Let’s
Play and Test your Poker Skills…
The Scenario
You
(Player X) are one of 300 players remaining (out of an initial field of
500) in
a multi-table No Limit Texas Hold
‘em tournament.
For this hand, the
blinds are
relatively low, 50/100, and you’re currently on the button.
When
the cards are
dealt all but two opponents fold, the small blind (Player Y) and the
Big Blind
(Player Z).
You’ve been dealt an unsuited A-10 and the
action is to you. Would
you:
A.
Fold
B.
Call
C.
Raise 100
D.
Go All-in
Both
players check/call the flop comes: 10(s)-Q(s)-3(h)
After
seeing the flop, Player Y peaks at his hole cards, pauses for a moment,
and
then raises 125 chips. Player
Z plays
with his chips, chats a little with Player Y and then finally calls. The play is to you. Do you:
A. Fold
B. Call
C. Raise
D. Go
All-in
Assuming
both opponents remain in the hand, the turn comes: 3 (clubs).
With
the turn, Player Y immediately fires out another raise, this time for
200
chips. Player Z
again hesitates and then
calls. Do you:
A.
Fold
B.
Call
C.
Raise
D. Go
All-in
The
River comes: 7 (clubs).
Upon
seeing, the river players Y and Z both check.
Do you:
A. Fold
B.
Check
C.
Raise
D. Go
All-in
How’d
you do? Compare your choices to those of our experts below.
Step by step analysis of your
poker
skills:
Now
that you’ve made your decisions and played the hand exactly how you
would have
in a real poker room, let’s see if you would have made the right or
wrong
choices.
Pre-flop
You
were dealt an unsuited A-10 and all but two opponents at the table
folded prior
to the flop. Given the relative strength of your hand, coupled with
your
positional advantage, the suggested play here is to raise.
Simply
calling allows players with weaker hands the opportunity to see a cheap
flop
and possibly make a winning hand.
Below
is a breakdown of each hand’s initial relative value.
|
Player
|
Hand
|
Win
Percentage
|
Odds
|
|
X
|
A(s)
10 (h)
|
59%
|
1.47:1
|
|
Y
|
K(s)
9
(s)
|
23%
|
0.32:1
|
|
Z
|
K(d)
J(c)
|
15%
|
0.19:1
|
The
Action: After your
pre-flop bet/call,
notice the reactions of your opponents.
Most notably in this particular situation is
the fact that
neither
player re-raised, suggesting that at this stage you’re hand was the
best.
The Flop: 10 (s) Q (s) 3 (h)
The
flop improved your hand with middle pair.
However, both the queen and the potential
flush draw
threaten the value
of those tens. While
in reality neither
opponent actually made a hand, they each improved their chances of
winning on
that flop, with Player Y’s hand now almost identical in strength to
yours.
|
Player
|
Tie
|
Win
Percentage
|
Odds
|
|
X
|
0%
|
38%
|
0.61:1
|
|
Y
|
2%
|
37%
|
0.61:1
|
|
Z
|
2%
|
23%
|
0.32:1
|
The
Action: Part of the
decision regarding
how to continue this hand rests on the actions of your opponents. Since you got a piece of
the flop, calling or
raising is called for.
But
simply calling can show weakness on your part, especially if you raised
earlier
in the hand. By
raising, you can
continue to threaten your opponents‹possibly even driving them out or
at the
very least get a read on how they view the strength of their own hand.
Furthermore,
since Player Y re-checked his hole cards and then paused before raising
what
was only a moderate amount compared with the pot, it suggests a
semi-bluff.
The Turn: 3 (c)
Although
on the surface the turn didn’t help your situation, in reality it
drastically
widened the gap between your hand and those of your opponents.
|
Player
|
Tie
|
Win
Percentage
|
Odds
|
|
X
|
0%
|
60%
|
1.47:1
|
|
Y
|
5%
|
21%
|
0.31:1
|
|
Z
|
5%
|
14%
|
0.20:1
|
The
Action: Because
Player Y raised so
quickly following the turn, and
Player
Z once again called, it suggests a bluff and a draw respectively.
The River: 7 (c)
Again,
this card failed to improve your tens, but neither did it improve the
hands of
your opponents. At
this point, your tens
are best and unless another player manages to get you to fold the hand,
the pot
is yours.
Player
Win Percentage
X
100%
Y
0%
Z
0%
Poker Skills: The
Action: Since both
players Y and Z
checked, they have in essence surrendered the hand to you. Had one of the two made an
unusually large
bet or gone all-in at this point it may have made the decision
difficult. But
as it happened, you’re free to raise.
While
raising in this situation is unlikely to put any extra chips in the
pot, since
neither opponent made a hand, you should still do it here to try and
force them
to fold.
Not
only does this confirm your aggression and confidence, but it also
prevents the
other players from glimpsing your strategy for that type of hand.
Final analysis
of Poker Skills
Although
not always readily apparent, throughout this entire scenario Player X
was in
the lead. But just as during a real game, the odds fluctuated with each
new
card to hit the board changing that lead from formidable to miniscule
in
seconds.
As
these changes occur, solid
players adjust their betting to meet the situation while taking into
consideration the actions and reactions of their opponents each step of
the
way.
Poker
Terms follows this Poker Skills Test
OR
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Games Program
|
