The Poker Mag

This poker hand was another early one which found me making a strong hand but ending up splitting the pot. I had been dealt (Qh,10d) and as is generally my custom early on when the blinds are small, I decided to try and see a cheap flop. The flop came down (8s,9d,Kd) after two other players had called preflop, and we all checked.

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I was obviously delighted to see the perfect card for me come off on the turn (Jd). I say the perfect card, but it also afforded interesting opportunity and danger. I had picked up an inside draw to the Straight Flush, but if any diamond other than the Queen happened to fall on the river, I might find myself in trouble. I decided to raise quite strongly, and the player to my left immediately called. Two of us saw the river, which was a (Js). This really wasn’t the card I wanted at all, because of my slight worries about my opponent holding a Flush, now were compounded by the possible Full House.

I knew these poker hands weren’t the most probable hand my opponent was holding due to the fact that his range of calling hands on the turn were quite varied. I made the same bet again, hoping I wouldn’t be faced with a large reraise, and thankfully I wasn’t, as my opponent flat called. He showed the same hand of (Q,10) with no diamond, but I was happy enough to split it due to the potential dangers of the board. You might wonder why I would bet the river if I was concerned about the board cards, but I felt strongly that if I showed weakness on the river, my poker opponent would try and steal the pot.