Travis has pocket 9s. The pot is up to $2,400 from all the bet and raises. The flop was J-9-9. Having four of a kind, Travis raised the pot. Someone re-raised him and Travis went all in and was called. The other guy had A-J. Then the turn comes with a J. Then Travis’ worst nightmare had arrived in the return with another jack. He didn’t play poker for a month after that.
There would be times that you’ll find yourself against players who would wait for a good hand before reacting. This would lead to no action whatsoever on the table. Believe it or not, this is a good thing. You might not win a big pot in an instant but you can build a good stack over time. Try to take charge of the table if you can. Extremely tight players can be easily bluffed. As time goes by, these players might become much looser so you have to adjust.
The middles stage of a sit-n-go is when there are around 6 to 7 players left on the poker table. This stage is important. It is when you start to be aggressive so that you’ll have a decent number of chips for the late stages. To build up your chip count, you must execute smart bluffs. This is where your observations during the early stage come into play. Through it you’ll know who the weaker players are and exploit them.
Carl is playing in a tournament when he drew pocket aces. He decided to slow play it and raise 100 chips pre-flop. Three players called. On the flop was 3-8-10 rainbow. Thinking his hand is strong, he went all in. Everyone folded except for one guy who had 3-8 off suit. The turn was a Jack and the river was a 3. Pocket rockets lost it for Carl.
One time David was playing online and was dealt with a Q-Q hand. Not wanting to see the flop with seven players, he tried to raise the stakes. Everyone folded except for one. The flop was J-9-9. David bet half the pot and the other player called. The turn is a seven. David bet half the pot again and the other player called. On the river a ten falls and the other guy called all in. David called and to his dismay the other player had 8-8 to win with a straight.
On the big blind Anne was dealt a K-Q of hearts. All the rest folded except for the small blind that checked. The flop is K-K-Q rainbow. The small blind went all in. Thinking he either has Q-Q or A-A, Anne called. Anne called it right because the small blind had A-A. She thought she had the stronger hand. This was squashed when the turn is showed to be an ace and the river was trash.
The small blind raises $10 with his pocket queens. The big blind calls with his K-9 clubs. The flop is 10-7-6 clubs. Small blind goes all in and big blind accepts. Small blind can’t believe is eyes when he saw the King high flush. Then the turn is 10 and the river is 10 as well. Pocket queens lose once again.