Winning with small suited connectors.

[Alan Mendelson]

What's really great about having small cards is that you can win big pots by hitting flops that don't help the big betting players.

Let's face it: players with big cards tend to bet big. Players with AK and KK and AA and big pairs tend to bet big to win pots pre flop, and to scare away players with small pairs, and with draws such as JQ or Ten-Jack.

But having small cards that hit a flop of small cards can often lead to big wins by surprising the players with the big cards.

This is what happened to me earlier tonight. I was the big blind at a $100 buy-in table, and by the time the hand was over I had $800 in my stack after tipping the dealer on my win.

As the big blind, I was last to act on the pre-flop betting and the other players at the table were betting big. An initial $10 raise became a $30 re-raise with five players calling and when the action came back to me I felt I had to call if for nothing else by "pot odds." I had the 4 and 5 of hearts.

The flop came 3, 5, 6 rainbow with little danger of a flush and I had a pair of fives. There was no betting after the flop which made me truly believe my opponents were all playing "big cards" and I had an open-ended straight draw with a pair.

The turn was a Jack -- and that's when the betting ignited and that confirmed my suspicions that the others at the table all had big cards. Several players went all-in while others made big bets, and I just had to call with my open-ended straight draw and one pair.

The river was a deuce. I had made my straight and no one had a 7 high straight. The pot was mine. On the showdown one player turned over Ace-Jack, others showed big cards, just as I suspected.

Sometimes you have to take a contrarian view. When many players bet big you have to assume they are betting big with big cards. And if too many players are betting big with big cards it means there are small cards to come. This time this thinking worked.



Not a bad return for one hand on a $100 buy-in table.

[Count Room]

Cool pic and great story, but what's that ID picture leaning on the bottom of the chip racks? Do casino players cards require photo ID's like drivers licenses now?

[Alan Mendelson]

Yes, at Hollywood and at several casinos here in Southern Cal photos are on the cards. These cards are literally like cash. Tonight for example I had accrued about $40 in "food comps" which has a "cash out" value of $20. Having photo IDs makes it faster for the food servers and cashiers to make payments. You also need a driver license, passport or other government ID to get a player's card because your tax info is, of course, in the system for the rare time you get a W2G because of a jackpot or tournament win.

edited to add: there was a special promotion today. After three scans (one per hour) $15 was added to your account plus regular comps.

[arcimede$]

It was a pretty good position. Any card in the range 2-7 gave you a good chance at a winner.

[Alan Mendelson]

It was a pretty good position. Any card in the range 2-7 gave you a good chance at a winner.

Yes, after the flop that was the case. But in a poker game, playing small cards -- suited or not -- is a very risky proposition. In my case last night, I was the big blind and the pre-flop betting starts with the player to my left. There was already more than a $100 in the pot when the action came back to me. I had $3 at risk and could have folded at that point thinking that everyone else has "made hands" being big pairs or big draw cards such as AK, AQ, AJ. But I said out loud "I'm priced in." And I really was.

The flop could have just as easily come J, Q, K except that I thought that with so many "big bets" already out there that the big cards were already in the hands of the players, and I was correct in the analysis -- the big cards were already in the hands of the other players leaving the small cards "to come."

[arcimede$]

Alan, I think you're overstating the pre-flop situation. There were still lots of big cards available and just one on the flop would have destroyed your hand. You got lucky.

[Alan Mendelson]

Alan, I think you're overstating the pre-flop situation. There were still lots of big cards available and just one on the flop would have destroyed your hand. You got lucky.

You are absolutely correct. No one said poker wasn't mostly luck. The best skill in poker is knowing when to fold. After the flop I would have only been down $30 if big cards had come and I easily could have folded. The extra $27 I put into the pot pre-flop was a gamble that small cards were coming. After the flop my gamble got even better.

[Alan Mendelson]

Just got back from a night of poker at Hollywood Park, and the same hand happened again for me. But this time I didn't win as much.

Again, I have 4,5 of hearts, but I was not in the big blind. This time I just took a gamble in middle position called three other players. It was $10 to call. Big blind was $3.
Again the same flop -- 3, 5, 6 rainbow. There was no action after the flop. The turn card again was a Jack. Everyone checked till the last player in the hand who bet $40. I called and the other two players folded. Now in the pot about $120.

The river was a 4. No straight this time. The other player bet $30 and I called. I showed two pair --4s and 5s. He showed Ace-Jack.

Ironically, one of the players at the table was with me the previous night when I won the monster with the same cards and the same flop.