Limit Texas Holdem Quiz #11, Question Two

[Matt]

The game is loose and generally passive. You are in the cutoff position with 8-9. Three players limp and the player to your right raises. You expect that no one will reraise. What do you do and why?

[notcalebsheridan]

I would call with both. I feel like 89s is obvious and 89o has enough potential to make this slightly +EV. Loose and passive = huge implied odds, so hands like this are good to play. (I don't like A4o though, because you are dominated so often)

[Nima]

This is a debatable hand.

I would call with both too. But I can see why one would want to call only with suited cards.

[bluebayou]

i would call only with 8-9s.

i dont like this hand very much, but when it hits, its fine - especially from that position and with loose passive opponents.

[Matt]

Call with 8-9s and fold 8-9o. The suitedness makes your hand much more valuable because you can make a straight or a flush. 8-9o can only make a flush by using one hole card, in which case your flush is probably no good.

You wouldn't be missing much if you never played offsuit connectors below J-10; you can make a case for calling with these hands if you are in the small blind and there is no raise. In a game where the small blind is 2/3 of the big blind, calling with offsuit connectors is mandatory.

[Matt]

Even though you are getting great pot odds, calling with 8-9o is unwise. With 8-9o, you will flop a straight 1.3% of the time, an open-ended or double-gutshot straight draw 9.6% of the time, and a gutshot draw 16.6% of the time. In a pot this large, you will have the right odds to draw most of the time. However, your draw could be in trouble if there is a pair or two suited cards on the flop. Here is an example:

Your hole cards: :spade8: :heart9:
The flop: :club10: :clubJ: :diam5:

The 7:clubs: and Q:clubs: may make someone a flush. Any queen could give someone a better straight. In this scenario, you only have three outs to the nuts. This is a worst-case scenario, but it shows that 8-9o has limited value.

In contrast, a hand like 8-9s will flop any of the following about 36% of the time: straight flush, flush, straight, flush draw, open-ended straight draw, double-gutshot straight draw, or gutshot straight draw. 8-9s can run into some of the same problems as 8-9o, plus it can make a second-best flush. However, it is still a more flexible hand than its offsuit counterpart.

These statistics come from Andrew Kinsman's website, www.pokerupdate.com (http://www.pokerupdate.com). Byron Jacobs references these statistics in his excellent book How Good is Your Limit Hold'em?