Poker: It's important to bet the right amount

Poker is a game of mistakes. The object is to put your opponent in a position to make an error that gets you his chips.

One of the spots where mistakes are frequently made is on the river. Often it involves a value bet, a wager sized to get an opponent to call with the second-best hand. The key is to find the right amount so you get paid off with your good hands, but sometimes even the best players make a mistake.

At the $15,000-buy-in main event of the 2006 Five Diamond Poker Classic at Las Vegas' Bellagio, Erick Lindgren drew 6-7 offsuit in middle position. With blinds at $200-$400, Lindgren made the minimum raise to $800, throwing some deception into his play.

"I can't wait for something big or something suited," Lindgren said.

The button and the big blind called, so three players took a flop of ace-4-5, two hearts, giving Lindgren an open-ended straight draw.

After the big blind checked, Lindgren bet $1,100. He hoped to take down the pot there, or at least determine if a caller was holding flush cards. The button called. The big blind folded.

"When he called, I was pretty sure he had an A-Q or something in that area," Lindgren said. "He's a pretty tight player and he made a pretty quick call, so I had him on an ace there. He didn't think about it. He called real quick, which is the sign of a pair."

The turn came the 8 of clubs, making Lindgren's straight. He bet out $3,000. The button called.
"I punished him there with the bet," Lindgren said, "and I'm loving his call because I built the pot up pretty good, and I think I can punish him on the end pretty good if the flush draw misses because he might think I was betting the flush draw."

The river came the 6 of diamonds. The flush draw missed. Believing he had the best hand, Lindgren needed to size his bet so someone holding an ace would call to see if his top pair was good.

Lindgren bet $6,000. Too much.

His opponent folded.

"I wanted to bet enough that he thought I was bluffing, but I should've been more careful to price him in," Lindgren said. "The moral of the story is, if a scare card comes on the end, you might want to bet about $3,000 in that situation. It looks like you might be bluffing, but you wouldn't scare him for his stack. The $6,000 is a big portion of his stack. You have to get paid."

News Added: 18 April, 2008

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