A hypothetical question

Hello there,

I have been playing Holdem for a while and reading FTR. I feel that some of the tips from FTR have really helped my game. Thanks!

I would like to ask about how to play a hand.

You are in the BB with a 5h 2s, and the SB calls with QJc. You know you have no chance of bluffing him with anything pre-flop. You call.

Flop comes up 2c 9c Th

At this point, you have the best hand with a pair of 2s, however the SB has an amazing number of outs. PokerStove puts this at 30.5% to 69.5%.

The SB bets.

Any call or raise is money down the drain. But at the same time I feel my game has improved by following the FTR mantra of getting your money in the pot when you have the best hand.

So . . . you have the best hand but it is quite likely that you will not have the best hand by the river.

I played this hand recently (as the BB) and I went with the math and folded (I could tell from his PF play and flop bet that he had the flush draw and the overcards, he also had the straight draw which I did not realize at the time but it was an obvious possibility. He showed on my fold.) It was late in a SnG and my stack did not allow for any sort of scary overbet.

Did I play this correctly?

Let's be really clear here...assuming you *know* what he has: if he is a 69.5% favorite to win the hand at showdown, you do *not* have the best hand. The *best* hand is the one that is most likely to win at showdown at any given point in the hand.

Preflop AA is the best hand against 88. After the flop of 872 rainbow, 88 is the best hand. After the turn card A, the AA is the best hand again. Point being, the *best* hand is the hand that is most likely to win based on the cards that are out.

Edit: I didn't actually answer your question...yes, correctly played.

In a tourney that is the correct play.

In a ring game, you would raise his preflop bet if you knew he was semi-bluffing, and slow down if a scare card came.