Module 8 · Lesson 38 of 39 · Free
Boss hand: a full hand from the deal to the showdown
One hand from the button, 100 bb deep, uses all of Foundations: your seat, your cards, a raise size, the flop's texture, a bet with a purpose, the river price and the best five cards. It asks eight questions on the way, and at the end the same river call earns 6.8 bb on average against one opponent and costs 11 bb against another.
The hand
Six players, 100 bb each. You are on the button; the Rock posts the small blind and the Loose-aggressive player the big blind. Nobody has cards yet.
Predict first
You raise to 2.5 bb and the big blind calls. How much does his call cost him?
- 2.5 bb: the whole raise
- 1.5 bb: his 1 bb was already in
- 1 bb: the size of his blind
Show the answer
Answer: 1.5 bb: his 1 bb was already in
His 1 bb blind is already in the pot, so calling 2.5 bb adds 2.5 − 1 = 1.5 bb. The pot on the flop holds 0.5 + 2.5 + 2.5 = 5.5 bb, the small blind's chips included.
Working it out
The numbers, street by street. Before the flop: 0.5 + 2.5 + 2.5 = 5.5 bb. On J♥ 8♥ 4♣ your 3 bb bet asks a flush draw for 3 ÷ (5.5 + 3 + 3) ≈ 26%, more than the 9 ÷ 47 ≈ 19% it hits on the turn. After your 7 bb bet and his call on the turn, the pot is 11.5 + 7 + 7 = 25.5 bb, and on the 3♥ he bets 17 bb: your call needs 17 ÷ (25.5 + 17 + 17) = 28.6%. Against the Loose-aggressive player you win 2 times in 5: 0.4 × 42.5 − 0.6 × 17 = +6.8 bb on average. Against the Nit you win 1 time in 10: 0.1 × 42.5 − 0.9 × 17 = −11.05 bb.
Play every hand in the same order. Before the flop: your seat, your cards, the size. On each street: what the board allows, what you hold or need, and what your bet is for. On the river: the price against how often you win. Then let the replay's tally keep the result apart from the decision: a right call still loses some hands, and that is variance, not a mistake. When the questions come easily, take the Foundations exam.
Formula
River price = call ÷ (pot + his bet + your call): 17 ÷ (25.5 + 17 + 17) = 28.6%; call when you win more often than that
Check your understanding
On the river the pot is 30 bb and he bets 15 bb. How often must your call win to break even, in %?
Show the answer
Answer: 25%
With your call the pot holds 30 + 15 + 15 = 60 bb: 15 ÷ 60 = 25%.
You raise to 3 bb from the cutoff, the button and the small blind fold, and the big blind calls. How big is the pot on the flop, in bb?
Show the answer
Answer: 6.5 bb
The small blind's 0.5 bb stays in, and you and the big blind have 3 bb each: 0.5 + 3 + 3 = 6.5 bb.
You hold K♦ Q♦ and the board is Q♠ 9♣ 5♦ 2♦ 7♠. Which five cards make your hand?
- Q♠ Q♦ K♦ 9♣ 7♠: a pair of queens with a king
- K♦ Q♦ 5♦ 2♦ 9♣: a flush
- Q♠ 9♣ 7♠ 5♦ 2♦: the board
Show the answer
Answer: Q♠ Q♦ K♦ 9♣ 7♠: a pair of queens with a king
Your Q♦ pairs the Q♠, and your K♦, the 9♣ and the 7♠ are the best three cards left. Only four diamonds are out, K♦ Q♦ 5♦ 2♦, and a flush needs five.
On the flop his flush draw hits the turn 9 times in 47, about 19%. The pot is 10 bb. Which bet makes his call lose on the price alone?
- 2 bb
- 5 bb
- No bet: check
Show the answer
Answer: 5 bb
A bet asks his call for bet ÷ (pot + bet + call): 2 ÷ 14 ≈ 14%, less than his 19%, so calling 2 bb is fine for him; 5 ÷ 20 = 25%, more than 19%. A check shows him the turn for free.