How often would you say you hold the nuts? Not very often, right? Once in the big blind with the
Thinking outside of the box and realizing how many good players abound in cash and tournament play, we need to utilize other hands we feel are the second, third and (dare I say) fourth nuts.
You’re in middle position in a $2-$5 game and hold the
Three players will see the flop with $47 in the pot; you have position through the hand.
The flop is
What type of player is the big blind? He’s a somewhat conservative player who bets with strong holdings. With top pair and second kicker and a flush draw, getting almost 2-1 on the money, this was an easy call for you.
The turn is the
The river is the JH. With four hearts on board and $347 in the pot the big blind checks. You hold second nuts and want to capitalize on your holdings; what do you do now that the big blind has checked?
You put him on an A-Q after he bet postflop. Would he have checked with the
With $347 in the pot, you bet $100 giving the big blind better than 4-1 on the money to make the call.
Holding top pair and top kicker and not holding a heart the player rethinks the hand and remembers you raised to $15 preflop.
He had bet $50 postflop, and you called with two hearts on board, thus he felt you were not indicating a draw. With such a small bet into a big pot he simply can’t resist; he calls with A-Q and you win the pot.
Make small bets into big pots and milk second, third, and even fourth nuts for large profits. If you win two out of four, you’ll likely make a big profit.
— Antonio Pinzari has been playing professionally since the ’70s. He’s the creator of 23 Poker and Wild Tallahassee Poker, which you can learn more about at WildTallahasseePoker.com.