One of the biggest mistakes that new players make is playing too many hands. One of their next mistakes is showing too many hands down to the river.
You need the courage to lay down a good hand if you don’t think it’s good enough. Second place gets you nothing, except maybe broke.
Take it from Dewey Tomko, a veteran poker pro who folded a hand that many players would bet their stack on.
With the blinds at $100-$200, Tomko limped in with a pair of 9s.
“The guy in the little blind only raises $350, not a bunch,” said Tomko, a Runyanesque character who used to teach kindergarten and now owns a casino and a Florida golf course where he frequently partners up with White Sox broadcaster Ken “Hawk” Harrelson. “If he raises $700 or $800, I think he’s probably got ace-king, ace-queen, trying to find out where he’s at. At $350, I’m automatically aware.”
The flop comes Q-9-2, rainbow. Tomko flopped a set of 9s. His opponent bets only $400.
Dewey Tomko’s hand
Nine of spades
Nine of diamonds
The flop
Queen of spades
Nine of clubs
Two of hearts
“Most of the time I would raise in this pot,” said Tomko, runner-up in a couple World Series of Poker main events. “I just call. I want to trap him, first of all, or find out what he’s got.”
The turn comes an A. Most players holding a set would raise an opponent’s $650 bet.
“I just called,” Tomko said. “I’m hoping he has ace-king and he’s going to raise it, so at the end I’m going to win some more money, and if I’m beat, I can get away from it.”
The river comes a blank. Tomko’s opponent bet $1,000. Tomko raised $1,500. His opponent moved all in. Tomko folded–folded a set of 9s.
“Because it wasn’t any good,” Tomko said. “I studied and I studied and I threw my hand away. He showed up three aces.
“He made four bets on that hand, and I’m getting a read on all four bets. The first bet, when he only raised $350, was the key raise because if he had ace-king or ace-queen, he’d have bet more.
“Everybody was telling me they couldn’t believe I threw my hand away. They said, `What are you doing? What are you doing?’ My son was next to me. He said, `Why’d you throw that hand away?’
“When you think it ain’t no good, no matter what it is, you’re supposed to throw it away.”
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srosenbloom@tribune.com
