Odds And Sods  -  By Poker Boss

Each month we will give you the low down on your all-in showdown... and the chances of hitting that out draw.

AK v 88
5/4 vs 4/5

88 v KK
4/1 vs 1/4

KK v AQ
2/5 vs 5/2

AQ v AJ
4/11 vs 11/4

AJ v 10 10
11/8 vs 8/11

10 10 v KQ
10/13 vs 13/10

KQ v AA
7/1 vs 1/7

Look at the above hands again and see the strength of the hands that are outsiders in those match ups. You would be happy to get dealt any of these hands but be careful when committing a large slice of your chips. As Steve Vladar wrote in last month's article, better players play better starting hands; it is also true that better players don't overplay better hands.

Even the best hands in the above examples are only slight favourites to win. Only the really big pairs give you a massive advantage over your opponent yet many players would go all in with AK just as often as AA.

Of course some of those lesser hands are clear favourite to beat many other starting hands, for example AK is a strong favourite against anything but a pair. However, as you don't know what other starting hands are around until the cards flip over being careful will see you last longer in your tournament.

Positional Awareness

Also, remember that position is vital; if you act later in the round you have gathered more info about the hands played before you and have less hands to worry about behind you. Making a big raise with 88 in the first position is asking for trouble as you are vulnerable to anyone who may call. At best you are a small favourite against two over cards and at worst you are up against a bigger pair and needing to defy odds of around 4/1.

In late position (see Steve Vladar's Better Players Play Better Hands for position tips) you could well raise if the players that act before you simply call. They would probably raise with better hands than your 88 and with few players to act behind you the chips from the blinds and early position callers could be yours without having to see a flop.