You are watching Texas Hold'em on television and you see Gus Hansen make an big call with 7-10 offsuit. You scratch your head wondering "why on earth would he do that?" Just then, the announcers say "he had to make the call with the amount already invested". Gus proceeds to hit a 10 on the turn and knock another play out of the tournament.

Part 3 of the All New Texas Holdem Quiz looks at the strength of hands before the flop. Knowing your odds against other holdings will allow you to make the big calls too. For the following questions, identify your estimated odds of winning the hand when facing an opponent with the specified hole cards. After completing the quiz, scroll to the bottom to find the answers.

QUESTIONS

1. You have KK and your opponent has AA. Your odds of winning are approximately:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   1. 2 to 1 against
   
   
   2. 3 to 1 against
   
   
   3. 4 to 1 against
   
   
   4. 5 to 1 against
   
   
   
   
   



2. You have AdKh and your opponent has AsQc. Your odds of winning are approximately:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   1. 1 to 1
   
   
   2. 2 to 1
   
   
   3. 3 to 1
   
   
   4. 4 to 1
   
   
   
   
   



3. You have AdKh and your opponent has JsQc. Your odds of winning are approximately:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   1. 1 to 1
   
   
   2. 2 to 1
   
   
   3. 3 to 1
   
   
   4. 4 to 1
   
   
   
   
   



4. You have 10d9d and your opponent has 10c9s. Your odds of winning are approximately:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   1. 1 to 1
   
   
   2. 2 to 1
   
   
   3. 3 to 1
   
   
   4. 4 to 1
   
   
   
   
   



5. You hold Kc4d and your opponent holds 9h8h. Your odds of winning are approximately
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   1. 1 to 1
   
   
   2. 2 to 1
   
   
   3. 2 to 1 against
   
   
   4. 3 to 1
   
   
   
   
   

Click Here for Part 4 of the Quiz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANSWERS

1. 4 to 1 against. AA versus KK is a classic Texas Holdem showdown. A pocket pair is always about a 4 to 1 underdog against a higher pocket pair. Although there is only one hand better than your KK preflop, when you find yourself up against the "big one" you are going to lose 80% of the time.



2. 3 to 1. AQ and AJ are hands that often get players in trouble. In a situation where one of the two hole cards is shared, the higher second card can play a huge role in determining the outcome of the hand. AK and AQ are both great starting hands, but AK is a huge favorite when the two go head to head.



3. 2 to 1. At first glance, it would appear that your opponents hand should be weaker than in the previous question. In reality, his Ace is cancelled by your Ace. You often hear poker announcers saying "he's got two live cards." This question demonstrates the importance of that. Calling with the Gus Hansen 7-10 offsuit would still give your opponent approximately the same odds, thus making it a better hand heads-up than if he held AQ.



4. 1 to 1. Players often put too much value in suited cards. At the end of the hand, they show you a suited J5 that never made a flush by the river. You shake your head, and they say "I always play suited cards." It's true that suited connectors give you more options, but your odds of making a flush by the river are worse than 16 to 1. In a heads-up situation, the suited versus non-suited hand is a virtual coin-flip.



5. 1 to 1. Although your single overcard still has you as a very slight favorite in the hand, the suited connectors of your opponent are a near equal. This is another race situation that may not be decided until the river.