[Red_Diamond]

I started reading Alan Schoonmaker’s The Psychology of Poker recently. The first Stud example already has me wondering. Though maybe he’s right on target, I’m curious what the 2+2 regulars have to say.

p. 55
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Example No. 3: Calling the probable straight.

In seven-card stud a loose-passive player raised when she caught a queen on fifth street, giving her

(XX)8JQ rainbow

She cannot have three queens because two queens are out. You started with

(TK)T rainbow

and bet on fifth street when you caught the third ten. There are nine big bets in the pot and no other callers. What do you do?

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Flat call. Your verbalization would be something like this: “That queen made her a straight because a loose-passive player would not raise with queens up, and she can’t have trip queens. If I make a full house it is a certain winner. The pot odds justify my calling now and on sixth street in the hopes of filling up. If I fill up, she will certainly pay me off. If I don’t fill up, and she bets (which she might not do) I will fold.”


[/ QUOTE ]


Alright, I’m not an expert stud strategist, but is Alan for real?

Am I really to assume that starting with two straight blockers, and catching a third, that I am STILL to believe that she would just happen to have the CASE ten AND a nine exactly in the hole to go with it?

And I’m so sure of this, that we are expected to call to 7’th ONLY BECAUSE OF POT ODDS, but fold 7’th if we don’t improve?!

There’s a few other issues in this hand description that I don’t quite make sense of. Since this player is loose, surely (Q8) could be in the hole, why wouldn’t queens-over feel obligated to raise here? And technically, if she started rolled up, then a tens-full isn’t a sure win (but it’s close).

I suppose, an argument can be made that the (Q8)8 hypothesis doesn’t work either because that means she would have caught the case Q on fifth.

What about the 10% rule of (opponent does something stupid to surprise you), misclick, trying to make a play at you, feeler raise, etc…

Who here thinks check-folding Trip tens on 7’th is the proper EV move?



P.S. Now that I think about it, this book is 2+2, so if he’s wrong I guess David Sklansky would have edited it. .