Playing a Questionable Hand

  Logically speaking, the best way to make money at Holdem is to only bet when you have the best hand at the table. This piece of advice can be filed in the folder entitled "Duh". Of course there are other considerations to the game than simply approaching from a two-dimensional, pragmatic direction. If you only play a hand when your hole cards are strong, and fold immediately if the flop doesn't go your way, you will become about as unpredictable as a rerun of "Diffrent Strokes".  Playing only when you are in a position of strength will limit your earnings and tournament success in two very meaningful ways. First of all, when you start betting, everyone else will fold. This means that every now and then you will win the blinds, but this will be balanced off by the blinds you give back when you are sitting around waiting for a couple of Aces to be dealt your way. Also in tournament play, your chip stack will quickly be eaten up. In order to get the most out of the game of Texas Holdem, a player will occasionally have to play a hand that ranks as only second or third best at the table.  Today we will focus on playing with a marginal hand when participating in a game of limit Holdem. If you are dealt something like a Queen of hearts and a Jack of hearts, there is some rather good upside to this hand, but there it is not the clear front runner at the table. Chances are somebody else is working with a pair of some sort. Despite this fact, this may be a good hand to play anyway, even though it is not a sure thing.  Once the hand has been put in play, and flop comes out as something like an Ace, a Queen, and an Eight, you obviously have a fairly potent pair to work with. What to do after the flop is the question.  If you poke your head out and fire a warning bet at the turn, and find somebody shooting back with all the reckless ferocity of a frustrated office worker in a clock tower, chances are you are outgunned. Even though you gave the ol' college try, this would be a good time to fold. That is also true if a lot of people have hung around after the flop. In a multi-way pot, chances are better than average that somebody has the Ace and is feeling good about their chances. If you continue at this point you will have to rely on a bad beat to get through. Good players try to minimize the role of luck in their game, not making it an integral part of their strategy.  If you have played your second best hole cards, and are getting lukewarm reactions from your opponents after the flop, then things have not gone their way, and you might be able to parley their disappointment into a win. Start showing aggression in order to project a hand that is stronger than a middle pair.  This works best only if you have a reasonably strong kicker. If your opponent is showing some trepidation, then it is a pretty good assumption that they are working with the same middle pair that you are. You don't want to guess right just to have your Queens neutered by a sub-par kicker. That would be painful in a number of ways.  Good Luck!