Poker: Frustration over Second Best
Holding a queen and nine or jack and eight is quite dangerous. There are high percentages of them becoming the second best rather than winning the pot. Do you agree? Daniel Negreanu, a Canadian professional poker player, shares his insights.
Poker is not a game that awards second- or third-placers. Only one is the winner and only the winner will get the pot. There is no sharing to the second- or third-placers. Pot is only split in cases of tie.
Placing second is what concerns Mr. Negreanu. You are warned of the peril of losing all your chips when you are holding either of the two combinations especially when you are not careful when to step on the brake on raising. Mr. Negreanu is referring to instances when you lose to a much high straight.
Say you have a jack and eight: preflop you could raise, this is a fairly high card. When the flop reveals a nine, ten and queen, you are for a straight (you think it is your lucky day). Hold it when you try to raise as much as you can, someone might be holding a king and jack.
These high cards give high hopes compared to when you own lower cards. And for Mr. Negreanu's experience, players holding a lower card combination than six and three usually fold their cards. When you have a queen and nine or a jack and eight, you are most likely fighting against those holding a higher hand than fighting against those holding a lower hand.
Lower cards do not give you the worry because you are sure that a high hand is there somewhere but when you are holding a second-best poker hand you become preoccupied over someone having a higher card than you do and over keeping the cards to beat a lower hand.
If would be helpful that when you have a queen and nine or a jack and eight not to call against a raise early in the game, that player must be hiding an ace-king combination.
Holding second-best cards gives you the dilemma of keeping the cards because the raiser is holding a much lower hand (you are holding the second best hand) or let go of your cards because the raiser is holding a much higher hand.
Mr. Negreanu advises to trust your gut feeling. When you know of the likelihood that certain card combination can place second or first then you are more comfortable to wager your chips.
And so when you hold this card combination (a queen and nine or a jack and eight), you could either be the best or the second best. With that knowledge, it is entirely up to you how much to bet on it.