Alas, An Overcard

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One common scenario confounds nearly every beginning hold’em player. People ask me about it time and time again. If they hold a big pocket pair, and an overcard comes on the flop, they are lost. They are doubly lost if they have to navigate the minefield of an overcard from out of position.

People dread a flop overcard for good reason. When you hold a pocket pair it seems like that overcard is always bound to come, and when it does it is a big favorite to stir up some trouble.

One of my readers recently asked about a hand he played where an overcard flopped. And then another overcard came on the turn.

Here’s how it went. It was a $0.25-$0.50 online shorthanded game. My reader had about $50, and so did everyone else except for the button who had about $20.

My reader was first to act with J J and raised to $1.50. The next player called, and so did the button. The blinds folded.

The flop came K T 5 . He checked, and the next player bet $2.50 into the $5.25 pot. The button folded, and he called.

The turn was the Q . My reader checked, his opponent bet $2 into the $10.25 pot, and he called.

The river was the 5 . My reader checked again, and his opponent bet $6 into $14.25 pot. My reader was wondering what to do at this point.

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