Reading the Board, Two Small Pair
An important aspect of reading the board in Texas Holdem is to appreciate when additional cards on the turn and river degrade the value of your hand. Once situation that comes up relatively frequently is this:
Your cards:
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| Hole Cards |
The Flop:
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| Flop |
Right now, chances are you have the best hand and what's more you'll get action from anyone holding a king or a straight draw.
On the turn the board looks like this:
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| Flop | Turn |
You still have a decent hand, but the queen reduces the value somewhat because now a larger two pair is viable, then the river:
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| Flop | Turn | River |
Your hand has gone from very good to very very mediocre. Now any King (a likely caller or raiser on the flop), any Queen or even any 6 with a higher kicker (Ace Six will call you on this flop) wins. Your final hand here is Kings and Sixes with a kicker that can't beat the board.
The point is that some of the hands you'll be playing if you follow our recommendations will put you in difficult spots like this and sometimes your great hand will disintegrate on the river more often that larger cards. Be wary.
