Mike Caro Exit Note: Not at the old Poker1 site. This 39-part series of quizzes, originally published (2004-2006) in Poker Player, is based on the Mike Caro University of Poker library of research and advice. In each entry, Mike Caro presents 10 questions covering a category of poker, targeted for beginner, intermediate, or advanced Continue reading Targeted poker quiz 28: Hold ’em. My co-author of Middle Limit Holdem Poker, Jim Brier, was asked by an online poker school to compose a quiz on our book, which was assigned reading for the hold'em course. These questions were Bob Ciaffone is one of America’s best-known poker players, writers, and teachers. He has numerous poker tournament wins and placings, the most.

If you need help with the answers here it is:

Goog luck!

You’re playing NL10 with the big blind at $0.10. All players before you fold preflop. You want to raise. How much do you raise to?

• $0.60
• $0.40
• $0.80

You’re in early position before the flop and hold ace queen. One player before you calls. What do you do?

• You raise.
• You fold.
• You call.

Before the flop, one opponent raises to $0.40. Another player calls the raise. If you wanted to make another raise, which amount would you re-raise to?

• $1.20
• $1.60
• $2.00

You’re in middle position before the flop and hold king queen of different suits. One player before you calls. What do you do?

• You call.
• You raise.
• You fold.

You’re in middle position and hold ace two, both hearts. Two players before you call. What do you do?

• You fold.
• You raise.
• You call.

You’re in middle position before the flop and hold king queen, both hearts. One player before you calls. What do you do?

• You fold.
• You raise.
• You call.

Before the flop, an opponent raises to $0.40. No one calls. If you wanted to make another raise, which amount would you re-raise to?

• $1.20
• $2.00
• $1.60

You’re in late position before the flop and hold a five and a four of different suits. All players before you fold. What do you do?

• You fold.
• You call.
• You raise.

You’re in late position and hold a pair of queens. One player before you raises. What do you do?

• You raise.
• You call.
• You fold.

All players before you fold before the flop. You want to raise. How many big blinds should you raise to?

• 3 big blinds
• 4 big blinds
• 6 big blinds

You’re in late position and hold ace king. One player before you raises, another player re-raises. What do you do?

• You raise.
• You call.
• You fold.

You’re in late position and hold jack nine, both hearts. Two players before you call. What do you do?

• You call.
• You raise.
• You fold.

Two players call before the flop. You want to raise. How many big blinds should you raise to?

• 8 big blinds
• 6 big blinds
• 4 big blinds

You have a two pair on the flop. An opponent bets. In which case should you raise immediately?

• If strong draws are possible.
• If you raised before the flop.
• If you only have one opponent.

When does slowplay make sense?

• When you are playing aggressively.
• When your opponents play aggresively.
• When your opponents play passively.

You raised before the flop with ace queen and one opponent called. The flop comes queen, eight, and ten, offsuit. Your opponent is to act before you and bets. What do you do?

• You raise.
• You call.
• You fold.

You can burn quite a bit of money by bluffing. Which of the following conditions should be met in most situations before trying to bluff?

• Your hand might still improve.
• Your hand is not very likely to improve.
• The pot is small.

You raised before the flop with ace king and one opponent called. The flop brings 2 spades and a king. You’re the first to act and bet. Your opponent calls. The turn arrives with a third spade. You’re first to act. What do you?

• You check and call if someone makes a bet.
• You bet.
• You check and fold if someone makes a bet.

You’re on the flop and make a bet. You are betting for value if…

• … you at least hold a top pair.
• … opponents with weaker cards could call.
• … opponents with better cards could fold.

You call a raise preflop holding two eights. There’s just you and the opponent on the flop. The flop arrives with four, seven, and two in different suits. The other player bets. What do you do?

• You fold.
• You raise.
• You call.

You raised before the flop with ace king. One opponent called. The flop comes with four, nine and two in different suits. You bet. Your opponent calls. The turn brings a second four. What do you do?

• You check and decide to call if someone makes a bet.
• You check and decide to fold if someone makes a bet.
• You bet.

Which of the following plays doesn’t fall into the category of “pot control”?

• You bet on the flop, bet on the turn and bet on the river.
• You bet on the flop, check on the turn and check on the river.
• You check on the flop, bet on the turn and check on the river.

To protect your hand, you…

• …check or call.
• …bet or raise.
• …check or fold.

How do you profit from slowplay?

• It gets your opponent to bet with a weaker hand.
• It allows your opponent to stay in the game as he is hoping for a draw.
• It makes your opponent play too passively.

Which of the following plays doesn’t fall into the category of “pot control”?

• You bet on the turn and check on the river.
• You bet on the turn and go all-in on the river.
• You check on the turn and check on the river.

What does playing “for value” mean?

• Picking your starting hands very carefully.
• Playing draws as if they were already completed.
• Getting money in the pot from opponents with weaker hands when you are holding a stronger hand.

You raised before the flop with ace queen. The flop comes 8, 7, and 5 offsuit. What do you do?

• You bet, no matter what.
• You bet when you have a maximum of 3 opponents.
• You bet if you have one opponent.

You raise before the flop with two queens. Two of your opponents call. The flop brings two nines and a seven. You bet. The first opponent folds, the second raises your bet. What do you do?

• You fold.
• You raise again.
• You call.

What’s your main goal when playing for “pot control”?

• Keeping the pot small.
• Protecting your hand.
• Making the pot big.

How many buy-ins for a specific limit do you need in order to move up to this limit?

• At least 30 buy-ins.
• At least 25 buy-ins.
• At least 35 buy-ins.

You have $120 in your bankroll. Which is the highest limit you can play with this amount?

• NL10 (The big blind is $0.10).
• NL4 (The big blind is $0.04).
• NL2 (the big blind is $0.02).

Sometimes things don’t work out well for you right away. In this case, you’d be better off moving down a limit. Which rule should you follow in this scenario?

• Move down when you only have 30 buy-ins for the next lowest limit left.
• Move down when you only have 25 buy-ins for the next lowest limit left.
• Move down when you only have 20 buy-ins for the next lowest limit left.

You want to move up to limit NL10. How much money do you need to have in your bankroll?

• $300
• $250
• $125

You can’t always win in poker. When should you move down a limit?

• When you only have 30 buy-ins for the next lowest limit left.
• When you only have 25 buy-ins for the next lowest limit left.
• When you only have 20 buy-ins for the next lowest limit left.

What’s Bankroll Management good for?

• It tells you when you should leave the table based on your losses.
• It tells you when you can move up a limit or when you should move down a limit.
• It tells you when you should leave the table based on your profit.

You want to move up to limit NL25. How much money do you need to have in your bankroll?

• $250
• $325
• $625

You have $50 in your bankroll. Which is the highest limit you can play with this amount?

• NL2 (the big blind is $0.02).
• NL10 (the big blind is $0.10).
• NL4 (the big blind is $0.04).

You want to move up a limit. Which of the following guidelines is correct?

• You need to have at least 25 buy-ins for the next highest limit.
• You need to have at least 20 buy-ins for the next highest limit.
• You need to have at least 35 buy-ins for the next highest limit.

You have $90 in your bankroll. Which is the highest limit you can play with this amount?

• NL4 (the big blind is $0.04).
• NL10 (the big blind is $0.10).
• NL2 (the big blind is $0.02).

A poker player’s most important tool for long-term success is called bankroll management. It enables you to steadily move up the limits. It tells you…

• which limits you can play based on your account balance.
• at what point you should leave the table based on your wins.
• at what point you should leave the table based on your losses.

If you only have 20 buy-ins for the next lowest limit left, you need to move back down to that limit. Is this correct?

• No, it’s 30 buy-ins.
• No, it’s 25 buy-ins.
• Yes, it’s 20 buy-ins.

You raise before the flop with Ace King and two opponents call. The flop arrives with King, Queen, and Nine in different suits. The first opponent bets, the second opponent raises. What do you do?

• You fold.

You have successfully fought your way up the limits to 0.15/0.25 (NL25), then suddenly you get hit by a downswing: you have one losing session after the other. What is the critical bankroll mark at which you need to move back down to 0.05/0.10 (NL10), where the big blind is $0.10?

• $60

You are playing NL10, therefore the big blind is $0.10. Two players have limped before you and you want to raise. How much do you raise to if two players before you have called the big blind?

• $0.60

You raised pre-flop and hold top pair on the flop. It is your turn and you want to bet. When do you directly push all-in?

• When the required bet size would be more than half of your stack.

What is a draw?

• An unfinished hand, where one card is missing to become a made hand.

All players have about 17 big blinds in their stacks. You are in late position and hold ace king (AK) pre-flop. A player before you has raised from early position and another player has re-raised him. What do you do?

• You fold.

You and your opponent both have between 14 and 24 Big Blinds. You are in late position with a pair of eights. Two players entered the hand in front of you but didn’t raise. What do you do?

• Call

How many middle positions are there at a table with 10 players?

• 3

You have king queen (KQ). The flop contains a ten and a jack. You have…?

• an OESD

You raised to $0.40 before the flop. An opponent raises to $0.80 behind you. If you were to re-raise, how much would you re-raise to?

• $1.20
• $1.60
• You would go all-in.

The least profitable opponent for you when you play the short stack strategy is…

• a player with a lot of money at the table.
• a player who constantly raises.
• a player who is also playing the short stack strategy.

You raised before the flop and hit top pair with jack kicker. One opponent bets ahead of you. What do you do?

• You go all-in.
• You call.
• You fold.

One opponent raises ahead of you before the flop. What is the smallest pocket pair you can continue playing with?

• A pair of jacks.
• A pair of tens.
• A pair of kings.

You’re playing a ring game with 8 other players. One of them leaves the table. What do you do?

• You keep playing, but leave if another opponent gets up from his seat.
• You keep playing, but leave if two other opponents get up from their seats.
• You leave the table.

You are in middle position with pocket nines before the flop. What do you do when no one raises ahead of you?

• You call.
• You fold.
• You raise.

You have already earned quite a bit of money with poker, and beaten the lower limits. Now you plan on moving up to 0.50/1.00 (NL100) where the big blind is $1.00. How much money do you need in your account in order to move up to this limit?

• $400
• $600
• $300

If you want to sit down at a 0.05/0.10 (NL10) table, you always buy-in for $2.00. Is this statement correct?

• No, you sit down with $5.00.
• Yes
• No, you sit down with $3.00.

Sometimes it doesn’t quite work out right away, so you’d be better off moving down a limit. What’s the rule in this scenario?

• Move down when you have 25 buy-ins for the next lower limit in your balance.

You’re in middle position and hold Ace Two, both hearts. Two players before you call. What do you do?

• You fold.

They say that in poker, position is everything. Since this is actually the case, when being in pre-flop, you play…

• … more hands in late position than in early position.

As of which position do you raise with an Ace and Jack of different suits (AJo), if no player has raised in front of you?

• As of middle position.

You are in late position and hold ace king(AK). What do you do, if a player has raised in front of you?

• Raise

You have an OESD on the flop. What type of hand do you hold?

• A drawing hand

In what direction do you count down the positions at the table?

• counter-clockwise

What is the deciding factor in determining your current position at the table?

• The current position of the deal button

How many early positions are there?

• 3

How many blind positions are there?

• 2

Many players make the same key mistake: they play too many hands and play them too passively. This helps you, since you have an excellent strategy. What kind of strategy do you follow?

• You play few, but strong hands, and play them aggressively.

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We are playing in a $25,000 buy-in high roller event. We have 3 3 in the hijack with 116,000 chips and blinds are 150-300 with a 25 ante.

Here are the stack sizes of the players at the table:

Middle Position – 140K (a.k.a. Villain 1)
Hijack – 116K (You)
Button – 160K (Villain 2)
Small Blind – 97K
Big Blind – 108K

Villain 1 in this hand is an experienced older live pro better known for stud than hold’em. Villain 2 is an older player who has had great success. He plays generally tight and straightforward, but is certainly capable of getting out of line when the time is right.

Villain 1 raised to 800.

QUESTION 1: The action is on you in the hijack; what do you do with 3 3?

A. Fold
B. Call 800
C. Three-bet to 2,300
D. Three-bet to 3,900

While you should usually call preflop with pairs, from time to time you should three-bet to disguise your range. Against a player who is generally weak at hold’em but familiar with poker, you can get away with three-betting some marginal hands and representing whatever comes on the flop, as stud players tend to be a little tight and easy to push around post-flop.

So, you choose C and three-bet to 2,300. Calling would also be perfectly fine.

Villain 2 four-bets to 6,000 and Villain 1 quickly folds.

QUESTION 2: The pot is 9,775 and the effective stack size is 113,700. What is your action?

A. Fold
B. Call the 3,700
C. Five-bet to 10,000
D. Go all-in

When a tight and straightforward player puts in a four-bet, you should nearly always set mine when this deep stacked. The one big negative about this hand is that you are out of position. This will make it difficult for you to win your opponent’s stack when you happen to flop a set. If you think your opponent is likely to be four-bet bluffing, you can consider putting in a small five-bet, but that’s a little too crazy against a normally tight player.

You choose B and call.

The flop comes J 6 3, giving you bottom set.

QUESTION 3: The pot is 13,475 and the effective stack size is 106,000. What is your action?

A. Check
B. Bet 4,000
C. Bet 7,000
D. Bet 13,000

When you flop a set in a four-bet pot, you need to figure out the best way to get all the money in. When someone cold four-bets, he usually has a strong range such as A-A, K-K, Q-Q, A-K, and a few random bluffs. Because of this, both leading with a large bet and checking are fine options. Against someone who is good and capable of hand reading, the best line is to check with the intention of check-calling down with the hope of raising the river as long as the board doesn’t get too scary.

You choose A and check, and Villain 2 checks behind.

Your opponent is smart enough to check behind on the flop, both for pot control and to make his range look weak, even though you know it is still made up of mostly premium hands.

The turn is the K.

QUESTION 4: The pot is 13,475 and the effective stack size is 106,000. What is your action?

A. Check
B. Bet 4,000
C. Bet 7,000
D. Bet 13,000

Quiz De Pokerstrategy

The king is both a good card and a bad card. Your opponent almost certainly has a strong hand at this point, unless he has Q-Q. This means you should try to get money in the pot. However, since your opponent is a smart player, he may actually bet A-A and A-K if you check to him and fold if raised, fearing a set or a flush, as most players would never or rarely check-raise with a bluff. If he has K-K, you are in terrible shape. This makes check-raising a poor option. You could bet into your opponent, but if he calls and the river is a heart, he may figure out a way to bluff you off your hand, which would be a disaster. As unfortunate as it is, check-calling is probably the best line.

You check and Villain 2 bets 7,000.

QUESTION 5: The pot is 20,475 and the effective stack size is 106,000. What is your action?

A. Fold
B. Call 7,000
C. Raise to 19,000
D. Raise to 36,000

Sticking with the plan, check-calling is the only play that makes sense. If you think your opponent will never fold A-A or A-K in this situation but will always re-raise with K-K, you could raise for value. However, the best way to get value out of your strong opponent is to allow him to continue betting on the river with what he thinks is the obvious best hand or with one of his few bluffs. Calling also makes it difficult for you to go broke when you happen to be beat.

You decide to call. The river is the 7.

QUESTION 6: The pot is 34,475 and the effective stack size is 99,000. What is your action?

A. Check
B. Bet 12,000
C. Bet 24,000
D. Bet 35,000

As you can see, thinking ahead is crucial. At this point, the plan should be to check and call whatever Villain 2 bets. The big difference between leading into your opponent and checking in this spot is if you’re beat, you will have to fold your hand to a raise. While some players are capable of a big river bluff raise, there’s no point in risking it when your opponent will almost certainly bet A-A and A-K for value as well as some random bluffs. If you’re going to lead, you should make it a size where your opponent would be insane to run a bluff, allowing you to easily fold if he shoves.

Quiz Poker Strategy Rules

You check and he quickly bets 18,000.

QUESTION 7: The pot is 52,475 and the effective stack size is 99,000. What is your action?

A. Fold
B. Call 18,000
C. Raise to 43,000
D. Go all-in

Given the way the hand played out, your only good option on the river is to call. You could consider a value raise but Villain 2 would likely fold A-A or A-K. When you’re extraordinarily deep stacked, it’s difficult to get all the money in, even with a set.

In a cash game, you could have taken a different line, check-raising the flop, but in a tournament, the chips you stand to lose, which is your entire stack in this situation, are worth well more than the chips you stand to gain. Don’t fall prey to the avoidable “bad beats” you constantly hear amateur players discussing. Not going broke is important!

Poker Skill Test

You call and beat your opponent’s A-A. ♠

Jonathan Little is a professional poker player and best-selling poker author with over $6,900,000 in live tournament earnings. If you want to learn how to play fundamentally sound poker and increase your win rate, check out PokerCoaching.com. Click here to try PokerCoaching.com for free.