Serious casino players, take a breather. This quiz isn’t for you. This is for all of the little guys – the casual poker players who throw in $5, $10, $20 or $50 for a no limit tourney among their buddies. Sometimes they get a full table – more often it’s just a few guys laughing and having some beers while they play. But don’t you laugh more when you win than when you lose? Here are some questions to keep you on the winning track.

You’re the dealer in this six person $5 tourney. You all start with $100 in chips with blinds at $1/2 to start. Your opponents are pretty weak – but not clueless. They like to gamble but they have a basic understanding of hand values and general poker strategy. You guys play a lot and you take some pride in winning. But it’s not the way any of you make a living. None of them are pros. You’re all having a good time.

Question #1: It’s early in the tourney. You each have about $100 in chips and the blinds are $1/2. You’re dealing and after one guy has called the big blind and two have folded the action gets to you. You have 55. What do you do?

a. fold
b. call
c. small raise
d. big raise
e. go all in

d. Raise to $10. You want to win the blinds or get one caller. Since it’s early, most folks are probably still on their “A” game and playing fairly tight. If you get a caller he’ll be in front of you, you’re likely to be no worse than a toss up (since his most likely calling hand are two over cards) and you can read how he did on the flop and usually take the hand with a bet if he checks. If he has a big pair he’ll probably re-raise and you can safely fold, losing your $10 in the gambit. You may also get people to think that you were bluffing – which will help you later when your opponents have loosened up – but you haven’t.

Question #2: You won the hand when the big blind called you pre-flop but then checked and folded to you when you bet the pot with a flop of A74. It’s the very next hand and you’re the cutoff. The first player raises to $5 and the next guy makes it $15. You look down and see AhJs. What do you do?

a) fold
b) call
c) small raise
d) big raise
e) go all in

a) Fold. True, you may have the best hand with AJ, but it’s more likely that you are either a small dog or a big dog. The initial raise wouldn’t have prompted you to fold, but the second raise, from these fairly timid souls early in a tournament, is a clue that he really has a legitimate hand – at least a big Ace, probably bigger than yours. If he has a mid or low pair then the hand is a toss up between you. Why give him a 50:50 shot of knocking you out? Withdraw, hope that the initial raiser goes head to head with the guy and someone gets knocked out.

Question #3: It’s later in the tournament and there are four of you left. You’re the big blind and look down to see the beautiful red Aces. You have about $200 in chips, a little more than par of $150. The blinds are $10/20. UTG folds and the button with about $200 makes it $50. The small blind folds. What do you do?

a. fold
b. call
c. small raise
d. big raise
e. go all in

b) call. You want all of this guy’s chips. You know you have him completely dominated and that he is highly unlikely to improve to better than what you have on the flop. He probably has two under cards or an under pair or a big Ace. In a full field of players you would certainly re-raise to get it heads up or win the pot right there. But there’s no one left to knock out and with such a short table you are more concerned with knocking out the other big stack. You can then go all in on the flop or try for a check raise all in based on your read of how the flop hits your opponent. True, you may be trapping yourself if the flop gives your opponent a monster, but poker is a game of probability not certainty so you can only make your best move – not a guaranteed one.

Question #4: The same exact circumstances as the last hand except you have Kings. What do you do?

a. fold
b. call
c. small raise
d. big raise
e. go all in

e. Go all in. Your Kings are vulnerable. True, you may well have him dominated – especially if he has a King or a smaller pair. But I don’t like the possibility that he raised with an Ace and is only a little worse than a 2:1 dog against you (70:30). Your all in raise may strike him as a desperation ploy to get him to lay down and he therefore may call you with a much weaker hand than yours. And his sense of machismo may have him call anyway. I like the all in play here best. If he lays down you go from even to a 3:2 chip leader over him. If he calls you’re probably a 4:1 favorite but probably no worse than a 70:30 favorite. Get all those chips in before the flop.

Question #5: It’s heads up. You made it but you’re stack is crippled. Your opponent has $450 and you have $150. He is a bully and attacked the other stacks, forcing them out of the tournament. He’s the small blind of $15 and you’re the big blind of $30 and you’re the dealer. He raises right away to $150, putting you all in if you call. You look down and see 7c6c. What do you do?

a. fold
b. call

b). call. This is admittedly a tough decision. But 76 suited is not as weak as it looks – and you’re running out of bullets. True, if your opponent has an over pair you’re dead meat, at between a 3:1 to 4:1 underdog depending on exactly what over pair he has (curiously, the bigger the pair, the less of a favorite he is – because of your increased chances of making a straight). If you knew your opponent had the over pair you’d surely fold. But he’s been blowing people off their hands all night. Chances are he is attempting to do it again because he’s the chip leader. Against just about any other hand (except a higher suited connector) you’re drawing at least close to 50%. If you win the hand you’ll be an equal stack and have a good shot of winning. If you fold you’ll have a stack that’s even more crippled, losing 20% of its size and encouraging him to push you around again. If you lose, well, at least you had a good shot at making it interesting. You can’t win all the time.

If you found this quiz useful, consider taking more of the same and learning more about the game of low limit no limit from my ebook on the subject. For more information about that please email me: asha34@aol.com.

Ashley Adams has been playing poker since 1961 when he learned it literally at his grandfather's knee. He started playing seriously in 1993 when Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut opened their poker room. He can usually be found there at the $20/40 stud or the $2/5 no limit hold 'em table.

Ashley also runs charity poker tournaments, teaches poker privately and at the Boston Center for Adult Education, is a frequent guest on radio and television programs (having appeared on WBZ-AM, WHDH Channel 7 TV, WGBH-TV, NECN-TV), and has a regular radio show that can be heard 24/7 on www.houseofcardsradio.com.