Following One Hand from Start to Finish

Let’s check what we have covered so far, in the actual flow

Setup

A 6-player table / everyone has 100BB / you are in the BTN (button) seat
Think of it as a table where BB = $1. Your stack is worth $100.

What comes next

Preflop → flop → turn → river
At each stage, we also write down what you are thinking

How to read it

All amounts are in BB units
Follow with your eyes how the pot grows

Preflop ①　The Hole Cards Are Dealt

You were dealt A♥ K♠

The situation

UTG, HJ and CO, all three, fold
The pot holds only the 1.5BB of the blinds
It is your turn

A♥ K♠. Written out, it is AKo (ace-king offsuit).

If you check the preflop chart, it is naturally a hand you open from the BTN.

In fact, it is a hand of the top class that can raise from any seat.

Your action

You raise to 2.5BB
The reason: AKo is strong, and only two players are left behind you
The pot becomes 1.5 + 2.5 = 4BB

Preflop ②　The BB Calls

The two of you see the flop


SB	Fold
BB	Call (it has already put in 1BB, so 1.5BB more)
Pot	1.5 + 2.5 + 1.5 = 5.5BB
Remaining stacks	You 97.5BB / BB 97.5BB
SPR	97.5 ÷ 5.5 ≒ 17.7 (quite deep)

What has been decided so far

You are the raiser (the side holding the initiative)
You are IP (in position)
Your opponent has the BB’s defending range

Checking the words

Raiser: the player who raised last preflop
IP: in position. From the flop on, you can act later
These two become the foundation of the decisions that follow

Flop　K♦ 7♣ 2♥

3 board cards have been turned over

Board

Your hole cards

One pair of K

The kicker is an A (the strongest)

Your hand

The K♦ on the board and the K♠ in your hand make one pair
A pair with the highest card on the board = top pair
The kicker is an A, so it is “top pair, top kicker”

Your opponent’s action

The BB checks (passes it on without betting anything)
It is your turn

Flop　Your Decision

Why do you bet?

Reasons to bet

① You can get calls from hands weaker than yours
② You can make your opponent’s weak hands fold
③ You do not show draws a card for free

The nature of the board

K, 7 and 2 are scattered (not connected)
There are also three different suits. Draws are hard to make
This is the shape called a “dry board”

You decide the size as “what % of the pot.” Here, about one-third.

Action and result

You: bet 2BB (about 36% of the 5.5BB pot)
BB: call
Pot: 5.5 + 2 + 2 = 9.5BB
Remaining stacks: 95.5BB each

Since your opponent called, you assume they have something.

Turn　9♠

The 4th card has been turned over

What to think about

Did this card make your opponent stronger? → It changes almost nothing
You are still likely to be winning
So you go for value once more

Your hand is still one pair of K

The 9 is a card that does not help either range much

Action and result

BB: check
You: bet 6BB (about 63% of the 9.5BB pot)
BB: call　→　pot 21.5BB

River　4♦

One final card. All the cards are out now

The final decision

If you are winning, you want them to pay once more
If you are losing, you do not want to pay any more
You think concretely about the hands your opponent is likely to call with

Final hand: one pair of K (A kicker)

Action and result

BB: check
You: bet 10BB (about 47% of the 21.5BB pot)
BB: call　→　pot 41.5BB

Showdown

Your opponent’s hole cards are revealed

You

Opponent (BB)

You win

You: one pair of K
Opponent: Q♥J♥ made nothing (high card)

What you won

You win the 41.5BB pot
You put in 20.5BB yourself, so the net is +21BB

From your opponent’s side

Q♥J♥ had chances at a flush and a straight
Nothing was completed to the end, and they called and lost

What Was Happening in This Hand

A summary of what was decided at each stage


Preflop	It was a strong hand, so you raised to take the initiative
Flop	You made top pair. You were likely stronger than your opponent, so you bet
Turn	The card did not help your opponent, so you bet once more
River	Assuming you were winning, you bet an amount they would pay
Showdown	Your opponent had made nothing, and you won

What we want you to notice

You did not win because you made a hand; you won because every time you had a “reason to bet”
Your opponent kept calling to the end because they had chances at a flush and a straight
Even with the same one pair of K, on a different board the decision would be to fold along the way

Check

Which of these does the text give as the reason you won this hand?

Because you made a hand
Because every time you had a “reason to bet”
Because your opponent folded along the way

See the answer

Because every time you had a “reason to bet.” You did not win because you made a hand (the section “What Was Happening in This Hand”).