The top hand in OFC is where I see the most blatant mistakes from new and intermediate players. Usually, this comes in the form of putting low cards up top early on and quickly finishing out the top with some eight-high throwaway hand that has no value and can allow your opponent to quickly lock up a win with a simple high card. This allows him to then have a dumping ground for unwanted cards at no cost and also lock in a win to avoid a scoop. Avoiding and capitalizing on scoops is a big part of long-term success in OFC.

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On the other side of too conservative is the guy who wants to make a big pair up top every hand, whether or not he has any chance of making hands in the other lines to make it work. As the fantasyland variation (where a pair of queens or better up top gives you the bonus of getting to play your next hand with all 13 cards available before you place them) becomes more prevalent, this form of overly aggressive up top play is becoming more commonplace.

There is a middle ground where you can take advantage of both. Against the overly aggressive type, you will trend toward being more cautious and not fouling, but in both cases you still want to give yourself the opportunity to develop hands that can turn into monsters and pay off with big royalties along with scoops and regular wins.

Even just having a spot open up top can put pressure on your opponent and make them have to make decisions that can lead to mistakes. If you have a J-5 up top and a space open, they may have you beat with J-6, but they also know that you can easily draw any card bigger than a jack and notch them or, depending on your other hands, pair up and beat them too. So, on their next draw, if they pull any card lower than a queen, they don’t really want to put it up top; even a queen or king leaves them vulnerable to you potentially outdrawing them.

Any time you can get your opponent making decisions, you are giving them the chance to make mistakes. When your hand is defined, they can make almost perfect decisions and limit their risk. There is value in putting pressure on them with a hand that is currently beating them or an undeveloped hand that has enough potential to beat them such that they are afraid of losing that line. The top is the most common place for this to occur, with only three cards, and a high card often being the winning hand.

Giving away the top is a huge mistake and shooting for the moon every hand is just giving money away. Find the middle ground where you are the one who always seems to have your opponents notched on the top and you will find yourself racking up more points and avoiding the huge losses that can come with getting scooped.

Court Harrington has worked on the business side of the poker industry in roles including tournament reporting for PocketFives, radio hosting for PokerRoad Radio, coaching for the WSOP Academy and privately, and a variety of behind-the-scenes responsibilities for poker media businesses. He also plays in cash games and tournaments. Harrington is currently doing consulting work and exploring business opportunities outside of the poker industry. You can contact him at Court@CourtHarrington.com.

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