Poker Guy: Clements opts for a passive approach

IT MIGHT seem counterintuitive in some ways, but many times your best move is to bet when you don't have a made hand and check when you do.

"If I don't have anything, he likely has the best hand, so I'll bet to try to get him to fold," championship pro Scott Clements said. "But when I hit my hand, it's best to check and play pot control. Let an opponent value-bet something you can beat."

Today's hand from the World Poker Tour's $10,000-buy-in Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic at Las Vegas' Bellagio in 2010 provides an example of such thinking.

With blinds at $400-$800 plus a $100 ante, Clements raised to $2,200 from middle position with K-Q offsuit. Aggressive pro Kirk Morrison called from the cutoff seat. The big blind also called. The flop came 2-5-J, two clubs. The big blind checked. Clements bet $4,000 with two overcards.

"It's a good spot for me to continuation-bet the flop because there are a lot of cards that will give me more outs," said Clements, who has won two World Series of Poker bracelets. "So even if they have a jack, I can pick up cards that I can double-barrel-bluff on.

"I bet the flop because the jack came, and if a 10 comes on the turn, I have an open-ended straight draw," Clements said. "If a 9 or ace comes, I have a gutshot. Plus, I can always catch a king or a queen."

Morrison called, while the big blind folded. The turn came the queen of diamonds.

"Once I hit the queen on the turn, the best move is to check and call if he bets - play pot-control," said Clements, a pro from the Full Tilt Poker online site. "I have top pair with a good kicker, but my hand is not that strong and I don't want to go broke. My hand would be vulnerable if he flopped a set or if he had ace-queen of clubs . . . " Morrison made it $6,000. Clements called.

"He's not likely to have queen-jack too often there," Clements said. "He could have a flush draw or a pair, and in his mind, I could've been continuation-betting with a lot of hands he can beat with a pair . . . Maybe he thinks I have a flush draw and he's trying to protect a pair of 8s or 10s."

The river came the 9 of hearts, completing an unlikely straight draw. "He'd have to be playing king-10 of clubs there," Clements said. "I'm still going to let him do the betting. He might value-bet a jack, but if I bet, he's probably not going to call with a jack."

Worse, if Clements had bet, he likely would be called only by hands that beat him, another element of playing pot control. Morrison checked behind Clements, then mucked his cards when he saw Clements' pair of queens.

Gutshot: A straight draw that can be completed by hitting a card in the middle.

Steve Rosenbloom is a sports columnist for the Chicago Tribune and the author of the book "The Best Hand I Ever Played." He can be reached at srosenbloom@tribune.com.