98s on 7♥ 6♣ 2♦ facing a bet — fold, call or raise?
The answer
Call
match $5
The math: 8 outs (any ten or five) → ≈16% on the next card; a quarter-pot bet costs ~17%, so the direct gap is tiny.
Why
Any ten or five completes the straight, for eight outs and about 16% next-card equity. The price is ~17%; position and even a very small realistic payoff after improving cover that narrow gap, so call. This call buys only the next card: use outs × 2 against this price. Use × 4 only when the call closes the action for both cards; otherwise realistic implied odds must cover any gap.
The spot
- Your seat
- CO
- Stakes and stacks
- $1 / $2 · 100bb
- Your hand
- 9♠ 8♠
- Board
- 7♥ 6♣ 2♦
- Pot
- POT · $20
- Action on you
- BB bets $5
Every option
Foldgive up the draw
Why not: Eight outs give about 16% on the next card, almost the ~17% price; position and a tiny amount of future payoff make folding too tight.
Callmatch $5Correct
Raiseraise as a semi-bluff
3x · $15 · all-in
Why not: Raising can work as a semi-bluff, but calling keeps worse hands in and preserves the future payoff that makes the implied-odds continue viable.
The idea behind it
When next-card equity misses the direct price, call only if position, stacks, and likely payoff create enough implied odds. Use × 4 against the price only when the call guarantees both cards.
Concept: Pot odds
Terms in this spot
Play it instead of reading it
The trainer deals this hand with hints, grading and spaced repetition — and randomized variations of it once you have seen it.