Quote:
Originally Posted by DalTXColtsFan
Am I behind any other low besides 23?
No. On a board of K784A, 23 is the nut low, and 25 is the second-nut low. You have 25.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DalTXColtsFan
I've got a 7542A low which is still pretty darned good.
Yes, but that's not the most useful way of thinking about it, because "still pretty darned good" is not as precise as it could be.
Think of it this way. Anytime a low is possible, there will be exactly 10 different lows. It doesn't matter if there are 3 low cards on the board or 4 or 5.
On any board, you should be able to identify the 10 low hands in order from best to worst (or from worst to best; if your hand is closer to the worst low possible, it may be faster to rank it from that direction).
On the turn the board was K784. The best low hands in order are as follows:
A2
A3
23
A5
25
35
A6
26
36
56
On the river the board was K784A. The best low hands in order are as follows:
23
25
35
26
36
56
Live 2
Live 3
Live 5
Live 6
(All the "live" hands make an 8-low; all the others make a 7-low on this board.)
On the turn you had the nut low (obviously). On the river you got counterfeited, but you had a 5 for backup, so you went from having the nut low to having the second-nut low. If you did not have that backup, you would have gone from having the nut low to having the seventh-nut low (a live 2). Do you see the crucial difference having that backup card makes?
Quote:
Originally Posted by DalTXColtsFan
I think I have to call here and hope my low takes at least a quarter of the pot.
I think so too. Sometimes you'll be beat, sometimes you'll be quartered, and sometimes you'll still be good for the low by yourself. But you've made it this far in the hand, and you can't be certain (based on the action and your reads) that anyone has exactly 23. So you should call and hope for the best.
And let's not forget that you also have two pair on this river (Aces and 4's). Maybe UTG has A23x (without two pair), in which case he has you beat for low, but you have him beat for high. Maybe UTG has something like KJ98, so he flopped top two pair and a gut-shot straight draw, but you just rivered a better two pair. With a combo hand like second-nut low
plus Aces up, you're even more compelled to call a single bet on the river.