For today's Hot Hand column, I want to review a hand scenario that we all love...flopping trips. You know what it's like: you limp in preflop, hoping desperately to see a cheap flop and maybe, just maybe, just this one time, you can flop some trips and actually (hopefully) get some action on those trips without scaring everyone else away. For me, I am at the point in my no-limit holdem game where I no longer mind chasing everyone out preflop when I have a monster starting hand like Aces or Kings -- as long as I am only putting in my standard preflop raise, if that standard raise chases everyone else out of the pot before the flop, then so be it. I am confident that I played the hand the right way, the smartest way, and if I get no action on my standard preflop raise, I'm at the point where I don't mind that outcome. But one thing I really can't stand is playing a small pocket pair to see a cheap flop, nailing my 1-in-8 chance of flopping trips, and then chasing everyone out of the pot on the flop and failing to make any serious coin from this truly rare occurrence in no-limit holdem.
So, the setup for today's hand is at a $1-$2 no-limit holdem cash game on full tilt, where I have been sitting at the table for about 30 minutes, and I have been playing solid, aggressive poker to the tune of a $70 profit on top of the $200 I sat down at the table with. Blinds are $1-$2, and I am seated in the big blind with pocket 3s. One middle position player limps for $2, the next player makes it $4 to go, and the small blind calls the $4. With the action back around to me, I go for the cheap $2 call and see a cheap 4-way flop with my pocket 3s.
The flop comes 3T5 rainbow. Bingo! I've flopped my trips, and with just the small preflop minraise, I am not particularly afraid of anyone else holding a higher trips. No flush draw is possible, and the board is highly unlikely to have created any meaningful straight draws for any of my opponents either. So I'm thinking in great shape here with my trips on the flop.
The pot contains $15.20, and the small blind checks the flop to me.
How would you play this here? Do you check your trips, hope someone else bets the flop, and either way prepare to put in a large-ish bet on the turn? Or do you bet it out here and hope to catch some callers, or someone who may have been slowplaying a big pair preflop? If you do want to bet out here, how much? What is the best way to get the most of your opponents' total chips in this pot now while you still believe you are the solid favorite?
I will be back tomorrow with the next update to this flopped trips hand, but would love to get everyone's thoughts in the comments on this, one of the most enjoyable situations in all of no-limit holdem, especially for a guy like me who always tries to see a cheap flop with my pocket pairs.
Hot Hand -- Flopping a Set in NLH Cash Game
Reader Comments
(Page 1)2. First, some semantics. Holding a pocket pair and flopping a third one of those cards is hitting a set. Flopping two cards that match one of your hole cards is hitting trips.
That being said, in this particular situation, I happily check away. This is a highly uncoordinated board with almost no reasonable draws, and it's unlikely anyone hit anything. Betting out here will most likely get most of the players to fold. If anyone bets out at this flop, I'd just call and lead out on the turn.
Posted at 5:05PM on Dec 6th 2006 by kaellinn18
3. I've been shying away from the check-raise check-smooth call when I flop trips in EP lately. I just don't think it gives me the chance to get some money out of the hand like I want. I'd probably bet about half the pot here. It's a bit of a probe bet, maybe indicating a middle pair, or maybe a draw that wants to see where they stand. I think a bet like that would entice someone with a couple overs, or TP to raise it up to try and scare you off, in which case you can smooth call the raise. This can lead to one of my favorite things to do, the check-raise on the turn when your opponent thinks he has you beat with his marginal hand.
So yeah, I'd go with a bet of about half the pot here. If it scares everyone off, so be it, but if that happens, you probably weren't getting much from the pot to begin with.
Posted at 5:41PM on Dec 6th 2006 by Mike Maloney
4. I'd like to check this uncoordinated rainbow flop and see if the initial raiser makes a continuation bet. I know its not a good way to build a pot, but this board is so weak that the initial raiser has to bet if he's any sort of skilled player, and if you bet here, who knows how willing the other players are to believe you, but you very well could lose them.
When he does make that bet, that's where I've got the most problem. Do you min-raise indicating either obscene strength or relative weakness, or do you smooth call and go to the turn? I think you have to make the min-raise to look like a weak steal attempt and hope he calls or re-raises you again. Then on the turn, you've got control and can bet out and see where he's really at.
Incidentally, Gavin Smith recently released a Tip From The Pro on pot size manipulation. Its a good read for some insight on a situation like this.
Posted at 5:58PM on Dec 6th 2006 by WindBreak247
5. There are a lot of ways to play this. First, this flop is really ragged. Other than potentially an Ax gutshot, it is drawless. You also have a pf raiser who is next to act. You haven't mentioned how big the stacks are. However, assuming that they were 100xBB (especially the pf raisers) you should be looking to get more money in the pot. On the other hand, this flop is really unlikely to have hit anyone. You can lead into the pfr and hope he raises or at least calls with overs or a medium pair. You could check, either letting the pfr bet the hand or, if it is checked around, letting someone with overs make a promising second-best hand.
Now I'm wondering: how is your image? You say you've been playing TAG poker, but you might still be aware that others are seeing you as a bully (if they've been making laydowns to you) or may see you as a pushover (because you've raised with good cards but laid them down when you were pretty sure you were beaten). Luck can wreak havoc with our image. Are you known at this level/site enough that good players will have stats on you, and what are those stats?
If people see you as willing to take shots at ragged flops, now is a good time to put in a half-pot bet, and maybe someone with overs raises you and then makes a hand on the turn. Or someone has a medium pair or even JJ and is willing to lose their stack with their (over)pair.
If you don't think people are likely to play back at you, I like the idea of a check. Two good things can happen here: the original pfr (or even the other caller) may bet out, which is great, as it disguises the strength of your hand, or if it is checked around, someone may make a second-best hand. If you see it checked around and see J+ fall, you are probably good, facing a TPTK opponent or two pair (say, JT/QT/KT/AT).
With a flop this ragged, I'm not sure there's a big EV difference between leading at it or checking it. However, given that it is close to even, I bet it, because if you're TAG, you're going to want to take shots at pots like this that you got into cheaply and may well have missed the whole table. You need to not slowplay here so you can steal pots later. Also, betting here gives an opponent with a weaker hand a chance to make a mistake by calling. Although they MAY also err by betting, they may correctly check behind and set up a draw or hit their own set. A bet here lets them choose between incorrectly calling, or giving you the money. While a bet here gives up the deception of checking, it ADDS deception for future plays where you can bet in a situation like this without the hand to back it up.
Posted at 11:58AM on Dec 7th 2006 by MattW
6. Agree with Matt, totally depends on table image and yopur style of play. If you want your future probes/bluffs to be effective you cant always slow play your big hands. Betting out from the blinds on a ragged flop with a bottom or middle pair is a good often profitable play, but good players are on the lookout for it, hence it can be vulnerable to a raise. Since there are no draws you are are looking to fold a smallish probe bet would be called for, and you'll probably get raised by top pair, called by middle and lower pair and overcards, etc. If you end up showing down your flopped set, your future probe bets will be a little more likely to get there.
Posted at 3:39PM on Dec 7th 2006 by SR
7. On a non-flushing, non-straightening board with bottom set, I'd check in general... maybe a small (not min) bet to try and scare out a couple players and get a feel for the others, and give the image of mid-to-top pair, hoping to meet either TPHK, overs or two pair.
The problem here is that you're giving us position, bets, your style and cards, but not reads on the other players' styles. Are they calling stations? donkeys? TAG? LAG? weak? solid? Player types makes a BIG difference on play. If you've got guys that will call anything, then bet away. If you've got LAGs, then let them bet into you. If they're all solid players, then you have to check here to see more money. $1/2 NL is hardly the bastion of solid play online.
Posted at 3:43PM on Dec 7th 2006 by Astin
8. I would check here and wait to see if anyone else puts in some chips before the turn. If someone does bet I would call to keep as many people in the hand as possible. I want to wait to keep as many players into the turn and river to let them think they have caught something.
Posted at 5:17PM on Dec 7th 2006 by Robert Hogan
9.
What's your read on PF raiser's hand? A min-raise.. BTW, wtf is with the increased incidence of minraising on Full Tilt lately? God, what an awful play.. anyway.
If you think he has Ax and missed, you need to check and induce the bet from him or other players. Someone's hit something. An EP player might not bet out with second pair or decent pocket pair, however if the third player also reads PF raiser for a big ace, s/he might bet here to take it down.
it really depends on what people have been doing previously.
If you read PF raiser for a big pair, then you need to bet out 2/3 pot here, to drive out the other players and get heads up with PF raiser.
There are some ppl on Full Tilt that only minraise with AA or KK. Observe long enough and you will spot them-- they're a gold mine. If this is one of them, you're about to get paid. If not, well, boo.
The 2/3 pot bet is the new continuation-bet on Full Tilt, it seems, heck I even see people Cbet the full pot now, consistently. So if you represent this, the AA or KK will likely attempt to come over top of you. At this you can just call, and check the turn if it's a blankish card or an Ace. Then if buddy bets out again, you can raise him all in.
All in all, I'd concentrate on trying to get heads up with whomever you think has a decent hand. I really hope it's the minraiser with a big pair.
Posted at 12:42PM on Dec 8th 2006 by XantheKnight
10. i was playing a $120 10 person 1 table satellite a couple days ago... i'm in the big blind i have pocket queens... blinds are $25 and $25 second hand of the tourney... Starting chips $1000... 7 people limp into the pot, it comes around to me i am not having this many people in my pot so i raise $200 more... i get 3 callers including the small blind... flop was queen 9 4 rainbow... i figure the perfect flop for me... absolutely no way i'm losing this hand... the only possible drawing hand was if some1 called with 10 jack so i made sure to watch out for that... small blind checks... now only thing on my mind is to figure out how to get the most chips out of this situation... i decide to bet $150, next guy folds, then the next guy after him calls, last guy folds i'm heads up... right now only thing i fear is 10 jack... next card is a jack... i decide to now check as if i was bluffing on the flop and let him take a jabb at it... he bets $250, i'm surprised at the bet... now i have him on either jack queen or perhaps 10 jack, i didnt think too much and pushed all in about 2 seconds after his bet... he called so fast that he basically beat me to putting the chips all in... he flips over 10 8 suited, a str8... river is a blank i'm out... but i would still like to believe that i played the hand well... just bad luck that he catches the only card that could save him to make his gutshot str8 draw... My point is that flopping a set and checking could be dangerous if there are multiple people in the pot, i would say make a bet and try to get one or 2 max callers cause the turn make start fireworks as they did for me...
Posted at 5:21AM on Feb 3rd 2007 by Rudy Que
1. Hmm, if you were closer to the button I would say pretend to steal the pot but in early position it may come across as the strength that it is. Checking it can gain the benefits of capturing bets from overpairs or perhaps A4 suited, but against a decent player the trap may be recognized and reduce future payouts later. Instead, I would play a weak bet as if playing a draw (the range of your hands are wide in BB) and hope that someone has over pair or puts you on the faux draw.
Then again, in my experience the weak bet is one of the most useful tactics in all strong situations, especially if you're recognized as even moderately aggressive with varying post-flop bets.
Posted at 5:07PM on Dec 6th 2006 by Steve