Playing a hand when you flop
a set
Playing a hand
when you
flop trips
When flopping a set or trips
it is imperative to determine the best way to
build a big pot. Trips and sets are big hands,
and as the saying goes - big pots for big hands.
As a rule, we are tight aggressive players,
however - if deviating from our tight aggressive
posture is appropriate, we stand ready to do so.
More specifically, if a player is willing to bet
a big hand for us (when we flop a monster hand
such as trips or a set), we are best served
letting him do so, while calling down
deceptively until the time is right to spring
the trap.
Scenario: $1-2 NL Cash
Game We are in the big blind with $200.75 in
chips. The table has been somewhat passive
before the flop. The level of aggression has
stepped up considerably after the flop.
The under the gun player
raises to $6, which solicits two calls,
including ours. We hold pocket twos. The UTG
player holds $194 in chips, while the other
caller (middle position) has $140 behind him.
With $18 in the pot, the
three-handed flop comes Two of Diamonds, Ace of
Spades, Three of Diamonds. We check our set to
the original raiser, as the aggression is
expected to continue. The UTG raiser bets $12,
which is two-thirds of the pot. The middle
position player raises to $40. We know our call
would mathematically commit the shorter stacked
player.
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Additionally, we know the
board is containing both an ace and a flush
draw. We are uncertain how the original raiser
is planning to act, however we suspect at least
one of the players we are facing holds either a
strong ace or a flush draw. We are ahead of both
hands at the moment, but would like to knock the
flush draw out of the hand, if one is present.
Moreover, the middle position
player showed keen interest in the pot by
raising, thus he may well have a hand such as
Ace-King, Ace-Queen, or Ace-Jack, of which it
might even be suited in diamonds.
Because the middle position
player expressed interest in building a pot and
is committed with one caller, we decide to raise
to put the short stacked player all-in. One
player folds, and the plan worked, as the short
stack calls.
The turn delivers a Four of
Spades, while the river card brings a King of
Hearts. We collect a cool $300+ pot, as the
opposing player mucks Ace - King offsuit.
In this particular hand, we
flopped a monster (a set) with an Ace on the
board and a possible flush draw. We began
playing passively, as we have observed the
aggression increase as the hand progresses on
this table. As mentioned, when people are
willing to bet our hand for us, we let them do
so until either the board justifies pulling the
trigger or the opposing player or players become
committed. Once pot commitment is reached for
any of the players, we are well served by
springing the trap and firing a bet or raise of
our own into the mix.
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