Premium hands from the blinds or UTG?

Pok 7's · #1 (**permalink**) 01-03-2006, 07:49 AM

What's the best way to handle them post flop in games where people are playing any 2 cards and you usually get a few callers? I had this hand come up last night, I was looking at in PT where I had a few similar type hands and I bet every street, is that usually the correct strategy?

This one only had 2 callers which wasn't bad but sometimes I'll have 4-7 people in the pot... again is it best to bet every street as long as you're not getting reraised? I figured one of them might have been on a flush draw or they were worried I might be on one when the river came which maybe is why they didn't reraise although they didn't raise the turn either.

PokerStars 0.10/0.20 Hold'em (7 handed) converter

Preflop: Hero is SB with

,

.
UTG calls, 1 fold, MP2 calls, CO calls, Button calls, Hero raises, 1 fold, UTG calls, MP2 calls, CO calls, Button calls.

Flop: (11 SB)

,

(5 players)
Hero bets, UTG folds, MP2 calls, CO folds, Button calls.

Turn: (7 BB)

(3 players)
Hero bets, MP2 calls, Button calls.

River: (10 BB)

(3 players)
Hero bets, MP2 calls, Button folds.

Final Pot: 12 BB

Results in white below:
Hero has Ks Kc (one pair, kings).
MP2 has Th Jh (two pair, jacks and tens).
Outcome: MP2 wins 12 BB.

Phytopath · #2 (**permalink**) 01-03-2006, 08:47 AM

bet them for value, the problem with them is that you will be ahead but everyone will be getting the correct odds on the flop to chase with any draw.

Since the pot was unraised PF you can't go for the check raise on the flop. You are actually pretty fortunate here that your opponent was so passive when he hit top two on the turn.

If you aren't getting raised keep betting, you'll call anyway right? so you are better off betting, make them pay to draw whether they have the odds or not.

There was one example in SSH where they recommend just check calling the flop against many opponents with an overpair in order to check raise the turn and force people to draw incorrectly. That I suppose would only work when nobody would fold to your flop bet, otherwise I hate giving free cards.

Trons · #3 (**permalink**) 01-03-2006, 08:55 AM

I agree with everything Phyto says...I would like to add, as for reasons to keep betting, that you want the pressure on them, not on you...

You're probably going to call any single bet on a uncoordinated board that doesn't have an A...however, especially if you're in EP, if you check any street, you allow somebody to bet into you...this could be a value bet, it could be bluff...At this point your under the pressure to make the correct decision...

In the above hand, you'll have all kinds of fish calling you with TPMK (which is exactly what tweedle dumb did on the flop)...These guys will call all the way down knowing that since you raised PF, you could be betting AK and their pair is good...ocassionally you'll even have 55 and better call you down, thinking your running Ax and missed, or they might hit their trips...The guy got lucky with top two...you can't do anything about that, but if that T hadn't fallen, you'd be happy you bet all the way down...

It gets a little more difficult if there is an A on the board...mainly because most fish will play Ax from any position...and these are the hands that hurt...If I've been showing down a bunch of monsters, I'll still keep betting trying to get the Ax to fold...if I've been showing some strange hands, or I'm feeling tricky, then I'll make a continuation bet on the flop, then check/fold the turn. Even if the donk doesn't have the ace but bets anyway, this gets him thinking you can be pushed around when you check...this helps when you flop the boat and check the turn to enduce a bluff....