flopping a monster

I know it only happens rarely, but what is the best way to play a monster from early position (quads, big full house) It seems people often checkraise the turn. I think this is a good strategy, but I think it also clearly reveals the strength of yor hand. Could betting the flop and then checking the turn be effective?


Mark

As most questions in poker go this one is no exception- "it depends". The situation you describe has no details but here are some things to take into considerstion. Where is the action likely to come from on the flop? If the button raised before the flop checkraising will usually be a bad play since you don't want to drive anybody out. If an early position player raised before the flop then you wouldn't want to bet since he may raise and drive some customers out. Taking into consideration the aggresiveness of your opponents is also critical. If you check how likely is it that others will check along or how sure are you that somebody will bet? Once again if you are gonna check-raise then you would want the bet to come from your immediate left. Also how likely is a turn card going to affect the situation? Is there something like JsJdTs on board- now several cards can come off that will scare opponents into just checking along, but on the same note, sometimes you can be fairly sure that somebody was drawing and that scare card now made their hand, now you will try to exploit that situation. Naturally it is more likely for people to make big hands in multiway pots so keep that in mind too. Each situation is different so think about the various possibilities that are presented to you.

It may be a bit simplistic, but in the low-limit games I'm playing, I usually just bet the flop, turn, and river. If nobody calls, then it's likely they didn't catch any part of the flop and are unlikely to catch on the turn. I'm surprised by how often players will call with significantly inferior hands.


In a recent hand, I had K4s in the small blind. The flop came 4,4,7 (the 7 may have been some other low card, I'm not positive). I bet the flop and got called by an EP. A blank came on the turn, I bet and got called. A blank came on the river, I bet and got called. When I turned over my K4s, my opponents said he was surprised I had a 4. He didn't think somebody would play a big flop so aggressively.


Sometimes you can be "deceptive" by betting you monster flops since your good opponents would expect you to slowplay such a hand and poor/unaware players will call anyway. I think you could do this in any loose game.


If you're going to check, you have to be sure somebody else will bet for you. You may not be worried about giving free cards, but you should be worried about losing bets when your opponents would have called.

Loose low limit games feature players willing to "call one time" on the flop, such as with a 3-straight. The result of this is that MORE money is invested on the flop, all-in-all, than on the turn. It is almost always a mistake to give up this free money.


Ahead of time you should make a mental note as to whether this table calls too loosely on the flop, and if so routinely bet your monsters in these games. Raising or fear of getting raised to narrow the field are completely different matters.


Yes, betting the flop and checking the turn is a very viable if not THE viable way to play monsters. It looks natural and pretty much maximizes your EV.


- Louie

I like to often check on the flop, and see if an opponent will bet out. Often the opponent will keep betting. This allows you to keep calling. I then raise on the end. By this point the initial bettor, and any remaining stayers will often call "One more bet to see your hand". This is if you are lucky enough to have live players in your game. If everyone checks the first round I will then often bet out on the turn depending on what card hits the board.

Mark,


Generally when you flop a big full or quads the texture of the board also matters. If you flop jacks full with a board such as JJ3 rainbow (usually our of the blinds) you usually won't get much action so you might want to slowplay a bit. But jacks full with a flop of JJT with a two flush should get plenty of action so slowplay less.


Regards,


Rick