Hyptothetical question

[me454555]

Whats the correct play for this hand?

you have some medium pocket pair, lets say 88

flop comes 2 under cards and an over card

27K

Your in early position and its checked to you, what do you do? its checked to you in late position what do you do?

Thanx for the help. I've been wondering about this situation for a while.

[rigoletto]

Situation 1: You bet because you might have the best hand!

Situation 1: You bet because you might have the best hand!

This flop is only likely to have hit someone with a K but you houldn't automatically assume that one is out there. You don't want the flop to be checked around, so overcards to yours get a free chance to outdraw you.

[me454555]

If someone leads out and bets, do you call behind them or fold assuming they have the overcard?

[Mangatang]

It also depends how many people saw the flop. If a lot of people saw the flop, it's more likely that a K is out there (also more overcards out there too). If there were something like 7 people seeing the flop and there's any action, I would fold this and wait for a better opprotunity.

[John Feeney]

In both the cases you describe (early and late) you should almost always bet. While you would also frequently bet in those spots with a hand like QQ, can you see why it's less crucial?

[me454555]

I'm going to guess that its less crucial to bet w/a QQ b/c you don't have to worry about knocking a higher pair. When you have 88, you have to bet to fold higher pairs like 1010.

[jstnrgrs]

If there are only 2 or 3 people in the pot, I Usually bet, and fold to a raise.

Contrary to the advise you will get from others on this forum, if there are many people in the pot, I usually check and fold. I may fold the best hand from time to time, but I think that in the long run, this is more profitable than betting to find out where you are.

If a multiway pot is raised preflop, definatly check and fold.

If the pot is headsup (raised or not), I usually bet, and call a raise. Then call to the showdown (unless, of course there are several big cards on the board ex. 27KQA)

[ramjam]

Possibly knocking out TT when you bet with 88 is a potential advantage of betting with 88 (whereas with QQ you'd be happy for them to call you down). However, it's somewhat unlikely that somebody does have a bigger pocket pair (especially if the pot was not raised) - but what is almost certain is that there are people holding 9, T, J or Q and you really want to knock these people out.

[me454555]

I see. thanx for clearing that up