How did I play this?

Small Stakes. 4-8 Holdem tight game. Few passive players, 1 loose player, two aggressive players to my right. I have been winning and my image has been contributing to many of my bets (gaining more value).


Anyway....I want to know how i played this hand. In the Big Blind, there are four callers. I check with a pair of 5's. The Flop comes 445. Giving me the nuts. Small Blind Checks, I check behind him (slowplaying), all the rest of the field checks. The turn brings the ten of diamonds (now there are two diamonds on board). Small blind checks, I bet and i get no callers.


I just want to know some of your thoughts on how i played this, would you bet the flop, bet the turn or check it all the way to the river....


Thanks in advance.

Loose low limit games feature players MUCH more willing to call the flop than the turn, since even they can correctly notice the bet size is smaller and their chances are better (2 cards to go).


I assert that these players over-all invest MORE money on the flop than the turn; that is they are more than twice as likely to call.


With a low board, you can easily snag players calling with any raggedy over-cards, and will certainly call with gut shots. This is a different beast if the flop was AA5.


In these loose games, don't voluntarily give up that flop money often. I would often bet the flop and check the turn.


- Louie

The flop gave you the second nuts, not the nuts. I think you should have bet the flop, rather than the turn. Make it look like you were trying to steal the pot. You are much more likely to get called by overcards on the flop than you are on the turn. Once the turn came, and no one had bet the flop, betting was no good. You already said the game was tight, and you had been winning, so you should have considered that if you bet here, everyone would fold. Not only was the pot small, and the bet twice as big, but your image increased the chances everyone would plead "no contest". I would have bet the flop but checked the turn. However, if you had checked the flop and turn, it would have been OK, considering the tone of the game and players you were against. Your hand was certainly worth slowplaying to the river. The only thing that could have wound up beating you would be a four with an overcard (but then you would have gotten action), or two running overcards that hit one of your opponents.


Dave in Cali

I would bet the flop. The result may likely be the same, but people are more likely to call for a SB. Also, it looks like you may be on a steal... it also looks like you don't have a 4 (or 55 for that matter). People will often take one off trying to hit their over cards. A bet on the flop is often the best disguise for a monster.


Derrick

Be careful about what you think the nuts is. 44 would be the nuts, not 55. (assuming no straight flush draws)


I would just bet on the flop, turn, and river, and hope there's a random 4 out there who thinks he's slowing playing his "nuts".


I've had this exact same hand and flop in an on-line tournament at pokerpages.com. and won a lot of tournament chips from an A4s.

I would have checked the turn. Bet the river if the turn gets checked around. In loose games, you would have been correct to bet the turn.