> when you have a better idea of what your opponent holds than vice versa, you surely do better to see the flop than to bash it all in.


I think this is an oversimplification: Even if you know for sure that your opponent holds an ace, you still run a 1/6 chance that he will hit his kicker. If the call costs 15% of your stack, you still lay him enough implied odds to make his play worthwhile, since he'll get your whole stack in this case, while he can safely fold if he misses. The point is that you know you hold a pair now and your opponent doesn't i.e. you're ahead and should make him pay to catch up.


> He's guessing on the flop much more than me.


Sure, but only if he misses, and then he won't make much of a mistake to automatically fold, anyway. But if he hits the flop, he knows that he's ahead most of the time while you are the one who's left guessing in a situation where the money is much more likely to go in.


Of course, this all assumes that a call is 15% of your stack. When the money is deeper, calling makes much more sense b/c of the implied odds when you flop a set.


It's a general rule that the implied odds are always on the side of the draw. What exactly makes up a draw, however, depends on how deep the money is: a pocket pair can either be considered as a made hand (with moderate stacks) or a draw to a set (when the money is deep), the same applies to big aces: when you're very short stacked, the possiblity to win unimproved is important, while with larger stacks, you usually have to hit a pair to go to a showdown. Your preflop action often allows you to decide in which fashion you want to play your hand while you can force your opponent to play his hand in a way he didn't intend.


cu


Ignatius