PLO: Bare Trips and Top Two

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Alright, so I'm wondering how people play top two and bare trips, as the subject line might indicate to those that can, ya know, read. Anyway, I'll give some examples of hands that have been f*cking with my head lately. I'm interested in how you would play such hands.

Let's say you hold T [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 9 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] K [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] K [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] in late position (either CO or button). There are about 4 limpers before you, as is usually the case, and you limp.

The flop is T [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 9 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 3 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

In retrospect, I think the ideal plan here is to hope for a raise in front of you and to reraise pot to push out straight draws. If there's a bet and a raise in front of me, I would throw it away guessing I'm up against a set and a strong draw.

If there were two to a flush out there, if it's raised before, I would plan on calling behind and making a play on the turn when the pot is bigger if a scare card doesn't come. If one does, plan on folding to a significant bet in front of you (if it's not significant, call and see if you can fill up on the river ... that's if you're closing the betting, of course).

Comments? How would you play this?




The next situation I get into trouble with is bare trips.

Let's say you have A [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] K [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] J [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] T [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] in late position again (just because I want these examples to be illustrative, not specific).

Anyway, there are three limpers around to you preflop. I would raise it up about 1/2 the pot due to strength of hand, position, and the fact that you're unlikely to get reraised. Anyway - comments on that, even though it's kind of an aside?

Let's say the flop is A [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] A [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 5 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]

How do you play this? Obviously you're not going to get any action from anyone without another A, barring exceedingly stupid people.

The issue I seem to keep on having is that, despite having trips with top kicker, I continually lose to a full house. It's also often that the other player is betting his trips with 2nd or 3rd kicker hard the entire way, but I end up being outdrawn. I feel like it's way too weak to fold trips, but I also feel like I'm losing money betting into a pot with bare trips when the other player could easily have a full house. It seems kind of like playing the nut flush when the board pairs ...

Anyway - comments on how to play such a flop? Out of position, in position, etc.?

For those to whom it matters, I'm usually talking about the Party $25 PLO tables, to give you a sense of the players/stakes. Not the most fun game in the world, but it builds a bankroll [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]