how important are big laydowns?

[ArtVandelay]

I've noticed (as have others) that a large percentage of the hands posted here involve a very strong but non-nut hand for the hero that he plays passively or even lays down fearing the nuts. Now, I'm not here to make the standard "people bluff and overplay, making big laydowns is stupid" complaint. Rather, I wonder how important these hands actually are to your long term E.V. in PL/NL Hold'em. Now, I've lain down everything up to and including the second-nuts, both correctly and incorrectly, but when I think about it all those pots added together are insignificant next to all the other hands I played. In the long run, how much of your edge really comes from tough laydowns versus the rest of the hands? Extracting the max when you do have the nuts, bluffing small/medium pots, getting good value out of top pair, etc. My feeling is that they all matter a lot more than that one hand where you could have gotten away from a bad match-up but didn't. Most hands no one has the nuts, top pair usually is good, and winning those pots is what add up to being a winning player. Or not? What do you guys think?

[Kaz The Original]

If you never laid down the second nuts you wouldn't be making much of a mistake, assuming normal game structures.

The most important hands are the ones you play the most. Knowing how to play a set and top pair well are probably the most important assests of a NL player.

[fimbulwinter]

I think one of my biggest overlays is the ability to lose less when both me and him make a hand. Extracting 30% more than a bad player would with my monsters is not worth as much as folding when drawing dead 2 streets before he would have, IMO.

Also, as a side taboo: I know losing a big pot with a big hand will tilt me (yes, i know it shouldn't) where making an extra PSB will not make me one tilt's worth of a better player afterwards. this adds value to working on when to lay it down, which i honestly put great effort into doing.

fim