Top 2 pair on flop?

KaptainKangoroo · #1 01-17-2004, 05:18 AM

How would you value Top 2 pair on the flop? example, party $25 NL hand: SB, picked up AQ off, i limp, after 7 other callers. Flop comes A Q 5 rainbow. I cameout betting $3 into a $3.8(raked) flop.... How was this play? I know 2 pair is usually good, but is it risky with top 2? I know you want to have trips or nut flush, to be confident moving in on someone... but I wasn't too too confident on this hand, and was looking for some feedback?

Thankyou
Kapt

HajiShirazu · #2 01-17-2004, 05:36 AM

Well, look at it this way, if you have top two, it's less likely that you're facing a set since you have 2 of the 6 pair cards, and you would have heard from QQ/AA anyway. So you only have 88 to worry about. And obviously you wouldnt want to play against 88 for all your chips, but at least you're not totally dead against it.
Really, in a NL 25 game on Party poker, I'm taking my chances with top two every time hoping to get in my whole stack, and expecting my hand to almost always be good. People will go all in with all types of crazy stuff, including ace-rag and gutshot draws. If they have 88 that's life, rebuy and move on. You can't win at NL fearing the one hand that beats you. I know because this is why I suck at NL. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
Bet the pot on the flop and if you are raised, shove em in unless you are against the biggest tighty ever. It might be different if you had 200 blinds in front of you instead of 50. Granted, there are times in NLHE where two pair isn't all that great, but in this situation it is almost always the best hand.

crockpot · #3 01-17-2004, 05:46 AM

this play is fine. remember, your bet won't scare anyone with top pair, and you don't want to give a gutshot a free card.

as a general rule, the more draws that can be out against you, the more aggressive you should be. asking how to play top two pair on the flop is too general a question. against more opponents or facing a more dangerous board, do your best to get more money in on the flop and turn.

KaptainKangoroo · #4 01-17-2004, 05:54 AM

my question wasn't how to play top 2... it was how do you feel commiting your whole stack with it? but yall answered my questions.

FYI: in that hand, i kept betting pot, got 2 calls on the flop, 1 call on turn, putting him all in. River was another Q, and i took it down, against A8, with no 8 on board...

AeonBlues · #5 01-17-2004, 01:34 PM

Yes your top 2 pair is worth committing your stack to. While on ocasion you will be against a set, you very more offten than not have the best hand. Just like ocasionaly you will flop a set and be beat by a better set. Some times in NL you will go broke with very big hands, but this is ok, as if the situation was reversed, your oponet will go broke too.

You only make great mistakes when your opponet would play your cards better than you would.

AeonBlues