How to play the bitch-straight?

[Annie Duke]

Well I think the result demonstrates one of the problems with the hands--that unless the board comes exactly A45 or 332 you can't flop the nuts. In three handed poker it is likely you will lose some money if you flop a pair since check folding when you catch a piece of the board three handed is weak. Since it will always be bottom pair that right there is a reason not to get involved.

I much prefer punishing the weak button limp with a raise from the SB if youa re going to play at all. First you can win the pot right there. Second, if you do get called your opponent's hand is much better defined and the 456 flop becomes truly the nuts against a limp/call from the button.

[Annie Duke]

Yes you get my thinking. It is hard to get paid off when you hit a flop that 32o likes. Plus I just don't like playing a hand where I am guaranteed to flop bottom pair when I hit the board with a pair in a three handed situation as you are likely to lose money. Three handed you can't just have the plan of check-folding when you hit a piece of the board. But with 32o youa re likely to want to do just this which makes the hand a bad proposition.

As the hand you played demonstrated, unless the board comes exactly 332 or A45 you can have the nuts (not that 223 is a bad flop lol). The point is that flopping those hands is highly unlikely and all other hands don't make you that happy--as you pointed out with a 23x flop or the flop that came for you.

[t_perkin]

I used to be very conservative in the SB. But people here regularly said something like "your getting 7:1 to complete, you have to do it".
Plenty of these people have been players way better than myself, so I have duly complied for the last 4-6months or so.

I have never seen any threads here that discuss it in a great deal of detail. If you know any I would appreciate a link.

I suppose there are a lot of variables, which makes it tricky to discuss in general terms.

Tim

[Tosh]

At least someone agrees with me!

[MikeGuz]

Guess calling it here depends on how you play after the flop. Getting 5-1 on a complete here is OK I'll take a cheap flop here with any 2 cards but caution is necessary. 3 handed at a final table SB is not always the worst position anyway. I like the way you played the hand if BB has 78 you got trapped - OH WELL - it's the game we choose to play. Hope you won.

[Tosh]

[ QUOTE ]
It is hard to get paid off when you hit a flop that 32o likes.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, kind of what I was talking about RE: an unraised pot. In a raised pot you can more often expect an overpair so when you hit your miracle 23T flop, a guy holding queens is going to get stuck. Also notice that after you hit your miracle flop AND get someone to play with you, you still lose 25% of the time.

The point about reverse implied odds is valid too, you can't always fold everytime you don't flop 2 pair, its just too weak and the fact you are out of position makes it incredibly hard to play the hand.