Should one keep betting?

[bigredlemon]

Suppose you have TPTK on the flop make a pot sized bet and get called. There are no draws. You view the caller as a good competent player. Do you keep betting?

[Pepsquad]

This is a situation I sometimes like to check-raise the turn (Note: Only against the competent player like you said).

[pzhon]

With deep stacks, it is a big leak to bet the pot on each street with only TPTK, since it isn't that rare for someone to flop a set, and you lose too much when you are behind.

The right question should be in which situations you should bet the turn. Here are some questions to answer:

What happened preflop?
What is your position?
How likely is it for a playable hand to have connected with the flop? With the turn card?

On many uncoordinated flops, I think it is more natural to bet less than the pot. Then it is easier to continue to bet for value.

[jogger08152]

Not enough information. Helpful would be:

1. What pair did you make? If you hit with AK, it's a different situation from hitting your T with AT. (Specifically, I'd be more apt to bet the latter and call with the former, since you have little to fear from giving free cards in the first case.)

2. Is the good player capable of tilting? If so, is he currently tilting? If he is, pound him (especially if your top pair is A's or K's).

3. Do you have any read on the player in this specific case? (IE, if you're playing live, look him over. Did he like the flop or not?)

4. Was there a raise preflop? If so, who did the raising? If it was the other guy, you again need to ask what pair you made. If you hit your AK, you should definitely bet out, maybe a smallish bet, in the hope of luring a crying call (or overly optimistic raise) from a big (but beaten) pocket pair. If he raises hugely, though, you need to have the stones to call (or reraise) if he bets into you. Remember, that's what you're hoping for here. On the other hand, if you made a pair of 7's with your A7s, you may be in a check/call or check/fold situation.

5. Is this tournament or live? If tournament, how do your's and the caller's stack sizes compare? Is it likely that he's calling with a weaker top pair or just overcards, hoping they're good?

In general, I would tend to bet again with hands that figure to have him dominated (EG AK against a weaker Ace), especially if the turn card looks like a blank (most of them will, given the flop) or especially if it pairs your kicker. If you turn trips, I might be inclined to check, hoping to induce a bluff. If you do this and he checks behind, I would be inclined (and a lot of folks will disagree with me on this) to check the river as well. Good player or not, he may be inclined to try to bluff you out (or bet into you with a second best hand). I would also bet (if the turn doesn't come scary) with hands that can't afford to give free cards. (Top pairs weaker than Q's, specifically.)

[jogger08152]

I disagree. Yes, you will sometimes lose to a set, but quite a bit more often, you'll be called by a worse hand.

If the good player is especially tight, you have to consider the set possibility, but if you live in fear of TPTK losing to a set, you need to move down the limits until you reach the point where you are comfortable with your bankroll. TPTK (assuming the TP is relatively high) is a good hand in NL as well as in limit, and you're giving up a LOT of value if you're afraid to bet it. And if your TPTK is something like A8s, you ought to fear free cards quite a bit more than you fear sets.