playing a set when it's obvious you have a set

[driller]

If you raise a large amount, he might suspect you have a set, but it won't be obvious. The most likely holding I would suspect would be A 6s or A 4s. If he has a big pr, he's trying to see whether or not you have an ace, and if he has AK or AQ, he's betting for value and will likely call a lot even if he thinks you have 2 pair.

[bogey]

[ QUOTE ]

Raising a set here some of the time is great. Minraising is retarded.


[/ QUOTE ]

Retarded is a little harsh.

A lot of people will minraise here with an A testing the preflop bettor especially after hes thrown out a weakish bet. I feel like the minraise has its merits here used occasionally.

AK is likely to put in a reraise to which you can flat call and likely get the money in on the turn. If he calls, then you can bet about $175 on the turn and give him a real tough decision. If he doesn't have AK the money probably isn't going in anyway unless your beat.

Not necessarily the best line, but I wouldn't say retarded.

[PGarlic]

Scrub brings up a good point in that the main thing you should be thinking about is how you've been playing your previous hands at this table. You would play this hand very differently if you just sat at the table vs. having been at the table for several hours. If you just sat down, then ok, you could argue a case on how to extract the most amount of money from the avg. 5/10 NL player on which you have no read and no experience against. Otherwise, it's almost impossible to give good advice without knowing anything about the previous hands played.

Have you been caught bluffing the villian or viceverca? What was the betting pattern for the hand in which you were caught bluffing? Have you been shown to bet draws super agressively? Is the villian willing to hold on to TPTK to the bitter end?

The answers to these types of questions will make the answer much more clear. The ability to answer these questions and come up with a good line of play is an essential skill to a good poker player IMO, and you probably know this.

[TomCollins]

You play at PS a lot, so the players there won't really make any crazy moves so much. I like raising to about 2.5 times his bet, something he is likely to call with a pretty good hand. If he has top 2, chances are, he doesn't expect a set. Even AK/AQ will be reluctant to fold.

If he has garbage, you aren't really going to be making much off of him anyway. Against overaggressive players, check calling until the river usually works best.

[ML4L]

[ QUOTE ]
Heh... ML4l, what else would you raise this flop with?

[/ QUOTE ]

Frankly, if I raise in this spot, it's usually a bluff. Most hands that would raise from EP and then bet half the pot on the flop are going to have a tough time calling a raise. If I'm playing loose and saw the flop with A6s, A4s, 64, or 75, I'd probably go ahead and pop him too. And, again, I'll raise a set here, because there isn't much point in waiting until the turn. If he doesn't have an ace, you aren't getting more action on the turn. And if the guy can lay down AK to a flop raise from you here, you should be running him over...

To me, calling the flop and raising the turn if he bets screams "set" a lot more than raising the flop.

That having been said, I don't think any specific line is so much better than the others that it makes a difference. So, I probably raise the flop, but maybe I wait until the turn or river. Because sometimes when he has KK and checks, you can fire in an overbet on the turn/river and get called by someone looking to pick off a bluff...

I love hands that I can't screw up.

ML4L

[ML4L]

Hey imperious,

I think a call is fine too. I'm not sure if I buy into the flush draw theory (what does he think Bruiser called the flop with?), but you're right about this being a good play against someone who is going to fire big on the turn.

If I'm EP, you're probably going to make more from me by raising the flop than taking any other line. That's why I've suggested that as the default line. But, again, this is a tough hand to screw up. Most lines should yield substantially the same amount...

ML4L

[theBruiser500]

If I bluff in a situation like this I normally call the flop to see what he'll do on the turn, it just seems cheaper that way, and I'll have more information. In the game I minraised the flop and then bet $250 into a $300 pot on the turn. I was hoping he'd think it was strange because 1) I never minraise, 2) minraising and then betting the pot seems like a strange line, hoping he'd get suspicious. Probably a stupid line, he folded the turn.

[BK_]

[ QUOTE ]

If raising the flop here makes it obvious that you have a set, we have a problem...

Raise it up and hope he has AK. If he has KK or something, you probably aren't getting much more anyway unless he thinks you're a nut. So, make maximizing your profits when he has an ace your priority.

ML4L

[/ QUOTE ]

m4l4 is like the new matt flynn

[GameTheory]

I agree that playing a set in a solid NL game is immensely tough to make good money off and disguise.
I do agree that representing a big Ace is probably the best approach-Then proceed to bet near-pot or slightly smaller than pot size value bets, provided nothing too scary hits.

[turnipmonster]

in a lot of situations you just aren't destined to make a ton of money with whatever you have, because your opponent doesn't have much. as a general rule I don't worry about the minimum amount I can squeeze out of the hand, but rather the maximum I can make if he does have a big hand. I generally think this strategy is best against all but the loosest 3 barrel bluffers. in this situation if the guy can't stand a flop raise and a turn bet, he really doesn't like his hand. note that you don't need a set to make this play if he will lay down an A.

--turnipmonster