O/8 flop raise -- good play or not?

[Ray Zee]

why he was getting pot odds and folded. this hand was easy to play but not always easy to win. he had to love the situation he was in overall.
trip aces is easy to play as you get to compare pot odds on drawing out when you look beaten, and know its good if it comes. you can fold if facing double bets that may make you not want to play.
you will usually only be folding them if three low cards are on board and the pot is small or it is getting jammed.

[crockpot]

a good case can be made for either raising now or waiting until the turn to raise.

raising now:
- you can drive out backdoor low draws
- you get more money in the pot with a great hand and a great draw
- the SB may not bet the turn especially if a bad card hits for him

raising the turn:
- you can suck in a few backdoor low draws if a low card turns and perhaps win more with a split pot if enough of them call, rather than scooping if they fold on the flop
- since some big draws can be out against you, your hand is not necessarily that strong on the flop, so you may want to wait to see what turns before getting aggressive

i honestly don't know which play i'd pick. it's pretty close. what i do know is, you had no business folding the turn. ten cards make you a virtual lock, giving you odds of 3.4:1 to improve when the pot is laying you better than 4:1.

by the way, this is a very nice game to be in. since virually all playable omaha hands are based on implied odds, you have to love a game where your implied odds are increased big time by the blind structure. any 23xx is worth playing in this game, and i would probably play any KKxx or QQxx unless the sidecards were totally worthless.

[PseudoPserious]

Yes, I know I shouldn't have folded on the turn. I knew it before the dealer picked up my muck. It was just an MBM (momentary brain malfunction) and I've made peace with myself about it.

My question was actually about the flop raise. I raised to knock folks out, in order to improve my chances of scooping or winning unimproved. I'm don't know if this was a good idea or not.

Thanks for the replies everyone,
PP

[PseudoPserious]

Hi crockpot,

Thanks for your reply. I know that the fold on the turn was a mistake. When playing the hand I only looked at the $26 in the pot already -- I neglected the $8 the guy bet on the turn and the $8 I'd get on the river if I hit. I realized my mistake just about as my discards hit the felt in front of the dealer. It was an ID-ten-T move, and hopefully I'll make less of those as I learn.

My question was really about the flop raise -- I like the reasons you gave for both raising on the flop and for waiting until the turn. I appreciate your input.

Later,
PP