We have all been in this spot at some time or another you hold either a middle pair 5-7s or a monster pair like qs,ks the flop comes and its say 10103 when you have middle pairs or AJA it always seems to be when I play my kings or queens but what is the best way to play these boards? do you check to see what your opponent does or do you bet on your 2 pairs to see the reaction. Recently I did have kings and the flop was QJQ I put in a strong bet my opponent replied with an all in so I immediately put him on a set thought about it for a few seconds and reluctantly folded my monster 2 pairs then he had the nerve to show me I have been bluffed he had K8 so only had queens! now did I make the right move or should I have just took the risk and essentially gone out of the tourney? how do you guys play with pairs on the board? Also I always seem to be more comfortable when I hold the overcard pair and its lower cards especially if my opponent only limped or just min raised as that tends to be weakness unless they are trapping.
Edited by Imanovice (15 December 2013 @ 00:03 GMT)
Joined: Oct '13
Location: Philippines
Age: 35 (M)
Posts: 54
If you're the aggressor pre-flop then you should barrel the flop and the turn (esp in position). I think when people hit a set on the flop, they will often just check/call, and then check/raise the turn. When he raised all-in on that spot, I would guess he had a Jx on hand or a complete bluff. But that's just me, I'm no expert on this, just my 2 cents
Joined: Mar '11
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 55 (M)
Posts: 7371
I would come out betting to see where i stand. If you get reraised, it is more often than not a bluff, but if you just get flat called then the alarm bells will start ringing in my head. Very difficult spot to play but i think the best way is to bet
Posted by adok: If you're the aggressor pre-flop then you should barrel the flop and the turn (esp in position). I think when people hit a set on the flop, they will often just check/call, and then check/raise the turn. When he raised all-in on that spot, I would guess he had a Jx on hand or a complete bluff. But that's just me, I'm no expert on this, just my 2 cents
Unless they are a fish who doesn't know about deception that's the only flaw I can see in this method but next time if they do shove me all in instantly and I have a really big 2 pair I'll think twice about folding also heard an interesting stat when watching the big game people only hit a set about 2% of the time its not that easy cept at pokerstars of course!
Thanks for the tips fellas I'll put them into practice its really the only part of my game I get stumped on I know when to bet and fold in other situations
right now its mainly tournaments looking to properly master winning these tournaments first then I'll play cash games more have played cash games though and can win some hands I'm just gonna keep playing regularly. I'll definitely take the advice on board though no disrespect was intended there just these tourneys I play in are full of donkeys who shove all the money in when they hit the made hands I'll definitely try what you said though and hope they aren't a donk!
