All Hands, The Same Way
In a recent thread in the Hand Adviceforum, we had the following hand from the Daily Ninety Grand, $50+5 buy-in, on PokerStars:
Our hero has 34k chips, with the blinds at 600/1200/150. He raises pre-flop to 3000 with pocket tens, and gets two callers, including one very short-stacked. The flop is 10-3-2. The Hero continuation bets with top set, and both players (even the one with 4 BB left) fold.
His question: Do we always have to check to try and trap in order to get value out of this hand?
Our natural instinct with a monster hand on a dry board is to try and trap. That’s what we’re told to do from the first day we learn poker, no matter what form of the game. That’s what we see television announcers celebrate. That’s what Mike McDermott did to Teddy KGB.
My response, however, is that we first and foremost have to maintain consistency in how we play our hands, regardless of their strength. If we would check J-J, we should check our top set. If we would check A-A, we should check our top set. If we would check A-K, we should check our top set.
The opposite, of course, is also true. If we’re betting A-K as a continuation-bet bluff, we should bet top set. If we’d bet an overpair to get value, we should try to get equal value from top set.
If we play our made hands differently than the flops we miss, eventually good opponents will pick up on this, and we’ll stop being able to get any value at all. Let’s say one of the Villains in this hand has 8-8. Villain’s read on the Hero is that he’ll play made hands passively, in an attempt to trap. Hero checks the flop, and Villain checks behind.
The turn is another 3. The Hero checks again. The Villain may take a stab at the pot, but regardless of whether the Hero just calls or check-raises, he’s not getting any more value from the hand. It’s done.
Let’s compare this to what happens if we bet top set against the same 8-8. The Villain is much more likely to include hands getting beat by his pair in your betting range…because you haven’t done anything to define that range. He doesn’t have a read on you, so he has to rely on his other experience. In online play, that experience will include thousands of players who think A-K and A-Q are the stone nuts.
So, you bet…his first thought will very likely be, “Standard c-bet from a donkey with A-K.” Therefore, he’ll call the flop. He may even raise, but that’s such a happy thought it’s not worth analyzing (just sit back and enjoy).
The turn is a 3, giving you a full house. At this point, you can bet again, and your opponent may think, “Standard 2-barrel from a donkey with A-K.” Or, you can really represent A-K, act like your c-bet failed, and induce what your opponent thinks is a value bet. Either way, you have several options to get value out of your made hand, all coming from doing everything the same way.
Yes, you are losing out on some spots where your opponent catches halfway up on the turn or river. In our hand, the guy with K-Q is going to bet a King or Queen on the turn. But if his read is that you’re checking the flop to trap with big hands, he may still be suspicious. Compare that possibility to him thinking you have A-K. You bet the flop, and yes, he’ll fold much of the time…but he’ll also bluff-raise the flop quite a bit if he thinks you’ll fold A-K. Those are extra chips that won’t end up in the middle if you’re trapping, waiting for him to catch a helping card.
Please understand…I’m not saying that you should take the same action every time. When you flop top set, you are not always betting, and not always trapping. You are betting some times, and checking others. But whatever bet-to-check ratio you choose, you are keeping it constant regardless of what hand you have.
This advice applies equally to deep-stack spots as it does to late in tournaments. The only thing that changes is your bet-to-check ratio. When you’ve got under 20 BB late in a tournament, the right play to make is often mathematically defined. It’s OK for your ratio to be “100% bet”…just make sure you do it with your entire range.
In No Limit Hold’em, the majority of hands complete without anyone revealing their cards at showdown. It’s not the strength of your hand that decides the winner; it’s the consistency and strength of the story being told by the betting action. If your actions hide what cards you have better than your opponent’s action, you’re more likely to end up the victor.
