Playing a Paired Board
How many times have you had middle pair or even a premium pair and raised it up to isolate your opponent only to see the board pair on the flop? If you play online poker cash games or tournament poker you have been in this situation more than you probably would like. However, this is not necessarily the worst thing that can happen to you and it can be managed without taking unnecessary risk.
How should I proceed?
Considering most players raise pre-flop with a premium hand or middle pair we will also assume that you are in position as well. With two players in the pot it is easier to manage this kind of situation but with a third player it can get really tricky. The standard rule of thumb is to bet out with the mind set that your opponent does not have the paired card. I happen to agree with this poker strategy. However, I am not going to make a bet so large as to put myself in position to lose a great deal of money until I am confident that I am not being trapped.
For example:
You are in a cash game on the button and your two opponents are about even with you in chips, ($300), with blinds of $1/$2:
Hero holds [A][8]os
Opponent #1 holds [J][T]os
Opponent #2 holds [5][5]
#2 opens it up for $6 from early position and #1 calls.
The action folds around to you and you make it $18 to go. #2 flat calls the raise and #1 mucks their hand.
The flop comes down [9][4][4] rainbow.
#2 bets out $10 in attempts to scare you away and take down the pot immediately. You smooth call believing your hand is still best.
The Turn brings an [8]
Since your opponent raised pre-flop and you have a reasonably good read on his play and determine that he is likely to be holding anything from [A][Q] – [K][J]. You do not put him on a big hand despite his raise from early position as he tends to raise a lot of pots from just about any position holding mediocre hands.
NOTE: The key at this stage is being able to put your opponent on a hand! If you have not developed this skill you will continue to have trouble playing paired boards.
#2 decides to bet out $16 in attempts to push you off the hand again. However, instead of smooth calling you raise it up and make it $35 to go and your opponent insta-mucks his hand.
Why did our Hero make the decision to raise when our opponent bet out $16 on the Turn? A couple of things tipped me off that it was very unlikely that he held Pocket Nines or a four. First, if he actually had Trips or a Full Boat why would he bet so big after the turn knowing that it could possibly push me out of the pot? It is much more likely that he would have made a smaller bet to keep me in the pot until the River.
Keep in mind that when you have the nutz the last thing you want to do is push your opponent out of the pot. So, it was relatively reasonable to surmise that my opponent did not have a big hand at all. Sure, the nine on the board was a bit of a concern and had he decided to come over the top of me after I raised the pot I would have likely mucked the hand as it would have been a very difficult call to make in that spot.
These kinds of scenarios happen in poker rooms around the world every single day. As with just about any scenario in poker I implore you to put your opponent on a hand or range of hands and utilize whatever information you have about that individuals play to make what is likely the correct read. The more you play the game of poker the better at it you will become.
By:
Curtis Mayfield III
Related posts:
- Slow Playing in NLHE Cash Games
- Taking a Look at Middle Pairs in Cash Games
- Bluffing in Online Poker
- Playing Poker in a Casino
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