In a loose $1/$3 NL holdem I recently played, I had KsJs in small blind with about $430 stack size. I raised to $16, there were 3 callers: the big blind, MP and button, flop 9TQ rainbow, I had the nut straight. I wanted to slow play, so I checked, hoping someone bet, I'd just bet to hide strength. Unfortunately, they all checked, and turn was a K, very bad card for me. So I bet $80, the small blind, who had a short stack of about $200, went all-in right away, MP folded, and the button who had me covered, after a little pause, announced all-in too. I thought the big blind likely had AJ, but the button likely had only J or 8J, so I would lose to the big blind but win from the button, I called. Turned out they both had AJ. Question: what is the best play for this scenario?
1 Answer
Just becuase your slowplay didn't work out well this time, it doesn't say anything about whether it was a good play or not. I'm more willing to value-bet on the flop though, since you have the nuts and your opponents would have probably some piece of the flop. Depending on the skill level of the table, you may get calls from all sorts of straight draws and perhaps even some Qx.
In general, it's a good principle to bet strong when you have your strongest hands. This will not only increase the profitability of those monster hands but also make your bluffs much more respectable.
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I am going to second that notion of value betting on the flop here. Generally after a player raises pre-flop, then checks I am much more worried they hit the flop then if they bet. On this hand you miss a lot of value by checking.– Jon ♦May 11, 2021 at 22:25