Mishandling Two Pair

[Zachary Benz]

I believe I should have bet the flop, but I suppose I didn’t want to scare opponents off in hopes of getting value on second and third street.

My question is, how do I size the bet on the flop? Am I correct in assuming I should have led out?

http://www.sharemypair.com/smpweb/smpviewdetails/feed_id/29031

[Flop]

Zach,

Great illustration of a couple things here. #1 Why playing out of position sucks and #2 Why unraised pots suck.

I like to lead out on this flop because we can get value from flush draws, open enders, gutters, one pair hands 5x, 8x and even some limped Ax hands. Also some pocket pairs will call a street like 66,77,99. So there are plenty of combos out there we can get value from with a bet.

But what happens on the turn? The board pairs the 8 and now we lose to all the 8x hands, the Ax hands and we will get no action from any 5x hands nor the pocket pairs. That ship has sailed. Flush draws would have bet the flop so they are gone as well. So what are we targeting for value with our turn bet? I think I would go into check mode now and see what develops. Maybe call the turn for a reasonable bet and then check/decide river.

As far as bet sizing on the flop I would bet big 450+. Like we discussed you will get action from Ax, and flush draws and straight draws so get as much as you can.

My thoughts at least

Flop

[Miguel]

Z.B I feel like you should have led out on the flop. It was a limp flop going 4 ways and with a flop with an ACE and 2 diamonds, This should hit some of the players hands. If you lead out you’re going to be called or raised with all flush draws or Ace X hands and since you have 2 pair you need to make players pay for their draws/ slash try to catch up. Half pot to 2/3 pot should be fine. In tournaments you need to build a stack early on. My question is why didn’t you raise preflop? I know A5 off isn’t the strongest hand but if it limp to you and you have an Ace you should throw in a raise. By doing this you give yourself a chance to pick up those chips without showdown. With it being limped around and you having an Ace it’s less likely someone has an Ace in their hand. Nobody should be limping really with and Ace I early position or a pocket pair. Say you put in a raise and do get one caller then you can start putting them on a range. If they 3 bet large then you can get away from the hand preflop if their a TAG. Hope this helps

[Jeffrey]

Hello Zach,

I agree with the other 2 responses in that leading out in this scenario is probably best. On a very wet board like this, you want to protect your equity/get value from your opponents by betting on the larger side. I personally would fire somewhere around 80% – 85% pot in this situation as this applies pressure on your opponents and denies flush and straight draws the correct odds to continue.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 6 months ago by Jeffrey.

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