Why sometimes it can pay off to play your set aggresively.

Hi there, first time poster here, but this probabaly isn't the last you will see of me as i am a message board junkie. I have been playing on party poker for about a month now ($25 NL HE) and it seems that every time i flop a set and i slowplay somebody outdraws me at the river and i bust (mostly people calling my large turn bet with a gutshot draw. why does that seem to be the trend on party poker? maybe i need to move up to bigger limits.) or i pick up about a dollar fifty from the pot. so tonight i tried a different approach; i came out firing. lucky for me it was a near perfect board. let me know what you think.

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $ $25 buy-in (6 max, 5 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

SB ($21.50)
iamhydrogen ($17.50)
UTG ($66.80)
MP ($14.10)
Button ($20.50)

Preflop: iamhydrogen is BB with 6, 6. SB posts a blind of $0.10.
UTG calls $0.25, 1 fold, Button calls $0.25, SB (poster) completes, iamhydrogen raises to $0.25, UTG calls $0.25, Button calls $0.25, SB calls $0.25.

Flop: ($2) 6, 2, 7 (4 players)
SB checks, iamhydrogen bets $1, UTG calls $1, Button calls $1, SB calls $1.

Turn: ($6) 2 (4 players)
SB checks, iamhydrogen bets $4, UTG calls $4, Button raises to $8, SB calls $8, iamhydrogen raises to $12, UTG calls $8, Button calls $4, SB calls $4.

River: ($54) 8 (4 players)
SB checks,iamhydrogen is all in $4, UTG folds, Button calls $4, SB calls $4.

Final Pot: $62

SB has Th 2d (three of a kind, twos).
iamhydrogen has 6s 6c (full house, sixes full of twos).
Button has 2s Ks (three of a kind, twos).
Outcome: iamhydrogen wins $62.

You played your full house aggressivly, not your set. You only bet 4xBB with a flopped set, that isnt too aggressive if you ask me. However, you did luck out because they both had the 2 and you made it cheap on the flop to see the turn which gave them both trips and you a boat.

Some advice though. Minimum raising is horrifically weak and it costed you money in this hand.

Nobody looks at a typical flop bet and says "aha, he's got a set". It's impossible to detect. Playing it fast is actually what Brunson recommends. His assertion is that you want to lead off the hand just the same way you would with any continuation bet - where you probably missed the flop. Both players called your flop bet because they figured you must have missed (since you probably are holding some high cards, and they are clever to have limped with garbage and caught a piece of the flop). Once they improved to trips you had them on the hook and they were never getting off (the rest is standard).

I will sometimes bet 1/2 the pot on the flop if I am up against tight players. I want to make it easier for them to call with overcards so that they have a chance to improve to TP.

The whole time you need to be aware of drawing possibilities. If you see the board coordinate on the turn, drop a big bet in there to take it down. Don't let them outdraw you on the river.

Originally Posted by outphase

Some advice though. Minimum raising is horrifically weak and it costed you money in this hand.

He got all his money in the pot with the best hand. How did he lose money?

There's nothing wrong with raising the minimum of a reasonably-sized raise on the turn when you have an almost absolute lock on the hand.

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I also like the minraise..

A deuce is playing almost no matter what. Not many other hands can stand more than a minraise there.

Plus he pushed the river, and I assume he would have with more chips as well.