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Top Pair, Reasonable Kicker In Position


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8-handed play, fairly solid table. MP (solid, TAG) raises to £7, I call on CO with JTc and BB (preflop calling station, will fold flops if missed otherwise tends to call down) calls.3 Players, £22 potTd 5c 4sMP bets £12, I flat call and BB folds.My question is:What are your thoughts on how I've played my top pair on the flop? Should I be raising for information or is this play fine?

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I'd probably lead out for info. Depends a lot on what MP's c-bet tendencies are, the more he c-bets the more I want to lead out and "see where I'm at" with a mediocre TP. In general I don't think this bet of 12 on the flop does much to define his hand.

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If you were OOP I don't mind a check-call line with top pair... but flat calling behind is pretty bleh.If this is a continuation bet with A-K or A-Q, you've given him a free card... and he's made a pretty weak continuation bet so I'm inclined to think he's either flopped really hard, or missed completely.I like a minraise here... but most players think that's a terrible bet. However, it'll keep the pot small with top pair- weak kicker. Most hands and most players are going to call this bet with A-K and a set, but what it does is induce a check to you on the turn in most cases for the cheapest price.

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8-handed play, fairly solid table. MP (solid, TAG) raises to £7, I call on CO with JTc and BB (preflop calling station, will fold flops if missed otherwise tends to call down) calls.3 Players, £22 potTd 5c 4sMP bets £12, I flat call and BB folds.My question is:What are your thoughts on how I've played my top pair on the flop? Should I be raising for information or is this play fine?
I think it depends on your read of the villain. If he is a straightforward, solid player I would rather flat call because many times he will let me know on the turn if I'm ahead or not. Just calling gives you the added benefit of seeing what the BB does before committing too many chips to the pot. If he's a little more tricky (ie, will second barrel, especially if a scare card hits) though I think you may want to raise here to about 40 and see how he reacts to that.
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8-handed play, fairly solid table. MP (solid, TAG) raises to £7, I call on CO with JTc and BB (preflop calling station, will fold flops if missed otherwise tends to call down) calls.3 Players, £22 potTd 5c 4sMP bets £12, I flat call and BB folds.My question is:What are your thoughts on how I've played my top pair on the flop? Should I be raising for information or is this play fine?
I think it's OK to call this down. If villain didn't pair, a call is going to slow him down.
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Agree with this generally. Is villain capable of firing a 2-barrell bluff?
This is extraordinarily important. Also, will he bet scare cards? I like the flat call if he is not capable of either.And giving free cards to AK or AQ is fine in this situation because they only have 6 outs. Raising here will push out AK that has nothing, and let an overpair start to commit us.
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I like a flat call here most of the time regardless of whether I think villain can fire a second bullet.15 turn cards make our hand huge - 3 Js, 2 Ts, 10 clubs.A 3 or an 8 slows villain down sometimes as well, especially if he's just firing with air.Not too worried about a TAG in MP betting a draw with 67.Combine the # of times - turn improves us against a better hand for a cheap flop price - turn improves us, allowing us to continue without much worry against a second bullet - turn slows down villain because of a card that "might have" helped us but at the same time isn't something he can really rep - turn slows down villain when he's ahead because of a card that "might have" helped us, getting us to maybe a cheap showdown - villain just gives up on the turnAnd we have a pretty good case for just calling and using position

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I quite like the flat-call line since we can see how Villain reacts to turn - if he bets strong and gives off a continued strong vibe I'd fold, but a check or a weak bet and I can then take the initiative.Turn: 2hVillain bets £25, Hero? I think it's time to take the initiative and raise, and make it £75...what do you think of the play?

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I quite like the flat-call line since we can see how Villain reacts to turn - if he bets strong and gives off a continued strong vibe I'd fold, but a check or a weak bet and I can then take the initiative.Turn: 2hVillain bets £25, Hero? I think it's time to take the initiative and raise, and make it £75...what do you think of the play?
EDIT: Much cheeeper to take initiative at the FLOP, grasshopper. I meant FLOP.
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I like calling behind in position for all the reasons Nomad stated.

I quite like the flat-call line since we can see how Villain reacts to turn - if he bets strong and gives off a continued strong vibe I'd fold, but a check or a weak bet and I can then take the initiative.Turn: 2hVillain bets £25, Hero? I think it's time to take the initiative and raise, and make it £75...what do you think of the play?
Why raise the turn? You're going to force yourself to make a really thin fold if he comes over the top? Are you just trying to dictate showdown? River will probably be just as cheap...maybe more, but atleast you might be catching a bluff.
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I raised the turn because I felt weakness...I felt AK/AQ on its 2nd bullet, a half-hearted bluff from a tight player frustrated. I preferred raising in this spot both due to my read and because I didn't want to start second-guessing myself on the river when he put in a 3rd bullet (or a value bet).He folded within 5 seconds shaking his head, so I figure I was right.My passivity on the flop wasn't out of caution, it was to ensure I got more info (I think this is generally more applicable to live play). Once you have the info, however, I don't think caution is the best line to take - you should either get out or go with your gut and put the opponent to the test. I think calling that turn is a weak play...the only way you win the pot is if the opponent gives up on the river, which they frequently will do with a better hand. I think aggression on the turn (if you're confident in your read) is the way to go. The key to this aggressive game, I'd say, is a reliance on reads, which comes best in a live setting.What are your thoughts on that approach? I've been playing at casino level only since mid-July, and my sessions total 26 6-hour sessions, so I'd like to hear from those more experienced than myself.

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If your read is AK/AQ then flat call the turn, go with your gut and let him fire a blank river. Especially if you think he could shut down with an overpair.All you are doing with your turn raise is folding out worse hands and giving money to better hands. By flat calling you probably lose a little more (how big would a river bet be?) against better hands, but you give yourself a chance to draw out, and you make more against worse hands firing a third barrel. The only time you get a worse outcome is if an A, K or Q hit the river and it has connected with your opponent.

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If your read is AK/AQ then flat call the turn, go with your gut and let him fire a blank river. Especially if you think he could shut down with an overpair.All you are doing with your turn raise is folding out worse hands and giving money to better hands. By flat calling you probably lose a little more (how big would a river bet be?) against better hands, but you give yourself a chance to draw out, and you make more against worse hands firing a third barrel. The only time you get a worse outcome is if an A, K or Q hit the river and it has connected with your opponent.
I was going to type out basically this same response. The only thing I would agains stress is that calling the river is probably just about as cheap (maybe slightly more expensive) than raising this turn. I wouldn't say that calling the turn is necessarily the "cautious" approach, it's just the more calculated approach for reasons cited by simo. You bet to make better hands fold and worse hands call. You don't fold AA here and you fold AK here. Only reason to raise is to protect your hand. But you will be wrong with your read a certain amount of the time and be close to having to call an all-in bet and basically be caught by a better hand.
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