If you raised pre-flop with a pocket pair and flop a set, do you always c-bet or are there times when you slow play it? Both hands below were in tourneys (second hand was in a tourney where the blinds never go up but the antes do in case you’re wondering about the pre-flop raise relative to the blinds). In the first hand I was trying to make it look like a semi-bluff (flush draw on the board) so I would stack someone if they flopped top pair or two pair.
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Depending on the board texture, and position, and how well I know my opponents, I’ll play differently. Generally looking to raise unless I don’t think they’re calling. It’s easier to get called raising with bottom or middle set, since you’re not blocking top pair.
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Thank you for starting these poker discussions. You played both of these hands perfectly. You raised pre and you bet when you hit. I have no problem shoving in the first hand because the stack to pot ratio is so small. The flush draw and Q on board mean there are lots of combos that could call.
In the second hand, betting half pot is just fine, especially relative to your stack sizes in an MTT.
As I’ve said on other threads, I don’t like to slowplay. It generally costs you value and prevents you from getting stacks in by the river while also giving your opponent a chance to beat you if they have any outs. Against the right opponent who is going to bluff a lot or over-value their hand, it can be ok, especially if you are out of position because you can go for a check-raise. But I would especially never slow play boards with straight or flush draws because that means more combos of hands can give action and if they hit it gets very expensive.
I might slow play if I have AA on a A73 rainbow board, and I would slow play with KK on a K44 board or 44 on a 447 board. Sometimes there aren’t many hands your opponent can continue with, so if your hand is very safe you can give them a chance to catch up.
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