Getting value from your set

So when you flop a set with small or medium pocket pairs, it’s important to get full value. The way you go about getting full value will vary depending on a number of factors, including your position, the pre-flop action and the nature of your opponents.

If you have generally been the pre-flop aggressor and have now flopped a set you should start by betting as you want to play your big hands exactly how you’d play the bulk of your range. By putting chips out there you start to build the pot and as you want to stack your opponents, that can only be a good thing.

Once you flop a set after three-betting pre-flop, betting is a 100% must. In three-bet pots people are more inclined to make moves (as there is more in the pot to steal) and also are more likely to have slow-played a big pair that they’re now looking to check-raise. The turn and river are more player-dependant, but as the pre-flop aggressor make sure you bet your sets and make sure your bet-sizing is standard in comparison with the bulk of your c-betting range.

If you flop a set out of position in a heads-up pot against decent TAG/LAG opponents your starting point should be to check-call dry boards and, in contrast, check-raise wet boards. The reasoning here is that on a dry board you are almost certainly way ahead, your opponent’s hand is unlikely to improve and you must give aggressive opponents the opportunity to make a pair on the turn and/or bluff. As time goes on (and you develop history with an opponent) you can adjust and become tricky by check-raising sets on dry boards against specific villains, hoping to induce big bluffs as well as make yourself a tougher foe.

On wet boards check-raising your set on the flop should be your usual approach. You don’t want to see scare cards on the turn that kill any possible action from over pairs and top pair-type hands. It will also be more difficult to narrow your range of hands, as on a wet board there will be a tonne of draws/combo, draws/bluffs that you could conceivably have. And because there are more draws that your opponent can have they will generally be happy to play fast on the flop and will often be in terrible shape.

Experiement with tactics

In multi-way pots, the active players and their tendencies will generally determine the best line to take. Experiment until you find out what works for you. Personally I find players that don’t balance their check-raising range with enough bluffs are burning money when they check-raise the flop with a set (why would you want to tell the table you have a monster?), when slow-playing is a fine alternative. Don’t focus on protecting your hand when you flop a set with a deep stack – focus on getting maximum value.