11.PLAYING THE FLOP - Flopping 3 of a Kind – Online Poker

There is a difference between flopping a set and flopping trips. First, flopping a set would be a situation where you hold a strong pair, such as KK, and the river comes K-A-6. Your monster 3 Kings are hidden, and anyone with an Ace is probably going to be putting in a raise, seeing top pair on the flop. The potential for this hand is amazing, and slow play would be a good option.

A similar situation we will call flopping trips. This would be a situation where you hold only one of the 3 cards as your pocket card. Say you hold AK suited, and the flop comes out K-K-Q.

Here again, you have 3 of a kind, but even so, you have to understand that this is a bit of a weaker hand. Anytime a pair is showing on board, there is danger of a full house already formed. QQ would definitely be a hand that someone would hold onto, and if given this flop, your 3 Kings are losers.

It’s also harder to maximize a pot with the two Kings on the flop. Those are huge scare cards, and if you bet out right away, you may get nothing more than what is already in the pot. Again, slow play, and be especially careful of an already formed full house.

There are, however, certain times you want to jam the pot with 3 of a kind. If the flop gives chances for a straight draw, like K-K-10, where anyone holding Q-J has a good chance at a straight, or if 2 of the cards are the same suit, giving someone a chance at a flush if they held onto a pair of same suited cards. In these instances, they are going to play to the river, so make them pay to see extra cards!

Another time you want to jam the pot is if you have flopped a small set. For example you checked with the big blind with a pair of 3's, and the flop comes out Q-8-3. You have your set, and will most likely win with it, but you don't want to risk someone holding a higher pair getting their set on the turn or river for free.

Bet, raise, check raise if you know someone else will bet, whatever you have to do to narrow down your competition and hopefully force out the medium pairs. What you like to see is someone with AQ in this situation with top pair, top kicker who will give you action but has very little chance of winning it. Jam the pot with small sets.