One of the most overlooked (and most important) skills in poker is getting paid when you flop a huge hand. A few years ago, it used to be that whenever you hit a big hand, you could just slow-play it and almost always expect to get paid, but today's player is sophisticated enough that that just doesn't work anymore.
So, how do you get the most out of your big hands? I've come up with a four-part "mental checklist" that includes my thought process when I hit a big hand. There are probably dozens of things you could take into consideration when you hit a big hand, but these are the four that I personally consider:
Preflop action: What was the preflop action like and what range of hands makes sense for our opponent? Let's say that you have the 6
6
in the big blind and the button raises preflop. You smooth-call and the flop is A
6
2
. In this case, the preflop action makes it likely that your opponent holds an ace. If he doesn't have an ace, you're not going to get a lot of action out of him anyway. In this particular case, I would usually bet into the preflop raiser, and if he has an ace, he is very likely to raise. At that point, you can just smooth-call and slow down a bit if you'd like. The key is that by getting your opponent to put more chips in on the flop, the turn and river bets will be larger, enabling you to build a bigger pot. Bet sizes are almost always dictated by the size of the pot, so getting a healthy pot started early can be key to building a large pot.
Another example of preflop action is if you have the 6
6
on the button, but this time the initial preflop raiser is under the gun. You smooth-call from the button and everyone else folds. The flop is 8
6
3
and the initial raiser bets into you; what should you do? Well, I often raise here, because the under-the-gun raise very often represents an overpair, and by raising, you can often get your opponent to put in a third raise with his big pairs, setting him up to double you up.
Flop texture: This kind of goes hand in hand with preflop action, and I discussed some of flop texture above. Basically, when deciding if we should play slow or fast, we need to consider the likelihood that the flop hit our opponent. Let's say in this example that you have the 7
5
and get to play for free out of the big blind. There are three limpers, so it's fourhanded, and the flop is 8
6
4
. It's possible that someone limped with 6-6 or 4-4 here, but it's also possible that your opponents have hands like Q-J or J-10. I think it makes a lot of sense to check here and then re-evaluate things after seeing the flop action. If everyone checks, the turn may easily hit one of them, enabling you to get action there, and if there is plenty of flop action, you can just jam the pot, knowing that one of them likely has something like 6-6, 4-4, or even a two-pair hand like 8-6.
Your opponent's image: Has your opponent been playing a lot of hands aggressively, or has he been playing a much tighter game? If he is the aggressive type who will bet multiple streets with nothing if you don't show much strength, by all means let him hang himself by slow-playing your hand and letting him continue to bet into you. If he's a tighter player, it's more likely that he has a real hand preflop, and he's that much less likely to keep betting for you without a hand post-flop; so, if he shows strength, you can often have confidence that he has a real made hand and you can start building the pot right away with a small raise. Aggressive players are often more ego-driven, as well, so making a weak lead (betting a small amount into the pot to trick your opponent into thinking you're making a weak blocking bet or feeler bet) can often trick them into making a big raise.
Your image: What kind of player are you seen as? The more aggressive your opponents perceive you, the less likely they are to believe you. As a general rule, if I've been very aggressive at a table, I never slow-play my big hands, and if I've been relatively passive, I will often slow-play. The reason for this is that if you've been aggressive at the table and suddenly slow down, people will notice. But if you keep your foot on the gas pedal, they'll assume that you're trying to run over them again and will play back at you.
There are many other factors you can consider, but these are the big four that I think of when deciding how to play my big hands. No particular one is more important than the others. One of the reasons that I picked this topic for this column is that lately I've seen tons of players slow-playing their hands to the river, then suddenly making an enormous bet, hoping to get paid off; and when they don't, they slam the nuts down on the table faceup in disgust. To me, this sort of action is a crutch, and if the player had known how to properly build a pot from early in the hand, he'd be much more likely to get paid. After all, what is the point of flopping the nuts if you're not going to try to win a big pot?
Eric "Rizen" Lynch is a professional poker player who is well-known for his impressive online results. Read Eric's analysis on his blog (rizenpoker.blogspot.com), and check out his instructional videos, available at PokerXFactor.com.
