PokerCoaching.com Quiz: Getting Value From A Flush

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You are eight-handed in a $5,000 buy-in tournament, and you have 50,000 at blinds of 500-1,000. You are on the button with A 5 and raise to 2,300. Only the big blind calls, and the flop comes down J 9 2. The big blind checks.

Question 1: Should you check, bet 1,500, bet 3,000, or bet 5,000?

Answer: While this flop is very dynamic, it connects so well with your range to the point that you should bet it almost every time using a small size due to your range advantage. If the flop was instead 7 6 2, you should check behind somewhat more often, but even then, your nut flush draw would much prefer to bet.

You bet 1,500 and the big blind calls. The turn is the 2 and the big blind checks.

Question 2: Should you check, bet 3,500, bet 7,000, or bet 12,500?

Answer: Even though full houses are possible, you should be thrilled to put money in the pot. So, how much should you bet?

The larger you can reasonably bet on the turn, the larger you can bet on the river. For that reason, you should size up, probably to 7,000. If you bet even larger, your opponent will start to fold 9-X and hands like K Qx, which you really want to keep in the pot.

You bet 7,000 and the big blind calls. The river is the 10 and your opponent checks.

Question 3: Should you check, bet 13,000, bet 31,000, or go all-in?

Answer: Even though your opponent could have a full house, you should not be too worried about that. You have the best hand almost every time and want to extract value. So, which size is ideal?

In general, when you have the effective nuts and it is possible for your opponent to have a strong, but second-best hand, a large size is ideal. If your opponent has two pair (not counting the pair on the board), they are going to call any bet. They also will not fold a flush or straight. So, choose a large size.

Perhaps if you think your opponent will fold to an all-in but will call a bit less than all-in, the slightly smaller size becomes ideal as an exploit.

You bet 31,000 and the big blind calls. You show your hand and they muck, giving you a huge pot. ♠

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