Quote:
Originally Posted by C Put 6163
Given the size of the pot, my first thoughts were, I am almost certainly in this hand to the end. I am calling a bet; so I am better off leading with it and trying to buy some outs along the way. I was also concerned that checking was like turning my cards face up.
Yes, you are probably in this to the end if the table is passive. But if the action ahead of you had been bet, raise, 3!, would you still be in? Or what if you bet, btn raises, and one of the first 3 check raises to 12-are you still in?
The flop bet DID get the button to fold and let you know that if someone is slowplaying a monster, they're waiting for the turn to spring the trap. MOSTLY, what it does is encourage them to check to you on the turn. Once the button folds and they just call and check the turn, you've hit gold; your $4 flop bet bought both the turn AND the river. Woo-hoo! That's why I don't mind the flop bet; it frequently gets you two cards in a situation like this.
What you really don't need to worry about in a "no fold em" game is giving away your hand. You could have AA here, bet it all the way, and get called on the river by a guy with 66. And he'll say, "I figured you must of had a big pair, I just wanted to see for sure." OR "I just wanted to keep you honest."
What I'm saying is, even if your play is so obvious that they figure out what you have it doesn't mean that they will make proper use of that knowledge. You really have to pay attention to what level your opponents are playing on in order to play optimally against them. In small games like this, obvious ABC poker is often the best strategy.