Here you must fold. You may not like it but folding is the correct play in this situation. The dude is trying to either build the pot up or taking the lead away from you. This is the signal that you must get and fold. You got a small hand for a big pot. So, there's no point to continue or trying to come over the top of him by representing some big hand or bluffing. No way!
You rarely bluff—and you do not bluff in big pots. You need to be extremely patient and disciplined as you wait for a flop that makes you a monster hand. You might not accept this approach right away because you may be used to playing a lot of pots and constantly working to outthink and outdo your opponents. However, winning a few big pots with big hands is all you need to make a lot of money. It is the basic tenet and the foundation upon which your future success in cash games will be built.
What I mean by big hands is at least top two pair (using both of your hole cards). However, a big hand isn’t only defined by what you are holding. When opponents also have hands that they like (such as top pair/top kicker or a smaller two pair), your big hands become even more valuable because your opponents will pay you off on every street even though they have few outs, if any, to beat you. These are situations that are worth waiting for. Other examples of big hands are flopping a set when an opponent has an over-pair, and turning a full house when a weak opponent turns a flush and gives you his stack despite the paired board. Another is holding the nut flush when your opponent is holding a baby flush. That’s right, even holding a small flush isn’t good enough to justify playing a big pot.
Last edited by Octavian; 10-03-2013 at 11:11 AM.