Poker plays with PokerPeaker - Folding trips
I'm playing $25 NL on Bodog Poker. I have A♦ - 3♠. It's not a terrible hand when it's
folded around to you, so I throw in my quarter. I'm on the button, after all, so I'll have position, and it's doubtful the blinds have anything better than my Ace at this point.The small blind completes and the Big Blind raises me a quarter. I really hate minimum raises. They have their place, but I throw in my quarter just because I have good odds to call and I'm not folding another quarter just out of principle. If you like your hand, bet it, don't just weakly throw in a small raise.
I realize that sometimes min-raises mean a huge hand, A-A for instance, and that's certainly possible here, although I have an A in my hand, so it's unlikely at this point.
The flop comes A♠ - A♣ - 6♦.
I can't believe my good luck, and suddenly I'm hoping he has something like K-K.
The Big Blind checks. The pot is $1.50, so I bet $1.
I usually like to bet my trips because no one ever believes that you would lead out when you've got them. If my opponent has a 6 or a bigger pair, it's likely he'll call me down, and if he has K-K, he may just shove. If he shoves here, I'm calling.
The small blind folds, and sure enough, the Big Blind calls. The turn brings a harmless card, a 7♥, and the Big Blind checks again. I bet $2, a decent amount for the pot size.
And the Big Blind raises me another $2.
Really?
Now we've seen the guy min-raise me before, so maybe that's just his standard raise. But it is a raise, and not only that, it's a check-raise; perhaps the strongest play in poker (especially at this level, when sophisticated plays like a check-raise bluff are rare). This makes me pause. It's quite possible that he has me beat. He did raise pre-flop, remember, so he could be holding an Ace.
This is the real problem with trips: You're sharing them with your opponents. If someone has an Ace, he has Three-Of-A-Kind as well, and my kicker, a measly 3, likely loses.
You always have to consider your kicker, not only with a pair but with trips as well, and that's even more true with an Ace because everyone hangs on to an Ace even when their kicker isn't strong.
Hell, I played it. I'm a perfect example. Still, I call because I'm entranced with my trip Aces.
The river brings a Queen, and my opponent shoves in the rest of his money, $20, to win what is about a $15 pot.
That's a big bet.
I'm beat and I know it. He could very well have A-Q here. He could have A-6. He could have a higher Ace. In fact, he must. He raised me pre-flop, smooth-called me on the flop, check-raised me on the turn and shoved on the river.
That's either a brilliant bluff or a monster. What do you think is more likely?
Yep. I'm folding. When I do, he shows me 6-6. He had flopped a full house. And I saved myself a bunch of money.
Trips are not gold. They are a dangerous hand, and I've seen more money lost on trips than any other hand but over pairs in my poker career. You need to play them hard and fast, but you also need to fold to save yourself money when you're beat.
And saving money from folding is just about as good as money you've won.
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