PokerWorks

The occasional situation arises in no limit hold'em where you have a monster hand yet can make a big bet that is almost sure to be called. Additionally, when playing online on such sites as Full Tilt Poker, Party Poker or Poker Stars, loose players have been known to make really bad calls against big bets that look suspiciously like bluffs. Let's look at a few examples where you can really make your opponents pay with a big bet.

If you make a straight that's a notch higher than the obvious straight, bet big. Let's say you've got a 10-Q and are able to see a flop cheaply and it comes 7-8-9. This gives you an open ended straight draw, but you may notice that you're likely to be much better off if a jack comes instead of a six. With a six you split the pot with anyone who also holds a ten, but with a jack you beat anyone who has a ten because you would then hold a queen high straight.

Let's say you see the turn and hit your jack and there's no flush possibility. In most cases, you should bet big here. You have the nuts, but you may be facing an opponent who is likely to call you down with their ten. Most opponents won't fold here so it's worth the risk of the fold in order to win a big pot. Don't worry about chasing someone off who doesn't have a straight because you weren't likely to win a big pot anyway with the obvious straight on board. Another hand like this is when you hold something like J-Q and the board comes 7-8-9-10.

When you flop trips and turn or river quads and there's an ace on board, bet reasonably big. The reason for this is while people are wary of four of a kind, the hand is made so rarely they will have to call you down in case their top full house is good. Let's say you've got a J-K and call a pre-flop raise. The flop comes J-A-J and you call another bet. After another jack shows on the turn you call another bet. On the river, the player with the ace may get suspicious and check to you or he may bet out. No matter what he does, bet or raise about the size of the pot because it's going to be tough for him to fold. You could get paid handsomely.

If you make a straight flush, bet big on the river hoping you run into a full house or ace high flush. If you make a straight flush on the turn, don't bet big yet because someone could be lurking with a set and could river a full house that will be impossible to fold. If someone has been leading on the turn when the third of a suit appears and leads out again on the river despite a call from you, they could have a flush, maybe the ace high, so go ahead and put in a big or all-in raise and hope you get called.