Putting players on a set

I'm really struggling with this, and it seems to happen too often for my liking.

I'm a solid player and don't play junk. If the board comes down A-K-7 with me holding A-K, how are you supposed to put them on a set. Say you are first to act, you bet out at it, they just call. Same on the turn, you bet, they call. I know the raise on the river tells you where you are, but by then it's too late, I've committed a large portion of my stack trying to chase out flush draws for example.

So - how do you get away from somebody who is slowplaying a set and how do you put them on that hand. It's a killer!

if you feel they are being tricky and maybe have a set, and you cannot put them directly on it, then check the turn and keep the pot small....

you also have to know your player, its not just the betting but the type of player you are up against


if you think you are up against a monster but want to go to showdown, then just try and keep the pot small and dont commit that large portion of chips

You said it in your post.....bet...call bet...call ...... Run like hell
I've noticed its usually an insta-call. Like wkonevich said, try keeping the pot small and see what happens. A check or small bet on the turn and see what your opponent does. Sometimes when I flop two pair I overbet the pot to take it down right there. If I get a call I'm outta there. I've been burned so many times when I flop two pair that I just try to chase everybody out right away anymore. It may be a bad poker move but you know where you stand pretty quick.

Sometime you run into situations where you are just going to go broke (that's why you have a bankroll !). It's often incorrect to check the turn given any flush draws, or if we know our opponent will call with a gut shot. Also (again, depending on the opponent/stakes) you will see a weak A call down here as well, and passing up the opportunity to make money in these situations can get pretty costly (since they are so frequent).

I'm with ag, AQ, A7, and K7 all play that hand strongly, AQ may not push on the river, but you'll get value out of all those hands. if you run into AA, KK (they have to have the only 2 left in the deck for those hands) or 77 (2 of 3) you'll go broke or lose a large pot. I don't like keeping the pot small, especially if someone is drawing with a hand like QJ, QT, JT, or if there's a flush draw out there. Bet it hard and if it's a cash game know that a set takes your stack, also realizing even if they have 77 you have 4 outs to have a higher full house than them. If they have AA or KK then you're drawing dead. If it's a tournament and you have some sort of read that they almost definitely have the set, you could possibly lay it down depending on stack sizes and where you're at in the tournament.

Another approach is to bet again on the turn but keep the bet the same as the flop. This should (though not always) give you the information you need as to their strength, a strong re-raise here will seriously give you something to think about while a call says they are either slow-playing you or still drawing. I don't like the check on the turn because you won't get the info and worse might get false info (i.e. you check, your opponent thinks you are weak and bets out and you misread that as confirmation of the set when in fact he's AQ and probably puts YOU on a smaller pp or just a K), a bet still shows that you have a hand and still gets some value. The downside of this is that you will be giving odds to call for draws but at least you're not gonna go bust with 2 pair. if however the turn didn't show a scare card (say Q, J, 10 or a flush card) then i still think you should raise higher.

yah its really hard to put someone on a set... i think all of these are good ways to find out what your opponent is holding... btw zach, if the other guy had a set of kings William would not be drawing dead because there are still 2 aces in the deck that give William aces full of kings, which is better than kings full of aces...

Some people say bet check bet call whatever..

my key is know your player. when it comes too huge hands vs huge hands you have too know your player. Thats when poker reads comes into play.

Im known as a player who bets alot and is very aggressive, so when i have someone smooth calling me it usually sends up tons of alarms.

but say for your example you had AK vs his set of 7's.

These are the things I ask myself before i keep betting or I call his all in. How did he call preflop. Did he look like he wanted to raise preflop. What position did he play it in. Did he just limp in middle position with what?? A Q maybe, but prob bring it in for a raise, AK no he woulda raised, AA's or KK's highly unlikely, but he couldve limped in with 77's and called a raise with it also to see a flop.

If he was calling your raise preflop did just call and it looks like he is fishing for a card, or does he look nervous because he might have flopped an A also and is scared that you have 2 pair or a set.

I dunno I hope that helps at all. Sets always i think are best spotted when you see unusual calls, or plays. Also poker reads.