Folding top pair to sets. Can you do it?

Losing money each session from flops like Q,9,3. I'll have AQ, oppenent 33. Any tips to get away from losing big? Do you ever fold in spots like this? Just let it go?

Thank you, Vax1op369

What do you think? Of course you can and you have to. Unless you want to keep going broke on Top pair top kicker. Top Pair / Top Kicker is never in a million years worth a 100 BB deep stack even a 50 BB never. Fold it who cares what they have. Not worth it. If you call in this spot every time you will be making the wrong call about 75% of the time.

You can never know the presence of a set in a villain. Seth is the curse of hold'em (and even more in 6+ poker). Should you throw out your top pair? Not always. If you always throw your best hand at aggression from the villain - you will just start to exploit and bluff with small pairs, draws and generally without anything ...

vax1op369 said:

Losing money each session from flops like Q,9,3. I'll have AQ, oppenent 33. Any tips to get away from losing big? Do you ever fold in spots like this? Just let it go?

Thank you, Vax1op369

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Sounds like you don't read your opponents.

Having a good read on opponent will help making decisions easier, making it possible for you to fold, if you suspect opponent has you beat.

vax1op369 said:

Losing money each session from flops like Q,9,3. I'll have AQ, oppenent 33. Any tips to get away from losing big? Do you ever fold in spots like this? Just let it go?

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Yes, you let that go. Folding a top pair with the best kicker is not always easy but it's the right thing to do if you want to be a winning player in the long run. I wouldn't fold it after the flop yet if the raise is moderate but if the pot gets bigger and bigger after that with someone else raising and/or calling, it's time to take it carefully. Just one pair is probably not good enough when it comes to big pots. You need at least two pairs to fight for it.

You should also pay attention to your opponents and learn to read them. If they have been playing tight and smart, and they suddenly stand up against you, they probably got you covered. If they have been playing loose and recklessly, then you can think twice if they are just making aggressive play again and trying to steal it from you. Poker is a complex game so it's not always that simple to say when you should fold and when you should fight. Your own experience and intuition comes handy in situations like these.

Yeah. Agree on above comments. First you learn to fold bad pair, then top pair, then it follows in order TPTK, good draw, 2 pair, straight, bad flush. Not sure how to think about sets.

Carefully choose your starting hands, and do not be afraid to use the FOLD button

It's definitely and intuition/experience, having reads on your opponent, flop texture. Sometimes Ace high is enough to take a pot, other times you could be behind with a full house.

Maybe it would be advantageous for you to watch videos about big laydowns/hero calls and bad beats on YouTube..

New to cash games, not used to in terms of BigBlinds, makes a ton of since. Since last night reading everyone posts I have begun to have more profitable sessions. Thanks man

Great stuff thanks

I have been avoiding situations where I don't have position and that has helped my game a ton. Also going with my instinct has been producing results. Thanks again. On youtube now.

I am new to cash games. Agree 100%, I was playing my cards instead of my opponents, Since your post I have been putting my oppents on ranges more often, my bank roll has been slowly going up since. thanks man

braveslice said:

Yeah. Agree on above comments. First you learn to fold bad pair, then top pair, then it follows in order TPTK, good draw, 2 pair, straight, bad flush. Not sure how to think about sets.

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Then you understand that your bankroll is over and it's time to make a new deposit. It is impossible to always throw out. Otherwise, you will only have to play AA with the AAx flop.


The solution is to accumulate statistics about the style and range of the game of your opponents and the production of labels. But this does not tell us whether the villain got 33 + 3 or not.

vax1op369 said:

Losing money each session from flops like Q,9,3. I'll have AQ, oppenent 33. Any tips to get away from losing big? Do you ever fold in spots like this? Just let it go?

Thank you, Vax1op369

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if you like to play by luck, only throwing all in pro-flop, even if the other player has AK does not assure you victory, you can win a simple pair of 2

if you like to play for strategy try to avoid MOST of the all in, and more when there are many who pay, while more on the table less chance of winning, plus the best way to win is just make a bet of 3 times the blind in pre flop maybe 4 times the blind, so only people with high cards who have medium cards but stuck and of the same color, and beginners who think that Q 3 are good cards, but doing that raise you release that the one who has the blind or the one who pays the blind, hesitates to play and takes a few from the table

I've folded sets before on J,9,8 heart board. Not easy but felt it was the right play. I've folded flopped nut straights, and Full houses not easy but again it comes down to if you played it right.