How to play a small set on a dry board?

B

boomeranged

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This is important because nowadays it is very common to reraise with a set and people have started getting the pieces together to read it. Specially when they are c-betting, you don't get enough value for the set.
 
ConDeck

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Have you thought about donk betting your sets into the PFR? I will often do this when I feel the PFR is a tight aggro player hoping to get raised here. I sometimes do this on the turn too, flatting the c-bet then lead out on the turn... This puts villain to a difficult decision with his marginal and even semi strong holdings on the right board and can often lead to mistakes on their part... ones I am more than happy to capitalise on. Even solid reggs make mistakes when facing donk bets. Over betting can also be an effective strategy here...

I should add, depending on the stakes you are playing and the calibre of opp you will need to level your range here. If you only do this with sets then you are giving away a lot of information when you do this...
 
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Jho789

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check --- shave ( all in ) I play like this all time.
 
BentleyBoy

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It is a difficult situation to be in, and is supported by mixing up your play so that you are not too readable. If you play the same strategy all the time it will become and easy show and tell and you won't make anything from it. It's a delicate balance between playing what is on the board and what you claim to be representing. Give it some thought and you will realise it's not all simple but can be beneficial if you set out your strategy correctly to start with and don't just play one hand, play the game.
 
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subdylzep

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It is a challenging thing to do, making a profitable ammount of money or chips on a dry board with a set. On one hand if you slowplay you risk being sucked out on and not making any profit or gaining any chips, on the other hand if you lead out you may not get any action and waste a good opportunity to come up in money. You have to look closely at all the variables in play and the players you are playing against. First off, if you are in isolation and its a dry board i would suggest checking or just calling if in position against your opponent. If there are more than one person to the flop i would lead or reraise almost any board just because it is too easy for anyone to hit a backdoor flush or straight with that many people in the hand. They may only turn 10-20% outs but that is much more common than you think so first look at how many people are in the hand. Secondly, think about the player(s) that are in the hand against you, have they been playing aggressively or have they been playing solid/tight? It is a big deal to which they have been doing and if they can be tricked into putting more aggression towards a pot, and more importantly what do they think of you? Do the players in the hand think that you are capable of reraising with nothing? If so go ahead and do it and maybe you will get some action, if they see you as a tight/solid player i would try to slowplay to try to get more value from my set and hope they hit a 2 pair or you can boat the board later in the hand and get much more value, but be careful when slowplaying that you actually have the best hand, like i said its easy to catch backdoor draws especially w 3+ players to the flop. Lastly, are you playing a tournament or are you playing cash. In a cash game im going to be much more likely to protect my set no matter what because that is money in the pot, actual money, im not so worried about the value as i am that i do not want to lose money, plus chances are if you are reraising anything in a cash game you are more likely to take it down, you really dont want to get yourself into a situation where you slowplay in a cash game and end up losing to some awkward obscene draw, and online, believe me, its more likely to happen. If its a tournament and i have a lot of chips behind me then i will more than likely go ahead and slowplay a dry board even if there are 3 or so people in the hand to let them catch up a bit, If my chip stack isnt at risk i can actually let them catch a draw on the turn to get more value from the set. If im average stacked however, im more likely to protect against a few people to the flop and reraise, chances are someone is feeling lucky if there are a few to the flop and they feel they can turn their ace w AK or something, esepcially in low buy ins. The higher the buy in, the more I may slowplay it as well because people are generally playing tighter and more solid. If Im completly lowstacked in a tournament however and desperately need a double up, im going to slowplay it at least to the turn and then probably check raise all in. Especially if its a rainbow flop w no straight draws. Im looking for almost any kind of action and if i can get someone to commit half of my stack to the turn on any draw then i can probably check raise them and they will be getting at least 2-1 on a call and have to try and double me up, of course im probably drawing to 4-1 fav here, but its worth it to try and double up in a tournament if im desperately lowstacked. All of these variables will play a role in flopping a set to a dry board, so pay attention closely to everything goin on around you and good luck in future set mining :)
 
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mikeisanace

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Like you flopped a full house very slowly.

Small sets have the possibility of being counterfeited every so often and it sucks but the reality is they hold up as often as a flopped nut flush. Say pocket 44 hits on a dry board of 9-4-2 hearts diamonds and spades. I mean only a king-9 or ace 9 or possibly a 99 will call a big bet here. if the pot is small to medium say 80 bucks make a weak lead of 25 bucks if your re raised to 50 just call.. with the idea ace 9 just called me!! The turn and river will usually mean nothing unless it's an 8-or queen here but that just represent a gutty. Knowing your almost always good bet the pot here even on good cards blanks etc.. The top pair will be confused may raise or just make a bad call might even shove here gl..
 
Spieler

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check - raise - allin (if I am sure that opponent doesn't have higher pocket pair and haven't made higger set already).
 
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ratty_ge

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check --- shave ( all in ) I play like this all time.
 
veltins

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Play checkraise most fo the time with small sets as they cld improve and beat u easy later street.. so dont take Chance n Play it aggresive
 
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Lexxx

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Just be carefull with higher sets and flushs.
 
Nathan Williams

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It depends what type of opponent you are up against. You should still re-raise a lot versus the nitty regs at lower stakes and you should always re-raise versus the fish. Versus the better regs you might want to take a slowplay line of some sort.

But it also depends on the type of player who you are. If you are the type of person who only raises the flop when you have a set, TPTK or a big draw then it is going to be difficult to get paid off from the regs. If you have a wide flop raising range though then they will be more likely to give you action.
 
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Lexxx

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Today, I lost in the bubble when I hitted a set in the flop. The other player higher set came in the turn when he called my raise. It´s hard to keep playing tiltless that way!
 
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Myar

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Instead of getting upset or tilting, look it as your going to win that hand 9 out of 10 times, exluding 4board straights and flushes you will lose too as well sometimes. So your going to lose that hand 1 out of 10 times when they need to hit a higher set. Be happy! :)
 
arielakarel

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3-Bet pre flop, raise on river, all in at the turn.
 
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JZarate

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Three of a Kind

When I hit a set I usually let the other players do the betting especially if they are aggressive players.
 
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Weisssound

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I'd start by putting my opponent on a range and trying to guess my opponent's actions.

On a dry board in position, I'm usually going to call. All of the cold c-bets will fold out, and even some over pairs to the board may fold. So unless I have a very sticky opponent, or if I can solidly put them on big overpairs, this is not usually the spot to raise. Stacks have a lot to do with it to. Since a set will usually be good by the river I may make a small raise flop to help the pot grow enough over the next street.

OOP I actually feel I have a little more leverage with a C/R. I think people will hold onto their overs, over pairs, and aggressive opponents may call very light knowing they can use their position on later streets for bluffing. Again, my sizing is going to be based on inflating the pot for the river.
 
dimon4ik89

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Set is a combination that is very hard to read.

Set is a combination that is very hard to read. If a straight, flush or full house can be seen right away, then it's very hard to believe that the player has a set on his hands. When I drop the set on a dry board, I usually check to the river, that would let the opponent know that I have nothing on my hands. I give the opportunity to the opponent to bluff or if he has an older pair on his hands, I give him the opportunity to believe that he is older than me on this flop. If the opponent as well as I check up to the river, on the river, I put a bet usually of medium size, which would be similar to the fact that I'm trying to steal a pot. Usually this strategy works for what would be collected for a maximum of chips if I have a set on my hands on a dry board.
 
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Rational Madman

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Fold... Truth...

No need to chase maj of time it's failing
 
BuzzKillington

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I just play sets aggressively like other good hands, bluffs and c-bets on missed flops.
 
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