What to do with a set against a posible flush?

I think this is one of the situations in wich i don't always know what to do.


Imagine you have a pair and you hit your set on the flop but you are playing against 2 players and there's two cards of the same color.
Let's say that is the early stage of a sitngo and there isn't many chips on the pot.

What would you do in tha situation in order to maximize your winning on that hand?

If i bet too much probably no one will call, and if i bet too little i'm risking that someone with a project calls and then beats me on the turn.

What do you think?

What I do in that circumstance is bet something close to a quarter of the pot(value bet). Yes you want a caller but if you find a matching suit on the turn your probrably in trouble. Besides honestly most ppl will call all in on a flush draw from the flop, but they are a little more resistant to chase after the turn so I bet half pot or pot value after the turn if the flush is not out there depending on the style of the player or players in the hand. Now if they are very aggressive of course it is very useful to keep your bet the same on the turn. There isn't many things more fun than making a bluffer drown themselves. If there is anything wrong with the way I handle this please let me know what you think, but it seems to work for me.

andosalado said:

I think this is one of the situations in wich i don't always know what to do.


Imagine you have a pair and you hit your set on the flop but you are playing against 2 players and there's two cards of the same color.
Let's say that is the early stage of a sitngo and there isn't many chips on the pot.

What would you do in tha situation in order to maximize your winning on that hand?

If i bet too much probably no one will call, and if i bet too little i'm risking that someone with a project calls and then beats me on the turn.

What do you think?

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Stack sizes matter.

Blinds matter.

Having said that, bet. 2/3 to 3/4 pot. You want to make people pay to draw against you, but you do want them to draw. You have a great hand and in a SnG I'm never folding a set. Ever. Seriously never.

WVHillbilly said:

Stack sizes matter.

Blinds matter.

Having said that, bet. 2/3 to 3/4 pot. You want to make people pay to draw against you, but you do want them to draw. You have a great hand and in a SnG I'm never folding a set. Ever. Seriously never.

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Early stages (stacks and blinds).

The problem is just that if you bet the pot on the flop and then a possible flush completes on the turn is very dificult to lay down the hand anyway.

andosalado said:

The problem is just that if you bet the pot on the flop and then a possible flush completes on the turn is very dificult to lay down the hand anyway.

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VVV You must have missed this part of my reply. VVV

WVHillbilly said:

You have a great hand and in a SnG I'm never folding a set. Ever. Seriously never.

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Yup, I took WVH for 75 BB when I had the 2 of spades on a [3d] [9s][10s][Js][Qs] board. He just couldn't let go of that set of threes

jamesdadeliverer said:

Yup, I took WVH for 75 BB when I had the 2 of spades on a 3♦ 9♠10♠J♠Q♠ board. He just couldn't let go of that set of threes

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Yeah, but you got lucky because we were all in on the turn.

I agree with betting around 3/4 pot on the flop. You don't want too many people calling on the flop if you value bet - I'd only do that if there was a rainbow up there....

WVHillbilly said:

Yeah, but you got lucky because we were all in on the turn.

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Lucky that I hit my SF, since I also had the [ks]

I agree to bet 3/4 the pot because then he has to pay 43% to see a 35% draw, and if he does hit his flush, check call in most occasions b/c you will still have 10 outs (board pairing to make yourself a full house, or the case to make quads). Also, it will work in your favor most of the time b/c he will most likely give up his draw if he doesn't make it on the turn, and he will miss his flush on the turn 80.85% of the time.

1st or 2nd to act check raise if no one bets just pray another suit doesnt come out

Last to act value bet 3/4 pot

Of course there are multiple factors involved so nothing is ever set in stone

Of course, as soon as I post in this thread, this exact scenerio happens to me. I hit a set of 7s with two spades & a diamond on the board. Bet 75% pot, both guys call. Next card is a second diamond, I go all in. Guy calls with two mid spades and of course hits another spade on the river to knock me out. ARGH!

I still think I played it right...

You did play it correctly, if the donkey decides to take his 19.6% chance on the river, fine. You will find that what you did will work out in the long run.

Yes you played the hand well. Nothing else to do if the other guy is not going to fold.

I understand the concept of betting 3/4 of the pot, i know that is the correct play if you want somebody with a draw to make a mistake. But the idea of this thread was to know if there's an alternative. I mean if there's another recomended strategy to use in order to maximize your profit on these situations. Maybe there isn't one.

For OP, in short, bet every street you can to get max value for your hand. ~3/4 of the pot is a nice number to be betting. In this situation of set vs possible flush draw (key word is 'draw'), you want to bet and have players call with weaker hands or to chase their hand. The only think you're really worried, on a non-straight board, is a set over set situation. And that's just a cooler. If the only thing you really have to worry about is a draw, then you really want to build the pot and get paid off for your hand.

Bet. Bet. Bet. Bet.

BLieve said:

1st or 2nd to act check raise if no one bets just pray another suit doesnt come out

Last to act value bet 3/4 pot

Of course there are multiple factors involved so nothing is ever set in stone

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This is such bad advice because you lose so much value for you hand by checking. "praying another suit doesn't come out" does not build a pot, nor does checking and hoping to check raise.

PROS:
-Um...??? I don't know.

CONS:
-you lose value by not betting each street.
-No guarantee your opponent(s) is going to bet out, so no guaranteed C/R situation
-You give opponent(s) a free card.

At least if you bet out, you're not giving your opponent a free card. If they fold, it's still a good play. They may call, but you're building a pot with a strong hand. Make them pay.

Bet it strong, make them pay to take the draw to take away their odds. Too many times I have seen trips checked or value betted that have ended up being outdrawn on. I have been on both sides of this. I have slow played them and got burnt, I've seen other slow play them and I burn them.