Poker Plays With Pokerpeaker: Trips Aren't Always Golden
Oct 2, 2008By: PokerPeaker THE SITUATION
I'm playing $25 NL on Bodog.
I have A♦ - 3♠ on the button.
That's not a great hand, not by a long shot, but it's not a terrible hand when it's folded around to you, so I throw in my quarter. I'm on the button, after all, so I'll have position, and it's doubtful the blinds have anything better than my Ace at this point.
You could make a case for me raising here, but at worst I'll have two other players in this hand, and at most I'll win 35 cents for making that raise.
The small blind completes, and the Big Blind raises me a quarter.
I call.
WHY?
I never minimum raise. All it does it give everyone the odds to call you, and it almost always seems to scream "call me." I am always wary when a player min-raises me, especially at these unsophisticated levels.
But I am getting the odds to call, and it's only a quarter. It's possible he has a high pocket pair, and if I flop two-pair, I could bust him.
The flop comes A♠ - A♣ - 6♦.
Gin!
I can't believe my good luck, and suddenly I'm hoping he has something like K-K.
The Big Blind checks. The pot is $1.50, so I bet $1.
WHY?
I usually like to bet my trips because no one ever believes that you would lead out when you've got them. If my opponent has a 6 or a bigger pair, it's likely he'll call me down, and if he has K-K, he may just shove. If he shoves here, I'm calling.
The small blind folds, and sure enough, he calls.
The turn brings a harmless card, a 7♥, and the Big Blind checks again. I bet $2, a decent amount for the pot size.
And the Big Blind raises me another $2.
Really.
The guy's min-raised me already, so it's possible that that's just his standard raise. But I am concerned here. Again, these raises scream "call me."
Now I know what you're thinking. Why the heck would I call a push but be wary of a $2 raise?
I have noticed that big all-ins usually mean the player doesn't want you to call. That's not always true, especially when there's been several re-raises, but a push on the flop would probably mean K-K or another pocket pair to me. If he had trips, he wouldn't want to push me off the hand.
So this raise concerns me, and now I have to look at my kicker. It's a measly 3. I realize that the odds are that he doesn't have an Ace because we know there are three Aces spoken for, but he could have an Ace. He did raise me pre-flop, remember, and he raised me with a "call me" raise.
Not only that, but he check-raised me with a min-raise. That's a really strong move at these levels because many don't even know what a check-raise bluff is. Sure, he could still have K-K, but I don't think he could slowplay it this much. Usually players get edgy with a high pocket pair, and my betting surely would have either slowed him down with two Aces out there or made him push.
But I call the raise. I can't fold trip Aces to a $2 bet. I really want to see what he does on the river however.
The river brings a Queen, and my opponent shoves in the rest of his money, $20, to win what is about a $15 pot.
SO WHAT DID I DO?
I'm beat and I know it.
A push on the flop probably meant I had him, but a push on the river, which is more of a reasonable value bet, means I'm beat.
He could very well have A-Q here. He could have A-6. He could have a higher Ace. In fact, he must. He raised me pre-flop, smooth-called me on the flop, check-raised me on the turn and shoved on the river.
That's either a brilliant bluff or a monster. What do you think is more likely?
Yep. I'm folding.
When I do, he shows me 6-6. He had flopped a full house.
And I saved myself a bunch of money.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN HERE?
The problem with trips on the board is you're sharing them with your opponents. If someone has a A, he has Three-Of-A-Kind as well, and my kicker, a measly 3, likely loses.
Trips are not gold. They are a dangerous hand.
And I've seen more money lost on trips than any other hand but overpairs in my poker career. You need to play them hard and fast, but you also need to fold to save yourself money when you're beat.
You can lose if someone has a higher kicker or if someone has a set, and if someone is showing serious strength, you need to be cautious.
And saving money from folding is just about as good as money you've won.
