How to extract maximum value from the nuts?

[DrJAT]

Hi guys,

Would appreciate some advice please if you'd be so kind.

I would have loved to give you the actual hand in question but I'm new on Full Tilt poker and didn't realise it doesn't save the hand histories unless you ask it to. I have now rectified this error.

Anyway, it's a $5 + 0.5 SNG, 9 handed. Relatively early stages, blinds are 40-80 and no one is out yet. I can't remember the stack sizes but I know I'm a little below average (~1100ish) and everyone else is also a bit below par except for the chip leader who seems to have collected a slice off everyone.

Anyway, I'm BB holding Q6o. There are two limpers - one mid position and the CO, SB calls and I check.

The flop comes down 666.

SB bets min which I call, intending to slow play this for all it's worth and let my opponents try and catch up. There's one fold and another call.

The turn is a 9 and its suit matches one of the 6s on the board. Again SB bets min into me which I call and the other player folds.

I can't even remember what the river was, it was a face card but I don't remember exactly what. It didn't give the board any possible straights or flushes, so I had the nuts for def. But likewise if my opponent was on a draw he just missed and most likely doesn't have a hand, unless he has a small pair and has a full house and is worried about the case 6. I can't really place him on a hand because it's a pretty rare board and I wasn't paying enough attention earlier to know whether or not he knows anything about bet-sizing. His min-raise could just be to gain information and/or scare people off (it worked) or he might just not have a clue what he's doing. He might also be slow(ish)-playing a full-house and assuming no one has the 6.

So he checks to me on the river and I'm wondering what the best +EV move is? I don't remember exact stack sizes but I think he has me covered, just, so I can potentially double up.

I'm guessing he's probably on a busted draw (maybe 78s?) and now has nothing when his open-ended straight/flush didn't come home.

Is there anyway he's going to call a bet? If so what size?

If he has the busted draw (most likely) he won't call anything. But what might he call with a range of pocker pairs or perhaps a high card? Or can he not have a PP for his pre-flop betting? Would he be raising to eliminate with any PP in SB? Or stay content to plat the hand multiway?

Could I have played the earlier streets differently?
Should I be betting instead of calling? Since slow-playing is exactly what they expect with a good hand?
What hands could I have for simply calling? High kicker, PP, the case 6?
I guess being in the Big Blind makes it more credible that I have a 6, since I could have any two cards, whereas callers are likely to have high cards and connectors.

I know it'll be 12000000 hands before I'm in this situation again but advice would be welcome. Especially if it can be applied to other situations where I have the nuts and want to extract maximum value.

I read a lot about "big hand big pot, small hand small pot", but how do I manipulate the pot when it's such a scary board?

Thanks all

For the record I pushed all-in, hoping he'd call with any full house and he folded.

[rookie101]

Your best bet since hardly anyone will put you on quads on a flop with 3 6s, would be to bet the river. You also have to take in to account how youve been playing. If you have been caught bluffing recently they might not give you credit for a real hand. If your opponent is aggresive they might raise you but to make it tempting youd have to do a value bet. minimum to one third the pot size. All in all thats a hard flop unless youre up against a calling station. Its all situational in the end next time take a minute to think about the correct actions and put your table image consideration.

[ottsville]

[ QUOTE ]
I read a lot about "big hand big pot, small hand small pot", but how do I manipulate the pot when it's such a scary board?


[/ QUOTE ]

This means when you have a big hand, you want to build a pot on the way to the river, not just slowplay to the river and push. You want to slowly add to the pot in a way that creates a massive pot on the end, yet still get calls along the way.

I like a raise here on the turn. Not necessarily a big one. But any folds you get due to your raise are players who would not have given you any action anyhow

[KipBond]

[ QUOTE ]
Could I have played the earlier streets differently?
Should I be betting instead of calling? Since slow-playing is exactly what they expect with a good hand?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, yes, yes.

[PantsOnFire]

My quick answer here is to play the hand in a way that fits your table image. The last thing you want to do is play differently since that will raise suspicion.

This is the art of NL holdem. If you've been raising, then calling is suspicious. If you've been calling, then raising is suspicious. Don't play differently when you have different hands. Play differently when you have the same hand.

The situation you described is very particular. You are the only one who can know what others are thinking of you at this time. That's the key.

[Matt Williams]

Well it depends on whether it is tourny play or cash play. In tourny play, if you have stone cold nuts, you need to bet enough for people to call. But in cash games, you have the luxery of overbetting the pot or slowplaying. The reason is because even if they fold, you don't have to worry about the blinds going up like you do in a tourniment.

[gedanken]

a couple thoughts:

1) it doesn't matter. If you FOLDED every time you flopped quads, it wouldn't significantly affect your winrate

2) the only way to make much off this hand (didn't bet preflop, out of position... this is hopeless) is if your opponent also has a hand. go ahead and bet, he might fold, but that's what was going to happen anyway. two lines suggest themselves: raise 2/3 pot every street like you're representing a pocket pair; or call, call, shove. 2nd will only work if you're capable of bluffing big at the river and the opponent has noticed this, or has a full house by the river. call/call/medium-raise is incredibly transparent.

3) how you play other hands is very important. If you're generally aggressive, you'll make more off these hands by making bets you might make with less.

4) You should mix in raises with this sort of crap from the big blind in a limped pot. Many hands you're happy to see a flop for free, but this isn't one of them. I think the right mix has you raising with squat about as often as you get premium hands you want to raise for value with. [this doesn't mean you misplayed your Q6, normally you will check along]

5) I have a hand in my database I've quoted before, but am too lazy to dig up, where I slowplayed quads and won a dinky pot from a deep stack who flopped top full and was slowplaying back at me. Just bet.