I see it all the time, people going all in with the nut hand like a FH w/ 2 pair on the board or a straight w/ the ace on a board of KQJT4. Then, the other guy with the Ace yells at the first player as if he did something wrong, always with the phrase of, "Now all we are doing is paying the rake!" But, since I have seen people call w/ two pair on these boards and the lower FH on the river, I don't think betting here is a bad play...I would imagine you must at least break even from the calls you get from non-winning hands minus the rake and probably make alot of money pushing money into the pot in these situations.

Push more money in and make sure you are paying that rake while hopefully, your opponent is paying you!

Sure, the 9 times out of ten you're adding the last 50c to the rake or whatever, you'll look like a goon.

But, you HAVE to go all in here, you just HAVE to. NEVER check it down or call down, even if you're certain he's got the other ace.

EVEN IF you both turn over and split, the advertising value of showing the move, plus the "piss your opponent off" value of "costing him the rake" make the play +ve EV.

The value you gain from some plays may not be direct, but if it costs you so little to make the move (probably less than a buck, maybe even nothing if the rake is already capped, as it would be by now on a $100NL table), the intangible value you get from showing down the play makes it well worth it.

When you add in the one time in 10 that a total fish shows down a weaker hand (or the one time in 100 when a player who's splitting accidentally clicks fold or loses his connection!) then it's +ve EV all the way. Of course, there's always the tiniest chance of JJ but I think the advantages I've detailed more than cover the money you'd lose in that highly unlikely scenario.

Monk
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Oh, and on a similar subject.... Those who sneer at you betting the obvious nut board should always beware that they've read it all right... This was a hilarious I hand I played nearly a year ago at 100NL at Cryptologic.

basically, it was unraised all the way, and thus there was about 3 bucks in the pot. By the river, the board was showing Tc Jh Qc Kd Ac.

It was checked to me, and I moved all in for my whole stack.... The next player to act berated me for feeding the rake and called. The other player, perhaps swayed by the words of the first gentleman, pushed it in too. I'm sure they were even more livid when I turned over Kc 9c for the flush, and both mucked their royal straights .

I like it even more that they both risked $100 stacks to win back their share of three bucks, three ways, minus rake . If my reckoning is correct, they both would have been as well off by folding than by calling the bet at the end, even if a flush wasnt out. Calls with a maximum EV of 0 and a minimum EV of -100 BB's... I couldnt stop laughing

Monk
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My favorites Monk are when people don't realize that when there is 4 of a kind on the board, and ace still plays. I always move-in in this spot and usually get one caller without an ace.

I did see yesterday someone push all in w/ the board AKQJT and no flush, and get 3 callers...and the last guy didn't call...still trying to figure out that one...guess there is a point when you think you are beat???

I saw a hand where there was quads on the board and the other card was an ace. One guy bet, and then the other guy went all in. The pot was like $15 and the all in was around $100. The first guy then folded and said he didnt like his kicker.