Hey guys,

I had a couple hands I had questions on. FIrst, When you raise preflop with AAxx and and Axx all suied hits the flop, how do you play it. Consider mostly I am playing on EMpire 25 PLO and $20-$50 in my stack. I know poker consists of who you are playing against but in general what would you do here. Check it to get a free card knowing that if someone flopped a flush he would probably check to to disguise it or bet out.

Also, how do you feel about playing two pair off the flop when there has been no raising and it is to you in any position. Again, consider same stack and playing place.

Thanks for your input while I try to get a handle.

Two pair I would bet aggressively on a drawing board in good position to charge/force out draws on a table where people know how to fold. I would rarely play two pair hard at $25 games I don't think because you'll get chased down frequently. The size of your two pair matters a lot; top two on a 862 board is no good at all, top two on an AK4 board is much better; less chance of a fisherman picking up a higher two to kill you off, and better prospects if the board pairs. Two pair is not much so on a very coordinated board it's usually a check-fold situation. Look for pretty mal-coordinated boards or boards with only one obvious draw and a very strong 2 pair (eg. AQ7 with two spades on board, you hold AQ, 3 players check to you in LP, you could bet the pot here) and you have a hand; otherwise, proceed with extreme caution.

Again, the set on a flush board play depends on opposition. I would always lead out here in a bigger buyin game because bad flushes will not fish in; you will get raised usually by K-high and called only by Q or J high or a lower set, making it a good play to bet out hard. If someone just calls you can force again on the turn as you may shake them off a low flush or they may call to draw dead to a lower set (then a small bet on the river is usually good regardless whether you hit or miss, I will explain this in a later article).

However, at 25PLO someone is liable to call or raise with any old garbage flush (knowing your opponents would help here a little!). If there's any chance you can shake the enemy off a low flush, then bet out. If not, check and hope for good odds to draw. The good news is that the looseness at 25PLO is a double-edged sword; though they'll fish in with a weak flush, they'll also likely pay off a good sized bet if the board pairs and you make your boat, so you usually have implied odds here. Again, at a higher table, if I lead and someone makes the max re-raise, if he's a decent player he will likely lay it down if the board pairs so I'm not getting odds to chase, and have to throw it away if there's a ton of action. At 25PLO I would bet the pot if last to act in a shorthanded one, or check and call in almost all other situations. If you can get two or three players passively calling along with flushes that builds a pot and gives you collosal odds to pair the board, so there's no need to force themout unless you feel confident that the whole table will fold to one bet, which is rarely the case in the smaller games.

Hope this helps

Monk
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