Part: Part Eleven - Short Tables
Short-handed post-flop value
Flop
Four-handed. You opened A♦J♣ from the button and the big blind called. Flop J♦ 8♠ 3♣ - top pair, good kicker. He checks.
Four-handed with top pair, good kicker, and he checks. Best?
WhyHis check on J-8-3 rainbow doesn't mean he's done - four-handed he defended your button open with worse jacks, middle pairs, eights, and floats. Top pair with an ace kicker rates to be best by a wide margin, so bet to charge that range and start building a pot you can barrel.
What happensYou bet 1,800 and he calls, leaving 6,600 in the middle. His call keeps plenty of worse pairs and draws in - exactly what you're betting for.
Turn
Turn 5♥ - a blank. He checks again.
Blank turn, he checks. With top pair short-handed, best?
WhyThe five changes nothing - no draw got there and your jacks are still ahead of the pairs and draws he called the flop with. Checking behind would only let him realize that equity for free, so a second barrel keeps charging the draws and gets value from worse.
What happensYou bet 3,400 and he folds. You'd have happily seen a call - the point is that short-handed you drove a one-pair hand for maximum value instead of checking it down.
Made hands scale with starting ranges. Short-handed, top pair with a good kicker is a two- or three-street value bet against wide ranges, not a hand to check for pot control the way you might full-ring.
When starting ranges widen, made-hand values rise with them - short-handed, bet and barrel top pair rather than pot-controlling it.