Part: Part Seven - Betting on Fourth and Fifth Street
Getting the money in late
Turn
You called pre with 5♠5♦, flopped a set on K♦ 5♣ 2♠, and just called his flop c-bet to disguise it. Turn 9♥ - he bets again.
Your set is well hidden and he keeps betting on the turn. Best?
WhyHis second barrel says he likes his hand, and you have him drawing thin - but wait another street and a scare card like an ace could freeze his action or chase him off a pair. Start building the pot now so the stacks go in by the river; flat again and you leave a whole street of value on the table.
What happensYou raise to 6,000; he calls without much thought. Pot: 15,600 (78 BB) - and now the stacks are shallow enough to finish.
River
River 3♣ - a blank. He checks.
Blank river, he checks, and you have a set. Best?
WhyThe 3♣ changes nothing, and a man who called a big turn raise is holding K-Q, A-K, or a similar top-pair hand he can't get away from. Size up: fifth street is where his one pair pays off your set, and a timid bet - or a check - lets him off for free.
What happensYou fire 8,000, he calls with K-Q, and the stack is yours. Notice the value came from betting, not from the trap.
You hid the set for one street, then stopped hiding it. Big hands are made on early streets but paid off on late ones - the job on fourth and fifth is extraction, and a trap held one beat too long costs you a full stack.
A hidden monster stops earning the moment the betting stalls. Once your set is disguised, switch from trapping to building so the last chips go in by the river.