Part: Part Two - Playing Styles & Starting Requirements

Set-mining a medium pair

Pre-flop
Blinds 100 / 200Pot 900 (4.5 BB)CO9♠9♦● 30,000 (150 BB)YOUto actUTG● 30,000 (150 BB)Tight UTGraises 600 (3 BB)SB● 30,000 (150 BB)posts 100 (0.5 BB)BB● 30,000 (150 BB)posts 200 (1 BB)BTN● 30,000 (150 BB)BTND

A tight, solid player raises from under the gun and it folds to you on the cutoff with 9♠9♦. Stacks are deep - everyone has about 150 big blinds.

Deep-stacked, a tight UTG player has raised to 600 (3 BB). You hold 9♠9♦ on the cutoff. Best play?

WhyCall to set-mine. Against a tight early raiser your nines are usually behind, but you flop a set about 12% of the time and the deep stacks give you the implied odds to get paid. Three-betting bloats the pot against a range that dominates you; folding is too tight given the price and depth.
What happensYou call 600 (3 BB); the blinds fold. Heads-up to the flop.  Pot: 1,500 (7.5 BB).
Flop
Heads-upPot 1,500 (7.5 BB)9♣6♥2♠CO9♠9♦● 30,000 (150 BB)YOUtop setUTG● 30,000 (150 BB)Tight UTGbets 900 (4.5 BB)D

Flop: 9♣ 6♥ 2♠ - you flop top set. The tight raiser continuation-bets.

You flopped top set and the pre-flop raiser c-bets 900 (4.5 BB). How do you play it?

WhyCall. Flat-calling keeps his bluffs and worse one-pair hands in, disguises your monster, and lets him keep betting. Raising now folds out the very hands paying you off; on a dry board, smooth-calling maximizes value.
What happensYou call.  Pot: 3,300 (16.5 BB).
Turn
Heads-upPot 3,300 (16.5 BB)9♣6♥2♠J♥CO9♠9♦● 30,000 (150 BB)YOUtop setUTG● 30,000 (150 BB)Tight UTGbets 2,200 (11 BB)D

Turn: J♥. The tight player fires again - he likely has an overpair or just improved.

An overcard falls and he bets 2,200 (11 BB). You still have top set. Now what?

WhyRaise for value. The pot is large, his second barrel signals a committed hand (an overpair or strong top pair), and this is the moment to build the pot before a scary river. Top set never folds here - the only question is how to get the most in.
What happensYou raise to 6,500 (32.5 BB); he calls with A♥A♣.  Pot: 16,300 - you're crushing his aces.
River
Heads-upPot 16,300 (81.5 BB)9♣6♥2♠J♥3♦CO9♠9♦● 30,000 (150 BB)YOUtop setUTG● 30,000 (150 BB)Tight UTGchecksD

River: 3♦ - a blank. He checks, with about 9,000 (45 BB) behind.

Blank river, he checks, ~9,000 behind. Best play with top set?

WhyBet (effectively shove) for value. He check-called a big turn raise and is capped but still holds strong one-pair hands like aces that pay a river bet. Maximize value - checking leaves a stack on the table.
What happensYou shove; he calls off with aces.  You win a huge pot.
You set-mined cheaply against a tight range, trapped on the flop to keep his bluffs in, then shifted to maximum value once he committed with an overpair. The right speed changed each street - slow to induce, fast to get paid.

Medium pairs are set-mining hands against tight early raisers: call cheaply, trap when you flop the set, then extract everything once they commit.