Since flopping top pair is usually a good situation, most players routinely bet or raise with it. While aggressiveness in poker is good, how you play top pair depends upon a variety of factors, such as: How good is your kicker? What does the rest of the board look like? How many opponents are there? What was the previous betting action? What is your position?
Poker is highly situational. Any pair, even top pair or an overpair, is simply not the world's fair in hold'em, and can easily be beaten. When you are chasing, you are frequently playing with a small number of outs and the pot odds are often not there to be calling and trying to take off cards. On the other side of the coin, when you are ahead, you have a hand that is quite "catchable," especially against a large field. So, when you are in the lead, it is important to raise to try to eliminate opponents. There is no magic formula. You simply have to balance the various factors that exist at the time when deciding what action to take. Perhaps the following hands will shed some light on this complex subject.
These hands were taken from middle- and high-limit games. Because they are from live games, not all of the plays leading up to the problem in question are necessarily correct, but they are usually reasonable.
Hand No. 1 ($40-$80 game): You are on the button with the 9
8. Two early-position players limp in, and you limp in. The small blind raises and everyone calls. There is $400 in the pot and five players. The flop is 9
7
3. The small blind bets, the big blind folds, and one of the limpers calls. What should you do?
Answer: Call. You should not raise with your top pair, no kicker hand. Your raise will not drive anyone out, and you have a third player to worry about who is already committed. Your backdoor draws do not turn a call into a raise.
Hand No. 2 ($80-$160 game): You are in the big blind with the A
J. An early-position player opens with a raise. An aggressive player in the cutoff seat calls, as does the small blind. You call. There is $640 in the pot and four players. The flop is J 7 5. The small blind checks, you bet, the preflop raiser calls, and the cutoff raises. What should you do?
Answer: Three-bet. You have the top kicker with your top pair, and it is important to get the preflop raiser to fold if he has A-K or A-Q. In all likelihood, the aggressive player in the cutoff seat is raising because he has a top pair of jacks and nothing more.
Hand No. 3 ($10-$20 game): You are on the button with the 10 10. Two early-position players, two middle-position players, and the cutoff limp in. You also limp in. The small blind folds and the big blind raises. Everyone calls. There is $145 in the pot and seven players. The flop is 7 5 4. The big blind bets, the first early-position player raises, the next player calls, and the other players fold. What should you do?
Answer: Fold. It seems terrible to be folding an overpair, but the betting action seems to indicate that you can easily be badly beaten here. If you are up against a made hand like a straight, you are dead to two perfect cards. If you are up against a set or just a bigger overpair (remember, the big blind raised preflop after many players limped in), you have two outs, with one of your outs putting three spades on the table. Finally, who knows when the raising will stop?
Hand No. 4 ($10-$20 game): You are on the button with the Q J. Two early-position players and two middle-position players limp in. You also limp in. The small blind folds. There is $65 in the pot and six players. The flop is Q 10 9. Everyone checks to the second middle-position player, who bets. What should you do?
Answer: Raise. You can knock people out, you may have the best hand, and with your draw, you have many ways to improve even if you are currently beaten.
Hand No. 5 ($20-$40 game): You are on the button with the Q 10. An early-position player and two middle-position players limp in. You limp in, as does the small blind. There is $120 in the pot and six players. The flop is 10 7 3. Both blinds check, the early-position player bets, the first middle-position player calls, and the second middle-position player raises. What should you do?
Answer: Call. I think three-betting is wrong. If a spade comes, your hand is dead unless it is the Q. Three-betting will not knock out a flush draw. I think it is better to just call now, and see what comes off on the turn and how your opponents handle it, since you have the button.
Hand No. 6 ($10-$20 game): You are in the big blind with the K 5. Two early-position players, a middle-position player, the cutoff, and the small blind limp in. You take a free play. There is $60 in the pot and six players. The flop arrives with the K Q 7. The small blind checks. What should you do?
Answer: Check. Despite having top pair, I think your kicker is too weak to be leading into a crowd of five other players. This board is also highly coordinated, with a two-flush and two cards connected in the playing zone. Even when your hand happens to be best, you will not drive out anyone with a legitimate draw, and you will get overtaken a high percentage of the time, anyway. How you proceed after checking depends upon the betting action and where the lead bet is coming from. If everyone checks to the cutoff seat and he bets, you may want to consider check-raising, since this may drive out the remaining players, and you may have the best hand, as well.
Hand No. 7 ($60-$120 game): You are in the small blind with the A 9. An early-position player, a middle-position player, and the button all limp in. You toss in another chip and limp. The big blind raises and everyone calls. There is $600 in the pot and five players. The flop is A 10 4. What should you do?
Answer: Check. A player who raises from the big blind after several players have limped in is usually marked with a premium hand, like A-A, K-K, Q-Q, or maybe A-K. He may even have A-Q suited or A-J suited. You should check and see how the betting develops. Since your top pair cannot be overpaired, you do not have to worry so much about drawouts.
Editor's note: Jim Brier has co-authored a new book with Bob Ciaffone entitled Middle Limit Holdem Poker. It is available through Card Player.