In texas hold em how do you play quads when you flop them with a pocket pair.?

Question

I usually would slowplay, but there have been times when i have bet right out.

Answer 1

It really depends on a couple things: 1. your table image and 2. your opponents.  If you have been playing tight the whole game and only betting when  you hit something, if you bet, most likely it will scare away anybody in the pot.  But, if you've been known to splash around in pots, then go ahead and bet, and if you get called, check after the turn, and will probably get paid off on the river.  However, if your opponent(s) have been aggressive, I would let them bet at you.  Hopefully, you have position on them, too.

Answer 2

It depends on a few things.  Stack sizes of remaining opponents, position, number of opponnents, who was the aggressor preflop, and others I'm not thinking of.  If either you or the players left in the pot only have about the pot left in their stack, then it's probably going in the middle if they caught a piece, or have a decent pocket pair, otherwise they're probably folding.  Since that's boring, here's a good plan for playing with some ~100bb stacks.

You've flopped a very strong hand, and the problem now is extracting the most value for the hand.  It's difficult here for your opponnent to have a legitimately strong enough hand to call you however, since he can only have two pair with a pocket pair or by pairing the board card, or an extremely unlikely full house which will resolve itself by all the money getting in the middle without thought.  

First heads up:

Out of Position

(Putting this in now so you know how to implement % plays.  I use Harrington's strategy of a second hand.  In the first example I want to bet 30% check 70%.  30% of a minute is 18 seconds.  So if the second hand is between 1-18 then bet, if it's from 19-60 check.  Humans are awful at trying to be random, so this is the best method I've heard of to accomplish randomizing actions)

You should bet about 30% of the time and check 70% of the time if you are out of position.  If the opponent is tricky and likes to steal pots, then a mix of 50/50 is better.  If tight and passive, likely to fold without some kind of hand, then bet 15% check 85% seems more prudent.

If this hand gets to the turn, bet 50% check 50% with the inention of value betting the river.

We have to bet some amount of the time, because we do not want to be labeled as someone who bets his weak hands and checks his strong ones.  We must mix some real strength into our betting lines in order to keep our opponnents guessing.

In Position

If you're in position, you likely raised from late position, which is more likely to be interpreted as a positional raise rather than solid value for your hand.  For this reason when flopping a monster you should bet it out more often.  

If villain bets into you, raise 10%, call 90% with the idea of letting him keep throwing bets till the river when you finally raise him.

If he checks to you, bet 25% check 80%.  Same reasoning, it's hard for him to have a hand, and now he's also out of position, making his fold even more likely.  

If the flop goes, check, (you bet) call.   Then the turn we're raising any bet he makes, and betting if he checks.  His call indicates he has something, so try and drag more money out of him.

If the flop goes check, check, the plan for the turn is 70% bets 30% checks.

*One last thing, this doesn't have to be just quads.  This plan holds true for any very strong hand flopped, say middle set or better.  Bottom set you can bet more frequently.*

Answer 3

How you play flopped quads depends soley on the situation.  By this I mean your possition, the opponent(s) in the pot with you, your table image, etc... If you have more than one player in the pot, and you are in early possition, check, simple as that, especially if one of your opponents is aggressive.  The more people that are in the pot, the better the odds that someone catches up and makes a hand.  If someone bets, smooth call, don't raise.  The question with flopped quads isn't are you going to win the pot (at least in most cases, I have lost with them before...lol) but how much are you going to win?  Ideally you want to be the last to act, behind an aggressive player.  You are handicapped if you are the first to act, because you have to play passively in most cases to get payed off, especially if you have a solid table image and you are at a table with good players (they will put you on a hand if you bet out, etc, and a good one at that if it is high cards that pair the board on the flop..a/a, k/k etc, simply because you are in early possition).  If you are in the early possition, the best you can do is check/ smooth call until the river and then make a value bet, especially if there was no betting after your checks.  

If you have a loose image, you can bet on the turn if in early possition, and I would bet whatever your standard bet is.  An under bet might seem suspicious, they look like a value bet, like you want a call.  If you have been caught with your hand in the cookie jar a few times, all the better, bet like you were betting when you were caught bluffing.

If you are last to act, you can check to the river, and then do a value bet..  If there is a calling station in front of you and a potential draw, bet like you would to keep someone from hitting the draw, and hope like all get out that the draw is hit.  

There are just so many ways to play quads, that an all inclusive answer is just impossible.  There are too many variables that would determine how you play them.  Oh yeah, if you flop quad jacks, with a queen on the flop, and you are bet into, beware of the queen on the river, ...(the first time I lost with quads).  Good luck.

Answer 4

According to the books, and this seems to make the most sense the rare times it's happened to me, you want to play quads pretty hard.  Normal strategy with a strong hand is to slowplay the flop and come out on the turn.  But if you're at a pretty loose table or are sure you're going to get a caller or two, come out swinging.  

Hopefully you made a decent sized bet with your pair preflop and there's some money and players in the hand.  If you're in early position (and ONLY from early position,) you  will probably want to check the flop and see if anyone bets.  If you bet at it from early position the table may fear you have at least a set.  If anyone bets the flop, reraise it.  Period.  In a quads situation you want to build the pot as much as humanly possible.  What you're really hoping for here is someone betting and getting called before it gets to you, so that your reraise brings in all that many more chips.

If you are in late position and it gets checked to you, make a continuation bet from your preflop bet.  You don't want it to be too big (as you want callers) but you want to get some chips into the pot on every card.  

Assuming you've got some callers when you get to the turn, make a pretty big bet.  Hopefully someone's caught at least part of the board and they'll call or, ideally, raise.  Reraise any bet from here on out for the rest of the hand.  

Depending on how many chips you have left on the river, your best move is probably to go all-in.  If your opps fold you've already got a decent sized pot.  If they call, wonderful!  You're in the driver's seat so take them for a ride!

Answer 5

I bet the flop small to let my opponents think that I am bluffing. Then I check the turn to really show weakness. On the river, if I am in early position I will check against an aggressive player and let him take a stab at the pot and bet it. If I am up against a sheep who doesn't bet much, I will make a big overbet to make it look like I am stealing.

There are many factors to think about before answering this--your position, the type of players you are up against and whether this is a cash game or a tournament. Different situations call for a different approach to playing quads correctly. Good question!

Answer 6

Wow, great question. The key to winning in Texas Holdem is to maximize value of any hand you play. Quads on the flop can be tough. If you bet too much the other players may think you hooked trips and fold. In general, with such a dominant hand, you must wait for other players to develop what they think is a good hand and let them bet, especially at a loose table.  

A lot of variables here. I'll try to provide an answer for the question for Multi Table Tournament play.

Early stages of an MTT: play them aggressively! Especially if there is an overcard to your flopped quads. The play is loose at this point and you will get some calls from the fish or the chasers. Go easy on the turn in early position, bet or call in late position. On the river in early position, gamble with a check if you think there will be a bet, then raise any bet 3X. Hope for a reraise or a bluff. In late position, bet 2-3XBB. A lot depends on the players and your ability to read them and understand their playing styles. Will the fish bite?

Middle stages of an MTT: Play them as if you hit a pair. Bet or call on the flop. Bet or call on the turn and wait for the river to raise or reraise.

Late stages of an MTT: Players here are now cautious, and your best bet is to slow play them at the flop. Raise 2xBB on the river, and if there are no raisers on the river, make a value bet.

Good luck at the tables.

Answer 7

its always good to bet, because most likely he will think you won't have anything and you're just trying to get him out of the hand. Doing this may make him raise or call. Next on the turn you will have to play passively, just check or call. on the river is when you play agressively bet big and there's a 70% chance that he'll call you.

Answer 8

I like to check the flop, especially against multiple opponents. On the turn I would put out a small bet, maybe 1/4-1/2 pot...this usually looks like a steal attempt and may induce someone to bet big to represent a big hand, or if they hit the turn and have 2 pair they may think they have the best hand at that point. I don't like to scare action away on the flop and there is no reason to thin the field at this point - the more players you let see the turn the greater chance someone will pick up some sort of hand.

Answer 9

Slowplay!

As a general rule, slowplaying a monster hand is NOT the most profitable way to play it, but flopped quads is the exception.

Because the board shows a pair, your bet will almost always be taken as one of 2 things: a set, or a bluff representing a set.  And since none of your opponents can have a set (since you have all 4 cards) they know they are playing from either behind, or WAY behind.

If your image is loose and the table is loose, You can make a bet with your quads and often get called (and maybe even raised.)

In EVERY other circumstance, you'll probably see a series of folds (unless you get VERY lucky and someone with little or no poker skill has a flush draw or straight draw.)

And the thing is, if you ARE loose and at a loose table, you'll get plenty of action WITHOUT betting, so you are STILL better off slowplaying it.

I'd crawl along all the way to the river.  Give your opps a chance to get a hand worth all their chips.  They CAN'T suck out on you (shy of a legendary bad beat, which could be more valuable than winning the pot) so give them a chance to catch up.

Answer 10

Everything depends on the situation but I would say that I check them for the most part.  I want to give the rest of the table as much opportunity as possible to make what they think might be a winning hand.  I will do everything I can to let it get to the river, without letting it be obvious I'm slow playing hopefully, so that someone might catch a straight or a flush, maybe even a boat if I'm lucky.