What do you do when your top pair gets raised?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nesehorn156
  • Start date Start date
N

Nesehorn156

Rock Star
Platinum Level
NO
Poker Chips
180
Casino Coins
0
Say you're playing a cash game and open with AJo. The flop comes A 7 4 with two suits and you make a normal bet. The big blind calls, then raises your turn bet pretty big on a blank card.

This is one of those spots where I always start wondering if I'm being bluffed or if they just have two pair or a set.

Would you normally call once and see what happens, or are you comfortable letting top pair go there?
 
It really depends on the opponent and board, but I don’t automatically call just because I have top pair.
If the raise feels strong and the board is dangerous, I’m happy to fold and move on. 🃏
 
In SRP, treating your top pair as a bluff catcher is a useful way to proceed. Most people are passive, and even aggressive regs are not just raising for the fun of it, they usually have decent equity. Flop raises are sometimes high equity bluffs or made hands, but turn raises are almost ALWAYS nut type hands.
 
Reply
  • Like
Reactions: Hospedar
A turn or river raise is much stronger than a flop raise, if we have bet all streets with standard sizing. So assuming we are 100BB deep, or at least close, we should either fold to the turn raise or call but not call a big river bet unimproved. There is even an old theorem about this.
 
I’d usually call once and see what happens, especially against an aggressive player. But if the turn raise is really big and they’re generally passive, I’m fine folding top pair there. AJo is strong, but it’s not worth stacking off with on a dry board.
 
I'd say call once and re-evaluate the river. Top pair with AJ is too strong to fold automatically against someone who's capable of bluffing. But I'd pay attention to the sizing and tendencies. If they're generally pretty straight forward and happen to raise big on the turn, I'd be a lot more willing to let it go.
 
When my top pair gets raised, I try not to rush into a decision. I consider the board texture, my kicker, my opponent’s playing style, and the bet size. Against an aggressive player, I might call, but against a tight player, I’m more cautious. Top pair is a strong hand, but it’s not always worth playing for a huge pot. ♠️
 
It depends on the opponent, board texture, and bet sizing. ♠️

I don't automatically stack off just because I have top pair. Against passive players, a raise often represents genuine strength, so I'm more cautious.

Against aggressive players, I consider calling and letting them continue bluffing.
I also look at my kicker, whether the board has draws, and my effective stack size.

Top pair is a strong hand, but it's not always a hand worth playing for stacks. Knowing when to slow down is just as important as knowing when to bet.
 
It really depends on the kicker strength, board texture, and villain tendencies. If the board is relatively dry and the opponent is known to be aggressive, calling one street to evaluate the turn makes sense. But on heavy draw boards against passive players, a raise almost always means two pair or better, making it an easy fold.
 
It's a difficult question because you have to count all factors : position, size, opponent, stage of tournament (or cash pot). That's why o can answer only on concrete example what i gonna do in this situation or something else
 
Reply
  • Like
Reactions: Cozmin
@Nesehorn156 This is one of the toughest spots in cash games for me too, because top pair good kicker feels too strong to fold, but a big turn raise is usually real strength.

With AJo on A-7-4, when the big blind calls flop and then raises big on a blank turn, I start to put him on a lot of two pair and sets. Hands like A7, A4, 74, 77, and 44 make a lot of sense for that line. He would not usually play a draw this way on a blank turn.

If it's a small raise, I will call once and re-evaluate on the river. I want to see if he slows down or keeps blasting. But if it's a big raise, like 3x my bet or more, I am comfortable letting top pair go there. Calling and then facing a big river jam is even worse.

What also helps me is thinking about the player type. Against a passive player, this is almost always value, so I fold. Against an aggressive player who likes to bluff turns, I will call down more often.

For me the rule is simple: against an unknown or tight player, fold top pair to a big turn raise. It's not a fun fold, but it saves a lot of money long term.
 
Reply
  • Like
Reactions: nilsharker and Cozmin
It all depends on how my opponents played before. If I just started the game and it's one of the first hands, I'm most likely to fold.
 
Reply
  • Like
Reactions: Cozmin
It depends on a few things happening at the table during the game: the type of player, the size of your stack (and theirs), how deep you are in the tournament, and—most importantly—the size of the bet.
Generally, I would fold; they could easily have hands like AQ, AK, A7, or a set of A4s or 74s—either way, it’s a tough spot.
 
Top pair by itself in PLO is usually an easy fold to a turn raise. People rarely raise the turn as a pure bluff since draws just bet themselves, so you're mostly looking at two pair plus or a made hand with redraws. If I don't have backdoor equity with it, I just let it go. When I do continue with top pair and a real draw, the pair isn't the reason I'm calling.
 
Well I call at first...But all of that depends on situation on table. Chip accounts, stage of tournament , distanc to in money time....
 
If very tight player raises he or she can have higher kicker also set .Depends on players profile playing style.
 
Back
Top