How do you play three of a kind ?

[Leandro6803]

A three of a kind is a hand that can double your stack quickly if played correctly. When I have three of a kind against aggressive players on a board that doesn't have a flush or straight, I prefer to call to let them bluff more.

When the board is very loaded, I prefer to grow the pot quickly or remove my opponent from the hand quickly with a heavy bet.

 

[Poker_Mike]

A three of a kind is a hand that can double your stack quickly if played correctly. When I have three of a kind against aggressive players on a board that doesn't have a flush or straight, I prefer to call to let them bluff more.

When the board is very loaded, I prefer to grow the pot quickly or remove my opponent from the hand quickly with a heavy bet.

In 5-card or 6-card PLO or PLO-8 I will bet it because my opponents can make a bigger trips. And in PLO-8 several low hands may pay you. If there is a pair on the board then I want to fill up to a full house. If I don't I need to be careful that my opponent maybe made a full house.

In holdem it depends on how many players there are. I like to slow pay a set, when I have a pocket pair that makes trips on the board. But, I need to narrow the field if there are a lot of players.

If there is a pair on the board that makes trips for me then I will bet to motivate my opponent to fold if the board is wet/active.

Good luck !

 

[eetenor]

A three of a kind is a hand that can double your stack quickly if played correctly. When I have three of a kind against aggressive players on a board that doesn't have a flush or straight, I prefer to call to let them bluff more.

When the board is very loaded, I prefer to grow the pot quickly or remove my opponent from the hand quickly with a heavy bet.

We want to target more than just bluffs when we have a set and we want to try to get max value often stacks when we hit. Letting the V control the pot means that we win what they want to pay. We always want to think about how the board hit our V so 99 on a 49AR board is much better for stacks than 972R let the board dictate your strategy vs players who pot control and are passive on turn and river. It is ok to get folds while you are trying to max your win. It just means your V can be bluffed.

 

[puzzlefish]

It's all fun and games until your villain has a set.

 

[SPANKYSN]

A three of a kind is a hand that can double your stack quickly if played correctly. When I have three of a kind against aggressive players on a board that doesn't have a flush or straight, I prefer to call to let them bluff more.

When the board is very loaded, I prefer to grow the pot quickly or remove my opponent from the hand quickly with a heavy bet.

I have slow-played trips into a losing hand many times out of greed, so I usually bet big enough to scare away players on drawing hands.

 

[tuitui]

I like to slow-play, but often that does not bring a lot profit. Betting for value works better for my level, but I think all depends what kind of opponents there are in the table.

 

[rei signo]

Bet 70% of the pot on players who are trying to improve their game; bet to see what cards will be revealed on the rest of the table. If you suspect that your opponent has a high pair and hasn't formed a crack, wait for them to bet and then bet on the top, winning all the chips on the table!

 

[fundiver199]

As everything else in poker "it depends":

* Board texture?
* Set or trips?
* How many opponents?
* Positions?
* Stack depth?
* Opponent reads?
* Etc.

The main rule in poker is to bet or raise, when you have a strong hand. 3 of a kind is usually a strong hand but not always.
If you have on a board like and face a bet, then you only beat a bluff, and your default should be to fold, since you will likely have many better hands to defend with. If you are first to act, or it get checked to you, its very difficult to get called by worse hands, if you bet. So typically you want to check and hope to win at showdown against a hand like or .

 

[fundiver199]

One more important thing, I missed, is kicker, if you have trips. If you have on , you have 3 of a kind, but you still lose to any other AX as well as 44, 88, 33 and 52. So if your opponent wants to put a lot of chips into the pot, you only beat a bluff. And if you put a lot of chips into the pot yourself, its difficult to get called by worse.

Most opponents will call 1-2 normal bets with 99-KK on this board but typically not 3 large bets. So this particular 3 of a kind is no more than a medium strong hand, where your goal should be to get to showdown in a small or medium sized pot. And if the opponent will not allow that, folding is completely reasonable.

 

[Mario7]

A three of a kind is a hand that can double your stack quickly if played correctly. When I have three of a kind against aggressive players on a board that doesn't have a flush or straight, I prefer to call to let them bluff more.

When the board is very loaded, I prefer to grow the pot quickly or remove my opponent from the hand quickly with a heavy bet.

As already mentioned here, it depends. But pressuming it is a moment my hand is most probably the best, I go for value immediately, never slowplay. Let's say I flop a set - I either c-bet (if I had pre-initiative) or check-raise if I was pre-caller. My intention is never let my opponent draw for free. They either pay hunting their draws or fold.

This is my attitude in most cases. Theoretically, IF I know the opponent is really aggressive and IF they board is extremely dry, perhaps I could slowplay, but these would be really extremely rarely - I pressume usually fast play is better anyway.

 

[schtiuky]

always bet even if there are no pairs on the board, flush or straight draw someone can always improve their hands.

 

[letpic]

Honestly, the way I play three of a kind depends entirely on how I got there. If I’m holding a pocket pair and flop a set, I’m usually looking to play it slow and let someone else hang themselves. There’s nothing better than checking to an aggressive player and letting them fire three barrels into your monster