Top Pair As A Bluff Catcher

Don't miss one article! Subscribe to the Full Feed RSS or get NPA in your inbox.

Top pair is a critical hold’em hand. It’s one that you’ll make frequently, and depending on the situation, its value can range from quite strong to nearly worthless. The large swing in its value from situation to situation also makes it tricky to play. If you aren’t keenly aware of how your top pair stacks up to the competition in each pot, you can get in trouble.

Roughly speaking, top pair can take on one of two roles for you. It can behave either as a value hand or as a bluff catcher depending on the situation. In my next article I’ll talk about playing top pair for value. This article is about playing top pair as a bluff catcher.

When Good Hands Go Bad

Bluff catchers are not good hands. By definition they’re good enough only to beat a bluff. They aren’t going to beat many – if any – of the legitimate hands your opponents could have. So most of the time you should fold them. And even when you find yourself compelled to call with a bluff catcher, you usually lose more often than not.

Unfortunately, top pair frequently becomes a bluff catcher by the river. Here’s a typical situation. It’s a $2-$5 live game with $1,000 stacks. One player limps, and you raise to $25 on the button with Q J . The big blind calls, as does the limper.

The flop is J 8 4 . Everyone checks, you bet $50, and the big blind raises to $100. The limper folds, and you call.

The turn is the 4 . The big blind bets $75. You call.

The river is the T . The big blind bets $150.

When you raise preflop and flop top pair, you typically feel good about it. It’s often all the hand you’ll need to win the pot. But this particular pot doesn’t go according to plan. The big blind checkraises you on the flop and bets the turn and river. The bet sizes aren’t large, and the board has not come threateningly for your hand, but you are nevertheless in trouble.

 Print :: Trackback :: Respond ::