Playing the Nuts

Every once in a while, you hit the lottery and flop the nuts (the absolute best possible hand) or very close to it. In the best possible scenario, your opponent also flopped a very strong hand (which is weaker than yours) and will bet aggressively. This will enable you to easily win all their chips. However, it’s more likely that you will need to slowplay your hand to trap an opponent.

When to Slowplay

In poker, “slowplaying” means giving an opponent cheap or free chances to improve their hand. You slowplay in the hopes that your opponent will think you’re weak and bet at you, and/or improve their hand to increase the chance that they will bet or raise against you. The criteria for slowplaying can be summarized as:

Your hand is strong enough to give away free cards.
Your opponent will probably not call if you bet.
The opponent might bluff or hit something that he thinks is good on a later street.

Trapping with a Flopped Full House

Consider an example where you hold [Qc][Qs] and the flop comes down [Qd][5s][5c]. You flopped a monster! There is only one hand in the deck that can beat your full house, and that’s quad fives. It is almost impossible for you to lose this hand. The question is how to trap your opponents and win the maximum sized pot. Depending on the situation, there are several possible strategies.

Since the board texture makes it less likely that the flop hit your opponent’s hand (they’d need a queen, a five, or a pocket pair to connect with the board at all), this is a scenario where slow-playing might be the best way to get your opponent’s chips.

If you are out of position, checking on the flop will either lead to (a) your opponent doing your bidding for you by betting out, or (b) your opponent checking behind, which isn’t a total disaster. Why? His hand could improve enough on the turn for him to call a bet.

Let’s say the [Kd] falls on fourth street (the turn). If he’s holding something like [Ks][Js] or [Kc][Td], his two pair isn’t looking too bad at the moment, given that the action went check-check on the flop. In this case, opening the door for your opponent to improve with a free card has the potential to induce further action.

If you’re out of position against an aggressive opponent who gave a lot of action pre-flop, checking your full house is a good option, as he is extremely likely to make a continuation bet. Then, you’ll have the option to either put in a raise right away or make a crafty call.

If you’re in position and facing a bet, go ahead and keep your opponent on the hook by just calling. It’s extremely unlikely you’ll be outdrawn, so don’t worry about protecting your hand. Just get as much in the pot as you possibly can.