In BB w Rags in Limped Pots

If youÂ’re check calling 2-3 streets with mid pair or bottom pair you might want to reevaluate strat.

Do you ever check raise these weaker paired hands on the flop rather than check-calling?

If youÂ’re struggling with these spots IÂ’d recommend reading Matthew JandaÂ’s book No limit holdem for advanced players. Though primarily a cash game strat book, his discussion of flop strat with weaker holdings might be useful read

It's hard to say without specific examples because even these situations can be so different depending on a number of factors: stack depth, flop texture, how many players are in the pot and what positions they came in from, who's betting and at what size, etc.

I think oldsilver has good advice, particularly if people are just barreling too much, to check-raise some of those weaker one-pair hands to try to end the action, rather than calling down and hoping one of the two overcards that come didn't pair your opponent.

There are several things here that matter. The first is how many players are in the hand. The second is understanding that it is a gift to play a hand for free. The third is to have reads on the limpers. Are they aggressive post flop? Do they always bet post flop? Do they typically raise with strong hands or are they always limping?

I'm guessing that oldsilver plays much more balanced than I do, but there are no circumstances where I c/r OOP with bottom or middle pair unless there is also a flush draw. I will c/r with much weaker hands (and much stronger hands) but my weak hands always have some kind of draws and/or overcards to the flop. In general my play postflop in the BB occurs after I have called a raise (typically a min raise or early on a fairly cheap raise).

The first thing that is crucial is how many players are in the hand. People don't bluff much when there are 4 or more players in the hand. Why? Because there is a very strong chance that one of the other players has hit the flop hard and it is unlikely to take down the hand on the flop. But if you are HU it makes things different, especially because you are OOP and have checked. When I have hit bottom pair HU I will mostly call the flop bet and see what happens on the turn. If it is a player that always double or triple barrels I will often just fold on the flop. But most players understand that the flop call is either a draw or a pair and often they won't bet the turn if they have nothing because it could get expensive. If it is 3-way then it also matters if the player that bets is last to act. If not then it is much more likely that they have hit the flop.

There are times when I am short stacked that I check the flop because I want to c/r all in. In this situation I typically have several draws at once. It can be any combination of a low or middle pair, a gutter or straight draw, a flush draw, overcard(s). It can even include 3 or more of those with backdoor draws.

When I am not short stacked I like to keep the pots small when I have bottom or middle pair. So often when I win, the flop was bet but not the turn or river. In these spots if I bet the river I am typically losing more.

The other thing that is key is that if you are going to call flop bets with bottom or middle pair you also have to balance that with some very strong hands. While I will typically c/r with 2 pair in this specific situation, I would check the flop with bottom two and c/r the turn unless top card pairs at which point we can fold.

Just to be clear, I am not suggesting that you
check-raise every mid or small pair from BB

But if you never do it, read Janda