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Special Boards

Lesson 29 · Paired, monotone, and connected textures · 24 practice questions

Paired boards

A paired board is hard to hit. With two of the three flop cards the same rank there are fewer ways to make top pair and only a handful of trips combinations, so both players miss most of the time. That has two consequences. The preflop raiser can c-bet often and small, because the caller has to fold a lot and the raiser still holds the overpairs. And when real strength shows up — a raise, a big bet on a later street — it is very real, since slow-played trips and full houses are exactly what these lines look like. With trips or better yourself, build the pot: villain's calling range is pairs and ace-high that will not pay much later if scare cards come.

Example. Flop T♣T♦5♠, pot 6, checked to you as the raiser with A♥J♥: bet. He has a ten rarely, and most of his range is two unpaired cards that fold. The same with Q♥J♥ on K♠K♦4♣. With A♥8♥ on 8♠8♦3♣ you bet for value — trips with the top kicker wants three streets. On 9♥9♦5♣3♠2♥ with 9♣5♥ facing 10 into 20: a full house raises. But on a double-paired turn 9♥9♦5♣5♠ with A♣K♥ (pot 8): any nine or five is a full house, any pocket pair beats you, and ace-high still wins many showdowns — check.

Common mistake: reading the paired board as 'he never has it' for three streets. The c-bet works because he usually has nothing; once he raises or calls twice, that is no longer true.

Monotone boards

On a monotone flop — three cards of one suit — every hand is judged by whether it holds a card of that suit. A made flush is already possible, and anyone with one high card of the suit has a strong draw, so hands without the suit lose value quickly: they can be ahead now and still have little equity. The adjustments: check more as the raiser when you hold no card of the suit, even with overcards; bet and barrel more with the ace of the suit, which is both a draw to the nuts and a blocker that makes villain's nut flush impossible; and fold one pair without the suit to big bets. When a fourth card of the suit arrives, a hand with no card of that suit is only a bluff-catcher, and usually a fold.

Example. Flop J♠9♠4♠, pot 8, checked to you with K♥Q♥ and no spade: check. Any bet is called by flushes, spade draws and pairs, and your outs are not clean. Turn J♥9♥4♥2♦ with A♥Q♦ (pot 12): the bare ace of hearts is the nut flush draw and the nut blocker — bet. Flop K♠9♠4♠ with 9♥8♥ facing 11 into 14: you need 11/(14+11+11) = 31% with second pair and no spade — fold. River A♥9♥4♥2♥7♦ with K♣Q♦ facing 12 into 24: even at 25%, a hand with no heart beats nothing that bets — fold. Holding the draw, continue: Q♦J♣ on A♦K♦5♦ facing 4 into 6 calls or raises.

Common mistake: c-betting a monotone flop with overcards and no card of the suit 'to take it down'. The hands that fold were never a threat, and the hands that call have you in bad shape.

Dynamic boards

On connected and two-tone boards — 9-8-7, T-9-8, 7-6-5 — the best hand changes from street to street: many turn cards complete a straight or a flush. That pulls strong hands in one direction and weak ones in the other. Hands that are strong now — overpairs, sets, made straights — should bet and raise at once and for a good size, because draws pay today and because the card that completes them also kills your action. Hands with nothing — overcards with no draw, small underpairs — should give up early: these boards hit the caller's range, and a c-bet gets called or raised too often to show a profit. When the obvious draw does come in and villain bets big, one pair becomes a bluff-catcher without a redraw.

Example. Flop 7♠6♦5♣, pot 8, checked to you with A♣A♦: bet now — every nine, eight, four or three can change who is ahead, and a bet today is paid by the pairs and draws that will not pay after the straight arrives. Flop T♦9♣8♥ with Q♠J♠ facing 6 into 10: the nut straight raises, since sets and two pair pay now and the board may pair. But A♣K♦ on 6♥5♠4♦, and 4♥4♦ on 9♠8♠7♦, check. Turn K♠9♠5♦2♠ with A♣K♣ and no spade facing 14 into 16: you need 32%, the flush just arrived, and you have no redraw — folding is the standard line.

Common mistake: slow-playing a set on 9-8-7 'to let him catch up'. He is already catching up — that is what the board means. Charge him while he still pays.

Key takeaways

• Paired flop as the raiser, even with air → small c-bet; with trips or a full house → bet and raise for value.
• Monotone flop without a card of the suit → check; one pair without the suit facing a big bet (need 31%) → fold.
• Holding the ace of the suit on a monotone board → bet and barrel; it is the nut draw and the nut blocker.
• Connected or two-tone flop with an overpair, a set or a straight → bet or raise now, for a good size.
• Connected flop with overcards and no draw, or a small underpair → check and give up.

Sample drill from this lesson

FAQ

Key terms in this lesson

Equity · Outs · Range (Poker Hand Range) · Continuation Bet (C-bet) · Bluff Catcher · Barrel (Second and Third Barrel) · Blockers · Scare Card

All 29 lessons