Jonathan Little Hand of the Week: Getting Paid With Turned Quads?

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This week’s hand analysis video once again features one of my favorite poker vloggers, Rampage himself!

It’s an interesting hand where Rampage turns the absolute nuts and tries to get paid the max by his opponent.

The game in question is $2/5, and the action begins with the cutoff player opening to $20. Rampage looks down at 5♦5♥ on the button and goes for a 3-bet of $60.

I’ll say that, for the most part, you want to flat call with your small pocket pairs, as you really want to see the flop.

However, in live poker, playing against cautious recreational players, 3-betting sometimes is fine as well, as you don’t expect to get 4-bet all that much.

The Flop

The action folds around back to the cutoff who makes the call, and the two proceed to see the flop of 10♣9♠5♠, giving Rampage the bottom set.

His opponent plays in flow and checks to him, and he now has a decision on his hands.

On a very draw-heavy board that’s likely to connect with your opponent’s range, you’re best off betting here, as they will often be strong enough to continue.

A bet on the bigger side is in order here, especially in live poker, but you shouldn’t get too greedy and go over the size of the pot, either.

With around $130 in the middle, anything between $75 and $120 seems reasonable.

You most certainly don’t want to slow-play here. If your opponent has something, you want to play a big pot, and the only way to build that big pot is by putting some money into it.

Rampage clearly agrees as he bets out for $80, and his opponent makes the call.

The Turn

The turn gives Rampage the absolute nuts as it comes 5♣, the last remaining five in the deck. Once again, the opponent checks.

This is another spot where I believe that betting is almost mandatory in live poker. The only exception is if you’re against a super-aggressive opponent whom you know will bluff the river almost always if the hand checks through on the turn.

You want to bet around half of the pot and continue getting money into the middle.

Rampage makes a small bet of $100, and his opponent makes the call after some deliberation.

The River

The river comes 6♥, completing one of the straight draws from the flop, and the opponent now leads out for $200.

Rampage has about $750 behind, and in this spot, many players will go for a min-raise, trying to get a crying call from their opponents.

What you have to realize, though, is that if you min-raise, they’ll never try to bluff raise again with a busted flush draw, for example.

At the same time, if they do have a strong hand, like a straight or an oddly-played set, they’ll likely call for any amount, especially if you have an aggressive image.

Min-raising in this spot will cost you a ton of money!

Rampage does the right thing, and he moves all in for $760 after Hollywooding for a little bit. This, too, is fine, as you don’t want to tip off the strength of your hand, but make sure you don’t overdo it, either.

Take a little bit of time, but don’t go over the top.

So, Rampage puts his stack into the middle, but what does his opponent do? Was he bluffing, or did he really have a strong hand? Was Rampage able to double up with the quads? Check out the video above to find out!