DECISION POINT: It is early in a live $5-10 cash game session and you are playing with tough opponents. You are dealt A♠J♠ from Early Position and raise to the table standard open of $30. It folds to the Button who just calls and both Blinds fold. The flop comes 9♣8♣Q♥ and action is on you. What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing a $5-10 cash game with $1,000 effective stacks. It is early in the session so we have no significant reads but it seems like a tough table where players are playing well with no noticeable leaks.

We are dealt AsJs in the UTG seat and make a standard open for this game to $30. It folds around to the Button who flat calls and the Blinds fold. When a good player on the Button calls here they usually have a capped, condensed range that consists of lots of suited broadway cards and pocket pairs, with a few suited connectors and suited aces sprinkled in.

The flop is 9c8cQh. This is a textbook example of a coordinated flop. It is two toned, meaning there are two cards of the same suit and one of a different suit, and is also very connected. This flop connects extremely well with the Button’s range.

Since the Button can have many suited broadways as well as pairs and suited connectors in their range here they will flop at least a pair or a draw here a vast majority of the time. Against less skilled opponents that will fold a lot of their less than top pair hands or call with a much wider range of hands preflop, continuation betting here can be profitable.

Given that our raise came from Early Position we do have a very narrow, strong range and usually do want to c-bet a majority of flops. However, against tough opposition that will raise and float with a robust range of hands a continuation bet here fails far too often to be profitable.

If there were a spade on the board we could make a better case for betting here as a lot of the Button’s range is potentially vulnerable to being two barreled. Hands like flush draws, TT/JJ/T9s all would have a tough time calling bets across multiple streets. In this situation with no significant back door draws and just ace high with an inside straight draw, we just can’t make a profitable continuation bet here.

Checking is the best play.

The WPT GTO Trainer allows you to Play and Train against True GTO Opponents and get real-time Feedback and Analysis on Your Actions.

Choose from Cash Game and Tournament scenarios (including Small Stakes cash games) and receive immediate feedback on YOUR play compared to GTO including EV (expected value) Loss, Percentage Played, and the Ideal Action.

Click the button below and play the WPT GTO Trainer for free....

Join LearnWPT.com for just $5 your First Month of Membership and play through hundreds of solved hands per hour (anytime, anywhere, and as many hands as you want) on the WPT GTO Trainer!