Betting the Nutz.

It is not that often that you flop (or turn) a great hand and also get paid off. I am talking flopping a full house or quads for the most part, maybe even a straight flush. By the turn you know if you have the absolute nuts with these hands. Hands like a set, the top of a straight, or a flush are great, but can be cracked on the river, you can never say for sure they are safe on the turn.

Betting the absolute nutz, before the river, takes some skill. You can not do this on a very tight table. You need to have a player or two in the hand that see value in chasing, that you know live to chase. Also helps to have someone that is either trying to get even with you and/or that thinks you over bet your hands.

The objective is to bet your high winning percentage hand on the flop the same way you would a very good but beatable hand. Like protecting your set or straight from a flush draw. This is similar to the river shove to induce a call, but works much better as you tend to get players willing to risk more on a chase then on a weak connection after the river.

For example: I had pocket 9's, bet them preflop 3x BB with one caller. The flop was Q 9 9 with 2 clubs. I bet the pot from UTG, the other player tanked then reraised 3x my bet. A this point I have more than I can ask for. If I just smooth call they may come to their senses so I shove back (which is pretty much 2x their raise), of course they call. To my surprise they did not even have a Queen, held Ace something with one club. If I had checked this down to the river, the traditional approach, they would have possibly made one small probe bet then mucked to any pressure on any street.

Always try and figure out, based on the other players in the hand, how can you make the most money every hand you are betting. If someone thinks I am bluffing, I'd rather push with the nutz then with a bluff.