Strategy on Best Hand at the FLOP & Top Pair

Two areas I've been struggling at lately is getting MAX dollar amount when I have a very strong hand after the flop and when I have TOP pair.

How do you play the following situation. You have As Qs The Flop is 9s 6s 2s

What do you do? If you bet big...everyone folds. If you check...everyone checks and may catch a boat. Lately I been letting people stay in cheap only to lose to a FULL BOAT. OR bet big and everyone folds. Looking for advice to try to maximize $$$

Also, TOP Pair. How do ypu play this? I'll have A 7, and FLOP will be A T 3. I will bet and get raised. Seems like I either stay in and lose...or Fold and lose to a worse hand.

Thanks

Originally Posted by RUNHARD

Two areas I've been struggling at lately is getting MAX dollar amount when I have a very strong hand after the flop and when I have TOP pair.

How do you play the following situation. You have As Qs The Flop is 9s 6s 2s

What do you do? If you bet big...everyone folds. If you check...everyone checks and may catch a boat. Lately I been letting people stay in cheap only to lose to a FULL BOAT. OR bet big and everyone folds. Looking for advice to try to maximize $$$

Also, TOP Pair. How do ypu play this? I'll have A 7, and FLOP will be A T 3. I will bet and get raised. Seems like I either stay in and lose...or Fold and lose to a worse hand.

Thanks

If you flop the nut flush and worry about a boat the whole time, you might want to reconsider playing poker. That is an AMAZING hand. Personally, i would check and HOPE another spade comes out so someone with the king (or jack, or whatever) would think they had it. Flopping monster hands and worrying about BIGGER monster hands is for the birds, IMO.

If you have A7, be careful as your kicker sucks, not to mention the Ax limpers that are all over the place. What happened before the flop, did anyone raise? If so, i probably wouldn't have even been in that hand, but if i was i'd be VERY careful as that might imply AK AQ AJ, a PP that hit a set, etc.

Hope i could help, i'm still pretty new at this as well, so you may not want to listen to me, these are just my opinions.

Originally Posted by RUNHARD

Also, TOP Pair. How do ypu play this? I'll have A 7, and FLOP will be A T 3. I will bet and get raised. Seems like I either stay in and lose...or Fold and lose to a worse hand.

Thanks

You wonder why you have A7. Then you wonder why you bet A7. Then you fold. This is why hands like Ax are hard to play post flop. You don't know how good your kicker is, but you have to assume it's beat. So if you're gonna assume it's beat then why are you playing the hand? If you're suited I'm ok with seeing a cheap flop. I'm even OK with you seeing an expensive flop if you know the player you're up against and feel you can beat him post flop without making you hand, or if you feel like you have the implied odds to make your hand and take his stack.

I folded a nut flush a couple days ago and my opponent turned over a straight flush. I had put him on at least a king high flush on the turn (the board was paired), and the river gave a straight flush to a player with the king, so I check-folded when he made a large bet on the river (there had been significant action on prior betting rounds).