putting down the hammer? a question for Fnord

Ok, I need a little more info Just what exactly do you mean, and just how big is this hammer you speak of?

Lets say I'm in middle position and am holding AQo in a .25/.50 nl ring. I raise it up to 2.oo, and get 2 callers. AQJ flops, 2 of which are suited. There is 6 or so dollars in the pot, does putting down the hammer mean betting 12, 18, 24?

Thank you all in advance for any advice you may give.

Oh, btw, I think it is more correctly Chnevrolet, not Cnhevrolet

HA I KNOW HOW TO MOD NOW!!!!!
{moved FROM sit n go tourney tactics}

I generally bet 2/3 to 3/4 pot in this spot because if I raised pre-flop I ALWAYS bet about that much as a balance issue. It's a careful blance between protecting hands I want to protect and putting pressure on my opponents to hit when I miss.

If I don't care about balance or don't have the initative I just pot it. Unless that would pot-strike me, then I might just push.

Not exactly the answer you were looking for, but probably more applicable.

Drop the hammer!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At it's simplest form: make a hand, and bet it hard. Don't be overly afraid of 'chasing players away.' Note that this does not mean betting 4x the pot size though...

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I generally take "drop the hammer" to basically mean don't be always paranoid that the opponent has 2 pair or a set. Bet like you have no fear, keep it controled though obviously.

Originally Posted by Ripptyde

Fnord folds A/Qos pre flop

...and calls $20 pre-flop against Ultimate George with KJo. The answer to any NLHE question is "it depends."

Originally Posted by Tomazores

Ok, I need a little more info Just what exactly do you mean, and just how big is this hammer you speak of?

Lets say I'm in middle position and am holding AQo in a .25/.50 nl ring. I raise it up to 2.oo, and get 2 callers. AQJ flops, 2 of which are suited. There is 6 or so dollars in the pot, does putting down the hammer mean betting 12, 18, 24?

Thank you all in advance for any advice you may give.

Oh, btw, I think it is more correctly Chnevrolet, not Cnhevrolet

In this situation, I bet about $5. My goal is not to at this point is not to "drop the hammer" but to protect my hand. Top two pair is a huge hand, but it is not invincible, so you do need to protect it. Betting 2x, 3x, 4x the pot is a great way to only get action from hands that have you beat. In NL ring games, I almost never bet more than the size of the pot. Think about it, if you come out firing $24 into a $6 pot, only AA, QQ, JJ, and KT will stick around. All other weaker hands instafold.

I think the term "dropping the hammer" referrs to later streets when you have a lock-type hand. In your example, say you bet $5 and get one caller. Turn is an ace. Most beginners would check here because they just turned the nuts and don't want to scare their opponent off. However, this is the perfect time to drop the hammer. Say you bet about $10 and he calls. River is a blank. Now the pot is juicy and you can put in a big value bet, like $20-25. The problem with slowplaying is that you don't get paid off if you don't put money in the pot. Hope this helps a little.

Dropping the hammer doesn’t have to be reserved for when you have the nuts. I have seen players excellent at making reads and dropping the hammer (going all in) exactly when they have the edge. On fishy tables this works well because you get called by worse hands. On good tables this would not work. Counterplay relies specifically on dropping the hammer (in this case, betting large) when you have an edge but not the nuts.

Originally Posted by Fnord

Originally Posted by Ripptyde

Fnord folds A/Qos pre flop

...and calls $20 pre-flop against Ultimate George with KJo. The answer to any NLHE question is "it depends."

Fnord - 1
Rippy - 0

QQ in late position, 5 limpers. You raise the pot, and 1 guy calls. He's calling station, likes to call bluffs and thinks "big bet means big bullshit". He has 30BB stack (like other lemmings that like to buy-in for shallow) and after he called 10BB raise he checks to you.

Flop is 447. He checks to you.

Drop the hammer, if he will call you with any overcards. If he called with "Rippy" then so be it.

Or:
You pot-raise with JJ in the button and get 2 callers. Flop is rags with pair (334 or something) and UTG bets the pot. Would he lead it with full house? Maybe but more likely is that he has some vulnerable hand and likes that flop. You are worried only of QQ, and finally decided to drop the fucking hammer for 80BB. He thinks, thinks thinks and calls with his 99. It's read based, "he isnt capable of folding overpairs" and "he standard raises his big pairs" combined, then if you trust your reads, you maximize your EV by just putting AI. No need to have set, just good ole read and jacks are fine.