Quote Originally Posted by Rondavu
Hand #1:
It's tough when you flop a good hand with an ace on the board if your opponent doesn't have an ace. The solution is to act afraid of the ace yourself, and hope your opponent tries to push you off. You do this NOT by checking, but by betting the perfect amount. I usually bet 1/2 pot or a little less. Not so little to look like value, but not so much to rep too hard. Just enough to bait him. It's an artform to know exactly what amount is right for what opponent. This is probably the biggest fishing parallel in poker. Checking an ace flop looks suspicious, because repping an ace is such a consistent occurance. You have to rep it to some extent.
This is one of the best ways to lay a trap. You cont bet when you have nothing, and you check when you have a monster. Therefore, you bet when you have a monster and totally throw them off. But unfortunately, it gets more folds than not when you're the preflop raiser and in a heads up battle. Your opponent will either have to have a draw or a pocket pair or be REALLY aggressive AND decide that this is the time they want to make a move on you. Sometimes, they just don't feel like it's the right time and since the pot is still small, they just let you have it.

However, it also depends on your image. If you're laggy then this trap works a lot better obviously.

I try this trick a lot and I've found that checking works better most of the time (albeit not nearly as brilliant though). The reason is because if they have the draw, they'll bet it. If they want to bluff you, they'll bet it. If they have the ace, they'll bet it. Better to check it and then rep a bluff or the 2nd pair on the turn. Honestly, 90% of the time they have to have at least something to continue. So better to give them another chance at it.