So we already talked about how to mine for your set. Now let’s get to the fun part. What do you do when you hit it? This depends on two things.
- Your position
- Whether you were the preflop raiser or the preflop caller
IP as the Preflop Caller
You should be raising the preflop raiser’s cbet big or betting close to pot yourself if they don’t cbet.
IP as the Preflop Raiser
You should be cbetting big when they check to you or making a big raise if they lead.
OOP as the Preflop Caller
You should be check/raising big.
OOP as the Preflop Raiser
You should be cbetting big.
The above are the best lines to take with your set at the micros in my experience. They are very straightforward. There is nothing tricky about them. And they get the most money in the middle with the highest efficiency. I would suggest that you use these lines nearly every single time at the micros.
And when I say “raise big” I mean that you should make it 4x their bet size and sometimes more. This is assuming that they bet a reasonable amount however. If they make some probing min type of bet, then you will need to raise it a lot more.
If you are lucky enough to get a raise or re-raise out of them on the flop, you should re-raise them back 3x or just shove depending on stack sizes. Try to get all the money in the middle immediately. If you play your sets in the above manner you will maximize your winrate with them at the micros.
Example:
In LP you have,
A nit raises in EP and you call. The flop comes,
He makes a cbet.
You should make a big raise.
Example:
In the SB you have,
An SLP raises from MP and you call. The flop comes,
He makes a cbet.
You should make a big check/raise.
If these hands continue past the flop to the turn or river your strategy should be similar. Bet large and get the money in. Do not attempt a check/raise again on the turn. Just lead the turn. And lead it big. Find a way to get the money in. Hitting the pot button is usually the best way to go about that.
There will be a couple of fairly rare situations where you will have to alter your strategy on later streets. If the board runs out something ridiculous such as,
you will of course have to slow down and possibly even fold to a big bet on the river. However, barring something crazy like this happening your general strategy with sets should be bet, bet, shove. And this applies to both NL2 and NL5.
