Puzzles
#16
C-bet Defence
Intermediate
40bb effective

The price a min-bet lays

One flop decision in the big blind, on a monotone board where every straight is already out. The bet is the smallest one legal — and that single fact changes which hands you are allowed to fold.

  1. Flop

Hand info

Seats
BB vs UTG
Street
Flop
Pot
6.5 bb
Effective stack
37.5 bb
Villain bet
1 bb
To call
1 bb

MTT, single raised pot, no ante. Blinds 0.5 / 1.

Pot6.5 BB
HERO ·BB
CHECK35 BB behind
1
UTG
BET34 BB behind
HJ
FOLD
CO
FOLD
D
BTN
FOLD
SB
FOLD

FLOP · 37.5BB EFFECTIVE

FLOP · BB CHECKS · UTG BETS 1BB

6-max table. Hero is BB with 37.5 big blinds effective. FLOP: Qh, Jh, Th. FLOP · BB CHECKS · UTG BETS 1BB. Hero holds As and Td.

Hand history

Pre-flop

  • UTGRaises to 2.5 bb
  • HJFolds
  • COFolds
  • BTNFolds
  • SBFolds
  • BBCalls 1.5 bb

Flop

  • BBChecks
  • UTGBets 1 bb

UTG opens to 2.5bb, it folds round, and you call from the big blind with A♠T♦. The flop is Q♥ J♥ T♥ — monotone, and every straight is already possible. You check and UTG bets the minimum: 1bb into 5.5bb. You hold bottom pair with the best kicker there is, plus a gutshot to the nut straight, and neither of your cards is a heart. It costs 1bb to see the turn.

What do you do facing the min-bet?