A Boat (Poker Hand)

A boat in a game of poker is three of a kind and two of a kind in the same hand, otherwise known as a Full House. Hitting a boat, particularly Hold'em can be a money spinner as often your opponents won't give you credit for more than a set, at best. As your opponents will often find it difficult to lay down a good hand, this increasing the amount of money you make from the hand.

If you hold a pair pre flop, up against one player without a pair, you are the favorite. For instance a pair of 7's (unsuited) against AK (suited) will win 51.95% of the time (55.25% is AK is unsuited). You are about an 8-1 shot to hit your boat pre flop, so every 8 pairs that you play, you will hit one. In order to make a full house the board will need to pair.

The best way to play small and medium pocket pairs, is to get in cheap and see a cheap flop, if you hit, you are quid's in and if you miss and face a bet (with over cards), fold and wait for a better hand. Once you make your trips and the board pairs, you will have made your Full House.

How to Play a Boat in Hold'em

There is no one correct way to play a boat or trips, in Hold'em. It's a monster hand and the aim should be not to scare your opponents off with wild bets. You want to slowly build the pot and disguise the fact you hold a monster. In limit games, you really do want to be extracting as much money as possible from your opponents as they find it more difficult to lay down marginal hands. Are the players on the table tight or calling machines? If you hit trips and you think your opponent has a piece of the flop, raise it up. If the board pairs, you have a perfectly disguised hand to inflict some real damage. For instance you hold 7-7 and the board comes 7-10-10. Any player with a 10 is likely in big trouble as he isn't folding to many bets. If you think that a bet is going to scare your opponents off, check the flop and pull the trigger on the turn or river (or both). Be mindful of your scare cards and don't go crazy when there is a potential straight flush on the board.

In no-limit Hold'em, the stakes are increased and there is more risk of going bust, for all players. Now you have to be a little more thoughtful as one wrong more could cost you your stack. Fortunately hitting a Full House is prime time and you won't often be losing to either a better hand or bigger Full House.