Help!!

[alby_00]

I have a leak that I gotta fix. After reviewing my last weeks play I noticed a glaring problem... I am losing my stack way to often with over pairs. twice in tourneys and twice at cash table I have been stacked by people calling my preflop raise then flopping trips. This may not sound to bad ..BUT I have only played about 8 tourneys and 3 hrs of cash table in last week so It constitutes a huge leak.

the worst thing is I have been betting my overpairs and the set holder hasn't even been betting just calling flop..turn ..river.....

everytime I am assumeing the villian has A 10 w a 10 high flop or QJ with a J high flop.

I have read enough to know I don't want to play huge all in pots with just top pair...But I keep doing it..

Here is a scenario.. 9 person table..blinds 200-400...stack 6400 me KK utg+1...raise to 1000 get 1 caller in position with a comparably stack...

Pot 2600... flop 2,6,10 rainbow.... I bet 1800 villian calls..

pot 6200.. turn Q... I have 3600 left what should I do? Have I misplayed this hand before this point?

at this point I probably push get called and see villians 10,10 or 6,6 and relize I am a 1 in 20 shot to keep playing...

Reason I am posting this is that this situation seems to come up fairly often in these forum games.. late in tourney with most having a stack between 10-20 bb and pot commitment coming fast when you play a hand... Should I be getting away from KK here or am I doomed in this situation? Be nice to here from some of the resident experts on this 1 since I am having the same problem at cash table( just ussually a little deeper stacked).. And I am planning on spending a few hrs at cash tables in Vegas as well as several tourney which are more $$ then I usssually play so it would be nice if I could remedy this leak before then.

[islandtime2]

I don't think you are doing anything wrong. Sounds like you are just going through a statistical bad streak. The only way you get away from the hands you are describing is if you have some special knowledge of the opponent and you know they absolutely only call that much with 2pr or better and that is going to be a rare situation. Or if you are in some tournament situation where you have set your goal to just survive to the money and you are ready to check and fold to any raise. If you are going for the win, and you do not have that special knowledge about your opponent, then you just have to play your big hands like you are doing. Invisible sets and unlikely straights bust even the top pros when you watch them on tv.

[alby_00]

Island that wasn't the magical answer I had hoped for..lol

[TeUnit]

you can adjust your buyin, adjust your raise size, take notes on pair flatters etc.

on the tourneys just evaluated the situation and your tournament equity, ie are you in first, last, on the bubble etc

with 20 bbps you have very little room to manuver, but in cash if you have 100bbs very dif situation

gl at the tables,

t

[lunarphase]

In any tourney if u actually get to a flop with an overpair with less than 20 bbs and they catch a set your gonna go broke its inevitable. If your over 40 bbs in a cash game or tourney u might want to exercise pot control on dry boards such as checking the turn and just calling a bet on the river or put in a small value bet than evaluate their raise. It seems like the best times to fire 2 barrels with overpairs are on either very dry boards where its doubtful they have a set such as a 2246 rainbow board or where its very wet and u want to charge them for their draws. It pretty much comes down to reads and that comes with experience.

[islandtime2]

"Use the Force, Alby "

[jsawe]

Agree with Teeunit and add the following. You have KK - a tricky hand to play because you want to squeeze out all the Ax types and get HU against PP or flusher runners, but still want action. A 1000 into a pot of 600 isn't going to do it - especially the way the game has changed. Either flatting and looking for a raise to re-raise or larger raise size raise to reduce the field is preferable. If a small PP calls and catches - such is poker. If you have any read on the player and he calls your C-Bet - then you enter into that nebulous world of the hard decision.

[alby_00]

What bet size preflop would you suggest. It seems 3bb and I never get any action on KK or AA. My standard raise in most situation is 2.5-3 times the BB. What do you figure the optimal bet size here is. I still think 2.5 bb is a pretty good bet here.

[ramster]

Nothing wrong with the pre-flop bet imo
but on a flop like that in a tourney i would be checking hoping to induce a bet
As far as the hand went i would say the turn is a good card and i would be jamming the pot
If i'm behind so be it

At the levels i play at cash games checking is very rarely a good idea with such a strong hand
I find its better to make the weaker players pay to see cards
If they've hit its just a case of taking it on the chin and reloading


I hear where you're coming from where you are worried that you have been outflopped but it happens to us all and like you i can sit here and say to myself "here comes the Ace" and it hits to give them the win
but you cant let that affect how you play future hands
You gotta play every hand on its own merits

[kardmania]

its kind of scary how this has evolved nothing but good answers

about the only consideration left underexposed is the difference in the random card generator on weekdays vs weekends