Bad play, bad beat, or what??

[Grisgra]

I can't get the Converter to work on the hand, but here was the basic situation:

VERY early in the $30 SNG on Paradise. 4th or 5th hand. I get KQo in the CO (that's one off the button, right?)

Folded to the two people before me, they each call for 10, I raise to 40. First mistake? I'm pretty sure I've got the best hand -- if either of them had a real hand they'd probably have raised.

First caller folds, second caller "Random Guy" calls. It's HU.

FLOP:
6 /images/graemlins/spade.gif 4 /images/graemlins/club.gif K /images/graemlins/heart.gif

Pot is $85.

He bets $65, I raise $300. He calls.

Second mistake on my part? Should I have gone all in? Raised less?

Turn: T /images/graemlins/diamond.gif

He checks, I go all in, trying to win the monster pot right there.

He calls, flips over KT, I'm out of the SNG first.

This has happnened to me SEVERAL times recently, I have to think that I'm making stupid mistakes here, and it's not just beats. So how should have I played it on all streets?

[realbad101]

I think this is a tough one. The 40 raise is ok. I don't like his call with KT. Thus hard to put him on KT. More like a medium pocket pair. I think a raise to 200 would have gotten your message accross just as well. Alarms go off when he calls it (I don't like his call by the way). I would try to get to the river as cheap as possible and let go if he shows any aggression. I think the all in is a bit much with top pair 2nd kicker this early.

[MrFeelNothin]

I dont usually like to play TP for all my chips, especially early in a SNG and especially when i dont have top kicker. I would have just limped with KQ preflop, though raising wasn't really bad. I would have raised smaller on the flop, probably 150 or 200, then lead out smaller(not all-in) on the turn. If he checkraises me on the turn I'm folding. Its a very conservative line, but early in a SNG I dont want to put all my chips on this one.

[wjmooner]

I would slow down because it is very early in the SnG and you have KQo. You don't have aces or kings, you have KQo. I would rarely raise KQo at a full table early in a SnG. I don't like the huge raise either on the flop. But when he calls your raise you should be worried he has you beat and is just hoping you give him all your money.

Sure in this case the guy spiked the ten on the turn, but the villian probably plays the hand the same way if he flopped a set.

There were some posts a long time, like 6-7 months ago, about big pot, small pot hands. Top pair good kicker is NOT a Big pot hand early in a SnG.

C

[Kopefire]

You're really over playing top pair here.

The 40 dollar bet is ok.

The 300 bet is probably over-playing. Very early suggests blinds of 15/30 or 25/50. So you're putting 10x the BB out there. That kind of bet should come from somthing a little closer to the nuts than what you have.

And honestly, after he calls the 300 bet I've got to put him on at least a big K. You don't tell us his position, but if it's EP, you have to put him on at least as good a hand as you have. At best you have a split pot, so you're going all-in when the betting should be telling you you don't have an edge.

When he checks to you I'd be tempted to check, but if you're going to bet, I'd bet no more than the pot.

Top pair just isn't a hand you want to expose too many chips too at a full table.

[stupidsucker]

I am not certain how the blind structure is at paradise. At party I almost always fold KQ in the first 2 rounds. I limit my play to PPs looking for a set, AK, AQ, AA-QQ.

You had him beat preflop, and flop, and he caught a lucky turn card. I wouldnt rate your play terrible here at all, but when he called that big raise on the flop you should be very careful from there on out. In this case he just got lucky, but he could have as easily flopped a set, or 2pair already. You shouldnt risk all your chips on TPGK.

[Grisgra]

My "This guy is a fish"-ometer had kicked in so I really didn't think he had a set or better kicker, but I WAS worried that he had already made two-pair. K6 or such. On the other hand, if that was the case on the flop, he might well have reraised all-in.

I think that in general I should have raised less (maybe $200) and then checked the turn through -- probably is that I'm getting pot-committed at that point, and if he doesn't have two-pair I don't want to give him a free card to get it.

If I have KQ, the turn is a T, let's say the river is any sort of brick, how big a bet do I call on his part? I'll have about 750 at that point. If he bets 250, do I call? 200? 100? Obviously I fold to an all-in.

[Kopefire]

that's the problem with the 300 bet -- it's making a commitment to the pot your hand doesn't really deserve.

Let's say instead of 300 you bet in 150. It's still a nice big bet, and it would probably get about the same folds.

Now if he checks and you want to bet the turn, you can come back for another 150 and give him a chance to get out.

As for the river . . . check and if he comes back with much more than 4 or 5x BB then fold.

The point with this hand is that you really don't have much. Top pair and a good kicker isn't a hand you want to go to battle with at a full table.

[patrick dicaprio]

if you raise on the flop and get called with top pair second kicker and the blinds are small i dont think you would be that far wrong if you never risked all of your chips. there is no reason at all to push here since only a hand that beats you will call.

Pat