KK in SB with a board that gets scary.

[srvollmer]

HELP! Im in the SB with KK, and that's where the fun begins and ends. I think I played this hand safely...but that's not necessarily correct play. This is a HUGE part of my game that I want to improve. Any responses will be greatly appreciated.

I have been at this table for a little while (4 orbits) and I have been really tight. I've been aggressive with my premium hands. No reason why anyone would think I'd play junk. Shown down QQ, AKo and AKs...all were good. That's it. Villain seems to be pretty good. Although he does have a tendency to call raises in MP-LP with Axo...etc. AND he gets aggressive post-flop.

With that said...here goes:
Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $.25 BB (9 handed) Big Ups (http://www.selachian.com/tools/bisonconverter/hhconverter.cgi)

BB ($38.25)
UTG ($14.55)
UTG+1 <font color="purple">(Villain)</font> ($25.60)
MP1 ($1.45)
MP2 ($33.90)
MP3 ($12.70)
CO ($51.90)
Button ($19.15)
Hero ($37)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K/images/graemlins/heart.gif, K/images/graemlins/club.gif.
UTG folds, UTG+1 <font color="purple">(Villain)</font> calls $0.25, MP1 folds, MP2 calls $0.25, MP3 calls $0.25, CO folds, Button calls $0.25, <font color="CC3333">Hero raises to $1.85</font>, BB folds, UTG+1 <font color="purple">(Villain)</font> calls $1.60, MP2 folds, MP3 folds, Button folds.

Flop: ($4.70) 7/images/graemlins/heart.gif, T/images/graemlins/spade.gif, 8/images/graemlins/spade.gif <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
<font color="CC3333">Hero bets $4.7</font>, Villain calls $4.70.

Turn: ($14.10) A/images/graemlins/diamond.gif <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
Hero checks, Villain checks.

River: ($14.10) Q/images/graemlins/spade.gif <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
Hero checks, <font color="CC3333">Villain bets $14.1</font>, Hero folds.

Final Pot: $28.20
<font color="green">Main Pot: $14.10, won by Villain.</font>
<font color="green">Pot 2: $14.10, returned to Villain.</font>

The flop looked good to me. I debated pushing, but thought i could eek out a few more dollars. Then came the Ace and I locked up. I put him on a draw or Axs. Maybe I was wrong, I was too big of a wimp to throw a bet to find out. Then the flush draw completed...and I put my tail even further between my legs (really, it's possible!). Please critique me and don't spare my feelings.

Many thanks,
srvollmer

[telltale]

This is a question you might want to ask yourself when playing .25NL. Is he the kind of player who will call a reasonable raise after he's put "any" money into the pot. T-8-7 is potentially a very dangerous flop for you because its suited with straight (slightly remote) potential. But T-8-7 is high enough to reasonably believe a pre-flop caller would take with 77-88-TT. AA, AK or AQ seems unlikely because you said he was Aggressive, and therefore would have raised with those hands in early position AND AA he probably would have reraised you, so you can eliminate that one. I think your fold probably saved you money but not because of the Ace on the Turn. Try pot betting the Turn, and then see what he does. If he moves in on you then obviously you fold. GL.

[srvollmer]

When he calls my bet, do I check the river? Seems like a waste of money...but that's why I'm here trying to learn a thing or three.

[Zag]

I don't fault any part of your play here, though I think I would have bet a tiny bit more preflop. I have found that, when I consistantly make these laydowns like the one you made here, I am frustrated because I think that the opponent might just be taking advantage of weakness I have shown, but I also find that I finish the evening ahead. On the other hand, when I start to tell myself that they are bluffing me and I start to call these, I find at the end of the evening that I am down. I can never point to a single hand, and I can even point to some hands where I called correctly, but the fact remains that I find I am down at the end of the night more often than not, when I am playing that way.

(I'm not entirely sure that there is the causal relationship that I am implying, here. Another possible factor is that I start playing that way because I am frustrated over getting a horrible run of bad cards. I am collecting more data.)

The only thing you might have done differently, especially if you know that he is LAG and will possibly try to steal it, is to make a blocking bet on the river. Something like $4 or $5 into the $14 pot can look either like a milking bet or a blocking bet. Often if the other player has something pretty good (but not the nuts) that he would have bet big, he will just call. This gets you to a cheaper showdown. Note that this should only be used if you are convinced that the other player is tricky enough to bluff on the end sometimes, you do not plan to call, and your hand is strong enough to beat some of the weaker calling hands. Also, if you use this play, you have to sometimes use the same bet as a milking bet with your big hands.

[srvollmer]

I understand exactly what you mean. I try to not let myself get frustrated over hands like this.

Excellent advice. Thank you very much.