final 5, PP $50+5 NL HE tourney, flop set of kings

Gentlemen,


it's a $50+$5 PP tourney, I am in the lead with about $3k, and blinds are 30/60.


UTG with about $1k raises to 180, I see my KK and smooth call, BB with about $1k calls.


Flop comes K-T-8.


UTG bets $60, I call, intending to go all in on the turn. BB calls.


River is a 6, and BB bets $60. UTG folds. I put 700 or so more in to put him all in and he shows me 97s to take the pot when the board doesn't pair.


If I slow-play AA or KK pre-flop, I generally make my big move on the flop, but this is the first time in my life I've done that move and flopped top set.


Should I have gone all in on the flop? Or was I right to wait until the turn?


M.

As you found out, it is dangerous to slowplay. Now that doesn't mean you should never do it. Not at all. However, you have to remember you're taking a risk to gain that bigger reward.


One reason to not just call preflop is to help knock-out or at least better define the hands held by the blinds and/or limpers. If you reraise preflop to 450-600 here, it is pretty unlikely the big blind calls with 97.


Of course, with the open-ender, it is also pretty unlikely that the big blind releases if you raise on the flop, especially since he can't put you on a big hand (since you slowplayed preflop). So, unless you reraise preflop, this hand is likely destined to go bad.


As it is, if you go all-in on the flop, he's getting 2:1 to call and is only a little worse than 2:1 to make the straight, so he should call, especially since he might win without making that straight (if you're bluffing and he pairs, etc.). By waiting until the turn, if he had missed his draw that first time, then he need to release since he's getting nowhere near the odds to draw to his hand. So, against a good draw, you're often better off to wait until the turn to make your move (as long as you can recognize when they hit the turn and when they missed). ;-)


I generally reraise preflop with your hand, unless it's very clear that I will play the hand heads-up against the raiser. For example, if he had made it 300 to go preflop, then I know the blinds aren't (or at least shouldn't be) calling with mediocre hands. The raise is too big compared to the blinds and their stacks to call with a mediocre hand, and be right to do so. Another time I might slowplay is if I'm the blind myself. Otherwise, it is usually better to reraise preflop.


A better time to slowplay is postflop. By then you have a much better idea how good your hand is likely to be at showdown. So, for example, if you had made it 500 preflop, and got 1 or 2 callers, the flop you got is good enough to slowplay. There are a lot of potential straight draws, but most of them wouldn't get played for T500 preflop. In that case, the card I would fear most is a J and then a Q, as these make straight for AQ and AJ, respectively.


Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

> UTG with about $1k raises to 180, I see my KK and smooth call,


I don't like this play at all. You're the chip-leader with 5 pls. left and there's already T270 (about 10% of you stack) in the pot when it comes to you. You should raise here and don't take any chances. You don't want to risk a multiway pot with your kings as with an effective stack of T1000, you know that your chips will end up in the middle unless an ace flops (and even then you might still fold a winner).


If UTG has a legetimate hand, chances are he will call you anyway as he already got 1/5 of his stack in and he might think that there's some chance you're stealing, but by moving in, at least you assure that you win the max when your hand holds up.


> Flop comes K-T-8. UTG bets $60, I call,


With 3 ppl. in the pot and a coordinated board like this, calling is suicidal. Getting better than 11:1, the BB will happily overcall with any gunshot. There is already T630 in the pot when it gets to you. If you move in now, you might still get action from toppair or better (which you have drawing dead) but you make it incorrect for an open-str8 draw to chase.


cu


Ignatius