Playing the blinds vs a steal -- 3-bet K9s in the SB?

[MisterKing]

So this is a pretty straightforward question... I'm not intending to open up the whole subject of playing shorthanded in the SB vs a steal, since that's been thoroughly discussed here and is a huge question in and of itself.

So, against a fairly typical, frequently stealing and semi-tricky 6-max player (lets say 27/11/1.4) that's put in a steal raise OTB, what's your line with K9s if you wake up with it in the SB? Pretty straightforward 3-bet to shut the BB out, no?

As standard practice, there are very few (if any) hands that I'd just call with in the SB when facing a steal, since giving BB 5:1 to call seems just awful.

[ALL1N]

Your example isn't great, because against a 27/11 a fold is probably correct (assuming 10/20 blind structure), but K9s is the type of hand that I don't feel compelled to shut out the BB with. Of course, raise/call is largely dependant on the BB's style/ability.

[Ray Of Light]

It depends on two factors... the kind of BB player behind you and the kind of Button player in front of you.

Argument for 3-Betting

I have none. Basically, this player is tight (27), rarely raises for a shorthanded game (11), and is passive for a shorthanded game (1.4), so my assumption here would be that he is not raising light, so I would not 3 bet my K9s against him at all (unless I had a non-GT note about him that would make me think otherwise).

Argument for calling

If the BB was the kind of player who is very loose in the blinds, I would call, assuming that he would also call the raise. With K9s, even if your hand was dominated, you would be getting 6 to1, which is better than the 5 to 1 odds you'd need to call the riase, BUT this is only if you are pretty sure that the BB will call as well.

Argument for folding

As he is not a player who raises light, AND as you can't be quite sure that the BB will call and come along for the ride, I would fold in this spot, and wait for a better spot for attack. With stats as tight as his, he is a better candidate for stealing from, rather than defending against.

[aslowjoe]

5/10 I would fold pre flop.