Overdefending with K9s

[Guy McSucker]

So this guy raises my small blind from the button for the 19th time running. I have K9s and decide to defend. I don't read him as a particularly loose or maniacal player but he does like a button raise.

I three-bet preflop, BB drops, button caps. The bounder!

Flop is AJ9 with none of my suit. Woo, I paired. 8.5SB in the pot.

What's my line?

Guy.

[Nate tha' Great]

[ QUOTE ]
Flop is AJ9 with none of my suit. Woo, I paired. 8.5SB in the pot.

[/ QUOTE ]

I peel and hope to improve or to get a free card/cheap showdown. Depends on how he plays. The fact that you haven't defended much lends legitimacy to his cap.

[Guy McSucker]

So you check-call, which is clear, and miss the turn.

Check-fold or peel again?

Guy.

[etizzle]

well realistically you're checking hoping he checks too.

If he bets I think you have to fold.

[Nate tha' Great]

Probably check-fold unless

a) I've got some reason to believe that he's getting out of line with his caps.

and/or

b) I have a solid enough read on his postflop play where I think he'll usually check behind on the river those times that I have a better hand (against KQ, 88, 77 maybe).

[Michael Davis]

I don't think defending with K9s here is much of a decision.

-Michael

[wheelz]

I like calling the flop. We might have 5 outs (running straight possiblity too), we might even have the best hand, if we don't we might get to see the river for free, and we can fold more safely UI to a turn bet I think, whereas the flop bet by the button is automatic.

[PokrLikeItsProse]

Your opponent has an almost automatic bet if you check, no matter what he actually holds.

I think that occasionally, definitely a minority of the time in which you find yourself in this spot, you should check-raise and call if three-bet planning to fold if you don't improve on the turn. You probably wouldn't do this against a player who would stubbornly call you down with KK, but you should consider it against a player who would call your check-raise and fold KK on the turn if you bet out again.

There is a reasonable chance that your opponent does not like that ace on the flop, especially if he might cap with pairs as weak as 77.

[Klepton]

c/c flop
c/f turn if he bets
if he checks and we see the river, i'm c/cing again, hoping he'll bluff

[Nate tha' Great]

[ QUOTE ]
Your opponent has an almost automatic bet if you check, no matter what he actually holds.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's true that most opponents will go ahead and follow through with that turn bet with both weaker and stronger hands alike. Indeed, on a board like this one, there's a lot of incentive for opponent to bet if he has a hand like 88 since he may weed out overcard+straight draws or occasionally get a fold from a hand like Hero's. Fewer opponents will continue to bet a hand they believe to be worse on the river.

Again, however, since we *haven't* engaged the opponent alot in blind battles, I'm more inclined to give him credit for having hit the board after his cap and am not going to force him to bet the river. It also hurts some that the K isn't all that clean of an out; you'd actually prefer to have 98s than K9s here.

[sthief09]

I wouldn't say 3-betting K9s here is exactly getting out of line, but that's probably near the line of what you shoudl and shouldn't defend. the SB against a raise is one spot where I try not to [censored] around too often. whenever I do I end up getting owned and hating myself