How was my play?

[SoBeDude]

Paradise 5-10

I'm UTG+1 with KQ suited and I open raise.

Folded all the way around to the Big blind who 3 bets me. I call. BB is an unknown to me.

Flop comes 2 A 3 Rainbow.

BB comes out betting, I raise representing aces.

He thinks and calls.

Turn is an 8, completing the rainbow. He checks, I bet, he thinks again and calls.

River is a 2. He checks, I bet, he thinks and thinks, and folds.

Who likes my play? And why on the flop did I feel confident I'd win the hand? What hand did I put him on?

-Scott

[Joe Tall]

My guess is that he had JJ. Great play Scott, when it's heads up and you've got position, I love this play but when you get check raised on the turn...fold.

Have a good weekend!
-Joe

The fact that you raised PF and everyone folded to BB, he probably thought he can steal it from you. A raise heads up on a scary flop was a nice move to gauge an unknown opponent. His pause before calling could have given you the guts to go all the way. Nice play, I think.

[RockLobster]

Hey Scott--

I don't think he'd 3-bet the UTG+1 raiser w/o something decent... I'm guessing TT - JJ, maybe QQ.

I think you played this great. Once you 3-bet the flop, the other bets were automatic. Since he believed you had big slick (I would think that's what he believed), he should have folded his pair on the turn.

Nicely done!

[marbles]

Guess I'm alone on this one, but I really don't like the play against an unknown. At the flop, you ask yourself 2 questions:
1. Is my opponent capable of folding a weak ace or decent pocket pair?
2. Am I willing to risk up to 3 more BB's to find out?

I'll make this play IFF I can very confidently say yes to both questions. Naturally, I can't say yes with any confidence if my opponent is an unknown.

[rigoletto]

well played Scott. Once you decide to raise the flop it's important that you follow through. It's a risky play - so don't make it all the time - but if you fold all the time in these situations you'll get runover by observant opponents.

I think this shows some of the spunk that your game (IMO) has been missing - good work!