Would you have slowed down sooner?

[Nate tha' Great]

Another $5/$10 Party hand. My main opponent in this hand (UTG+1) is quite loose, not tremendously aggressive, but has been on a bit of a run.

I'm dealt A /images/graemlins/spade.gif K /images/graemlins/heart.gif in the big blind. UTG+1 limps, and it's folded to me. I raise. UTG 3-bets after limping. I cap.

Flop is T /images/graemlins/spade.gif 6 /images/graemlins/heart.gif K /images/graemlins/spade.gif. I bet, he raises, I 3-bet, he caps.

Another K came on the turn and everything played out how you'd expect it to from there, including a pissy comment or three from UTG+1, who had AA.

The only hands that were ahead of me on the flop were AA and KK. I've seen players limp-reraising on these tables with sh*t. But should I have backed off sooner? I was intending to default into call-down mode on the turn before the K came.

And for that matter, should I have gone for the check-raise on the turn? I thought it was fairly obvious that I had AK or KK and that UTG+1 would have certainly called me down to the end, but perhaps not provided me with the opportunity for the c/r.

[crockpot]

i think you should have flat called his raise on the flop and check/called from there. remember, he is likely ahead of you, and if he isn't ahead he will probably keep betting anyway. you may want to bet into him on the river if you think he will check behind with a hand like AQ.

i'd be more inclined to check-raise on the turn against a typical opponent, but not too passive. the very passive one might check behind with aces. against the aggressive player, go for three bets by betting out.

[me454555]

The 3 bet on the flop might have been a bit excessive. You capped preflop and bet out the flop. After he raised you on the flop hes screaming "I have tptk beat". Judging by his preflop actions, you gotta figure hes got AA, KK, or AK. Either way why raise?

Once the 3rd K falls on the turn, you can eliminate KK. I think betting out here is the right play b/c I don't think you'll get a chance to c/r in the spot.

[Louie Landale]

You seem to be missing a key piece of information: What's he think you have?

- Louie

[Nate tha' Great]

What's he think I have when I bet into him on the flop? Given the cards in his hand and on the board, and how I've bet the hand so far, there are:

- 6 ways that I have AK.
- 3 ways that I have KK.
- 1 way that I have AQ /images/graemlins/spade.gif, though I might not have capped with it preflop.
- 1 way that I have AJ /images/graemlins/spade.gif, ditto.
- 3 ways that I have TT, ditto.
- 12 ways that I have QQ or JJ, though I might not have bet into the flop with those hands.
- 1 way that I have AA.

So he figures he's *probably* ahead, and in the case of the big straight/flush draws, he certainly wants to get his bets in while he can.

I probably shouldn't have 3-bet the flop.

I'm not entirely sure that *he* should have capped the flop after my 3-bet.

But the thing about these Party shorthanded tables is that they don't always play out so rationally. A lot of the marginal decisions are made based on player reads, momentum, instinct, and guts, and you don't usually notice when you've made a bad read until a hand like this comes back to bite you.