KK in the BB, playing good hands early

6 handed game. Tight player raises first in. Loose player cold calls. Rest fold to me and I three bet with pocket kings. Both call and we see the flop three handed.


Flop is Td 7c 3d. I bet and the tight player raises, loose cold calls, I three bet and both call.


The turn and river were small trashy cards. I bet both and they both called each time. I won with unimproved kings. The loose player showed JTo and the tight player mucked, I can only assume he had a smaller pocket pair, probably queens or jacks.


I played this the same way I do when I flop a set from early position. I bet out and hope to get raised, so I can reraise. This way, I make three small bets on the flop, then one big bet on the turn and river from each caller, for a total of 3.5 BB. Given that I three bet pre-flop, I absolutely MUST bet. I can't expect a check-raise to work, and my hand is vulnerable. I absolutely must not give anyone with a hand like Ax a free card, especially if they would have folded to a bet.


Dave in Cali

I agree with your analyses and I play exactly the same.


One question though: Will you 3-bet AK in this situation?


I guess never. (I'm not saying there's something wrong with that, just want to know if my deduction is right)


Regards

I could not agree more.

I would rarely three bet AK from the SB in any situation except against a steal raise. I might occasionally do it if suited and the pot is multiway, but unsuited, I prefer to see the flop and possibly check-raise if I flop a pair.