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3 situations, that happened recently, made me think.
1. I lost with 33 to 99, on a 2-3-9 flop. (and went out of SNG.)
2. I lost with 44 to 77, on a 4-7-7-x-x board. (Went out)
3. Won a very small pot with TT on a 3-7-T-Q-8 board.
The first two are examples of spots, where I was pretty sure I'm way ahead, and then I realized I'm way behind. The third is an example of a flopped set, that brought home almost nothing.
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Every time you play a poker hand there is usually the possibility of a monster under the bed, but that shouldn't stop you from being aggressive when you believe you have the best of it.
Set over set is pretty rare, and the only way around losing some or all of your chips in these situations is to fold to any raise when you have flopped a set that is not the current nuts. If you do that, you'll seldom lose to set over set, but you'll find yourself blinded out of a tournament very quickly.
Playing a hand and losing with it is not the end of the world. And if you can't find enough positive EV in a set, you'll almost never find a hand worth taking a stand on.
Look at the bright side. Flopping a set should cause you to silently jump for joy, not bemoan the possibilities of a bigger set just waiting to pounce on you.
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Lou Krieger
Raise your game with Lou Krieger, author of "Interrnet Poker: How to Play and Beat Online Poker Games," at Royal Vegas Poker.
http://www.royalvegaspoker/lou