LA Poker Classic - Shootout - did I misplay this?

[Scooterdoo]

LA Poker Classic at Commerce Casino. The event is a $330 NL Shootout. 21 Tables of 10 players. You play out your table until there is one player left and then final 21 players are in the money and play it out for the win.

There are a good deal of top pros at this tournament, but I draw a really good table. I'm with mostly unknowns and at least half of the players are not very good and I like my chances at this table. I'm the early chip leader at my table and continue to play strong throughout. I get good cards, make good reads, in my few all-in show downs I'm the favorite and they all hold up. Nothing unusual to report.

The hand in question:

We're down to the final 3. I have around 3500 chips, one opponent has 3500 and the 3rd player has around 1000 chips. Blinds are 50-100. I'm the BB. UTG/Dealer folds, SB raises to 200, I look down at KK.

SB is a solid player and he likes to slowplay hands. I haven't seen much, if any bluffing from him, and I don't think he's tried to steal many blinds so I do think he has a hand. He has folded and limped from the SB so I'm pretty sure he has something pretty good (A highcard or a wired pair). Actually, I sense a medium pair or AK-AT.

I think about All-in, but he'll probably only call with AA-JJ and maybe AKs. I decided to try and trap him by calling and if an A flops and he bets strong I'll fold. The flop comes 893 with two suits or something similar. He bets 200-300 and I push all-in (didn't want to mess around anymore and if he did have a draw wanted him to make it difficult for him. He calls and turns over 99 and I'm out.

He told me that if I pushed preflop he would have folded, but I really didn't like that option given the potential to bust him if I got the right flop. If he would have made a bigger bet preflop, say 400+ I would have definitely pushed preflop.

So did I make a mistake preflop? Against most players I would have raised a few hundred to test the strength of his hand preflop, but this guy was very careful and I assumed he would have folded preflop unless he had a good hand. Thinking about it now, perhaps I was trying to be too sneaky and it caught me. However, any bet other than a really big bet he probably would have called and we would have had the same circumstance.

How about post-flop. Should I have been worried about the set? Of course it was a possibility given my preflop read, but I felt it was worth the risk at the time. Would some of you have been more careful here and either called or raised to test his strength? Given the way I had seen him slow play and trap before he would have called all my bets through the river and then perhaps either bet big or put me all-in. Perhaps if the cards turned scary (flush or straight draws possiblities) he may have slowed down and I could have survived with some chips left.

[Scooterdoo]

Any comments?

[DougBrennan]

I think this is the risk you take every time you slowplay AA or KK. There are times it works out fine and the slowplay gets you some extra money. But those times that you get passed up by a lesser starting hand make you (me, at least) want to tear your eyes out.

Three handed I don't hate the slowplay here, but you have realize and accept in advance that you are making a gamble in order to increase your chip intake, and be prepared for the consequences, if any.

Doug

[sdplayerb]

Yes I think you made mistakes both pre and postflop. Especially in planning. So you called preflop to trap, to just pushin on the flop? You are giving him a free flop to try to take all your chips if he hits it.

Now, three handed he is going to open up, so he can't put you on KK just because you reraise, especially in an event that is winner takes all.
So I am reraising to get more chips in the pot. And I am not pushing all in as not much he can call with. But will raise enough that it isn't worth his while to try to flop a set (ie a call that would be good for you).
So I'd make it 700 to go.

But 3 handed, I don't see how I don't lose all my chips as he would likely call for 500 more and play according to the flop.

[Scooterdoo]

I hear you and it probably would have made sense to raise. I just felt that he was a very tricky opponent and I needed to trap him. I also had a big loss in a super-satellite the day before where I had KK, made a large raise, was called by AJ and lost my chips when an A flopped. This time it made sense (at the time) to slowplay my hand and get away from it if an A came on the flop and he bet strong. I was obviously hoping that he had either a medium to large pair under mine or an Ax and the x hit as high card on the board. The board appeared perfect for me, with the hope that he had TT-QQ or A9s or A8s. Anyway, it probably would have been better to raise, but the deception seemed like the right play at the time. Looking back, the only way that I wouldn't lose was to bet at least half of my stack.

Anyway, thanks for the comments. Your suggestion makes a lot of sense.

[sdplayerb]

Your welcome. KK is very tough. A seems to hit a lot too.