KXo in BB

[Trix]

Party Poker 1/2 Hold 'Em (10 handed) converter

Preflop: Hero is BB with 3[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img].
UTG calls, UTG+1 folds, UTG+2 folds, MP1 folds, MP2 calls, MP3 folds, CO calls, Button folds, SB folds, Hero checks.

Flop: (4.5 SB) K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], 5[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], Q[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(4 players)</font>
Hero bets, UTG calls, MP2 calls, CO calls.

Turn: (4.25 BB) A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(4 players)</font>
Hero bets, UTG folds, MP2 calls, CO raises, Hero folds, MP2 calls.

River: (9.25 BB) 8[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
MP2 checks, CO bets, MP2 folds.

Final Pot: 10.25 BB

I have a hard time with these hands. I considered checking turn. Any comments ?

[Henke]

I don't like checking the turn here. What do you do if everyone checks to CO that bets?

However, a play that I sometimes make in this situation is checking the flop and seing how things develop. If there comes a bet from late pos (preferably CO in this case), I would c/r. Otherwize it depends on the pot-size and my read on the player that bet.

[Trix]

I do the checking too, but against 3 players and my toppair beeing Kings I´d rather bet out.

[ProfLupin]

I think you played this fine. I don't like checking the turn because it gives someone with a queen the liberty to bet and try to get you to fold your better hand.

[CPA]

Would you fold to a raise after you bet the flop? I think I would, but just checking.

Also, what would you say the cutoff is between checking and betting out? 4 others, more?

[Lou Krieger]

The real trouble with playing hands such as K-3 is that when you flop to your king, you have such a weak kicker that you have to play the hand fairly passively, even to the point where you must release it to a bet and a riase or often to a bet and a call.

Because of that, this is the kind of hand where you stand to win a little or lose a lot. From my perspective, to play a hand like K-3 aggressively, the flop has to hit you twice, and the odds against that happening are nearly prohibitive.

It's OK to play it, I suppose, if you have only once caller on the flop, or maybe two, but beyond that this is a tough hand to play, and a tough situation to really know where you're at, and who wants that?

______
Lou Krieger
Raise your game with Lou Krieger, author of "Internet Poker: How to Plan and Beat Online Poker Games," at Royal Vegas Poker.
http://www.royalvegaspoker.com/lou

[Trix]

yep, I would have folded to a raise with this board.
[ QUOTE ]
Also, what would you say the cutoff is between checking and betting out? 4 others, more?


[/ QUOTE ]
Well this depends on lots of stuff. Do they Raise with a K ?, do they Bet it if checked to ?, will they raise with a draw ? how likely is it that someone have limped with a K or something that makes a better hand ? and so on.
But at party micro tables 4+ might be good, especially if you know that one of the LP players will bet a wide range of hands, 2. pair, flushdraw, straight draw, overcard, pock pair....

[StellarWind]

Really, what are the odds that none of your three opponents has an ace or a king? Even against random hands it's only about 50%. But many of your original nine opponents play all aces and will call the flop with an ace overcard. They also like kings but not enough to raise the flop with a random kicker.

The new draws on the board don't help either.

There are only 4.25 BB in the pot and a showdown will cost 2-3 BB. It really hurts that you are out-of-position here. I think checkfolding the turn is fine.

[ScottTheFish]

I would check/call the flop, check/fold the turn. You don't want to bet into this turn. Maybe you get raised and have an easy fold, but often you will only get called by Aces with crappy kickers, and it costs you 2 BB to find out you're behind instead of 1.

[StellarWind]

Lou,

I'm a long-time duplicate bridge player who never gave poker a thought until I saw Poker for Dummies in a bookstore and bought it on a lark. It's the perfect book for its purpose. It gave me a sound overview and inspired me to want to learn more. I owe you one.

I approve of Trix's flop bet with K3 at microlimits. It's not a great hand, but I would think it is a small favorite to be best at the moment. The kind of opponents we play against will routinely call the flop and often continue to call with overcard ace, gutshots, underpairs, and worse. And of course the hands they limp with are terrible to begin with. I figure that when my opponents are this loose-passive, I can afford to lose a lot of the time and still make a nice profit. That Trix's opponents were 3-for-3 in calling this flop exemplifies my point. It's typical, yet I seriously doubt that more than one of those calls would "pass inspection" given the board and pot odds.

Now when the ace comes on the turn, all of those junk aces suddenly come back to haunt me. Time to hit the road.