NL - Trouble on the flop

[FatLoser]

I find myself having problems with a situation that arises quite a lot.
I played in a 50+5 NL tourney at pokerstars and got myself into the situation I'm talking about.
Here is what happened.

Blinds are 15-30. UTG +1 raises to 60 (stack 2070). I'm in the cutoff seat and pick up As Kd (stack 1535). I raise to 220.
Button coldcalls (stack 1825). Blinds and original raiser folds. All players are unknown to me. Pot is 545.

Flop comes 8c 2d 7c.

I bet 300 and button raises me another 300. This is were my problem occurs, what do I do now??? I have 1015 left in my stack, meaning I have invested about 1/3 so far.

FatLoser

[Mackie]

There is a good chance you are drawing dead. I think fold is your best choice. The minimum raise sure looks like a trap. Yes, there's a chance he has a club draw or str8 draw or both and is making the minimum raise to get a free look at the river card. You could call the 300, and if a blank hits on the turn and he checks behind you, you could bet the river if another blank falls. Not knowing anything about the player, though, my choice would be to muck.

[MS Sunshine]

I don't see how you can call, you have no idea what his hand is and when you call, he will have a good idea where you are. Which is nowhere. I dislike his min. raise a lot.

How did it turn out?

MS Sunshine

[FatLoser]

I folded.

My "real" problem isn't just this particular hand but more the situation. I find myself often having to give up when I bet a flop I miss with two big cards and someone plays back at me. I don't like it at all but I don't think I can just give up and check-fold whenever I miss either. I don't know if there is a solution to this problem against unknown players but if it is I could sure use it!

FatLoser

Try not to use the word "whenever" too much when thinking about your NLHE strategy. One of the biggest keys to NLHE is not being readable. Meaning you can't do the same thing every time. If you usually check your overcards, but bet them 1/3 of the time, for instance, then when you do bet them, your opponents are more apt to believe you have an overpair when you do bet. Livewise, you should sometimes check-raise your overpairs, so that your opponents will be more afraid to bet into you when you check the flop after raising, occasionally earning you a free card. (also to get more money from them when they semi-bluff or bet a mediocre hand and now have to fold.

[ohkanada]

When you get a cold caller to your re-raise, most players have a middle pair ( maybe up to QQ). Many players with AK would re-raise. Of course knowing the cold caller would be helpful.

On the flop after you have bet, once you are raised muck seems the only choice. Seems silly to call a raise in that situation with nothing.

Re-raising all-in is the aggressive choice but would he muck an overpair? Most Pokerstars players I have seen wouldn't.

Ken Poklitar