[tripdad]

first, let me tell you that i am a successful player, and have been for over 2 1/2 years now. the thing is, though, i have always played so tight, it is hard for me to drag a big pot from people who i play with frequently. what i have relied on to win consistently in my live games are fish who come and go.

in this hand, the villain on the button is a regular, and the best player at the table. he has an uncanny ability to extract maximum value from his monsters, and rarely gets into a big pot without the best hand, or a monster draw.

the hand:

i am in the BB, and am 2nd largest stack at the table. the big stack is not involved in the hand. i have K [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]Q [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img].

there are 2 limpers, and a player in mid position raises to $10. the action folds around to the button, who cold calls. SB folds, and i defend my blind. both early limpers fold.

Flop ($33 afetr rake): A [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]8 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]J [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

i check, MP bets $20. button raises to $50. i raise to $150 (i have both players well covered).

one note. almost immediately after the button cold calls the raise from MP before the flop (MP is not a regular, and has raised a couple times preflop, but i'd never seen any of his hands), he says to the SB, "i can't believe i didn't re-raise with this hand."

thanks for the input, guys!