[citizenkn]

One of the great things about having a set (and the worst things about being up against a set), is that it's generally very well hidden. Recently I was faced with your exact scenario above: I had A-K, flop came A-K-2, and I lost a ton of money to a guy with the pocket dueces.

Unfortunately, I don't know how to avoid losing a bunch of money here except to go into check-call mode when the raising gets out of hand (especially when holding just one pair). At least that way you minimize your losses, and that's really all you can hope for. I'm assuming you're talking about heads-up play. If there are other opponents in the hand, and there is betting and raising going on around you, it's often easier to fold a hand like TPTK.