[Shaun]

You played those two hands fine. If you are trying to take control of the table then the straight draw is the classic Doyle Brunson example of gambling with slightly the worst of it sometimes so that you remain in control. Once you get to that point in the hand you want to see the turn. A call might have been better, but that is not the image you want to portray so move in and gamble.

As for the K8 I'd likely call too. You can't be afraid of the nuts when someone bets like that and there is no way he puts you on K8. You have to call. If he has K9 or a set, unlucky.

If I had 100 I might gamble with the 78, for example, but if I had 300 and my opponent had 250, I would not push the flop with only a straight draw. Your goal is to get the big stack- so once you get it, you need to defend it and not get money in when you know you have the worst of it. You can still apply pressure but you need to be a little more selective, because your opponents only have to be right once, whereas you have to be right all the time.