I just got my ass kicked - tell me all the ways I suck.

[Shaun]

The last three hands look fine to me. The only thing I'd do differently is raise on the flop with 89c. Most of the time, he is not going to have a 7 so you've got some folding equity. If he does have an overpair and puts you on a draw and calls, you are almsot 50-50 anyway. Raise that flop- especially if you're on tilt. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

As for the first hand, you need to either re-raise preflop or on the flop. You just can't check and call on a board like that, because even if he has only AK, he has enough outs so that you need to make him pay. If he has you beat, you will find out easier by putting some pressure on him.

If the board was 872 or something, I like your play a lot, so long as you raise on the river. But with a Q-10 out there, though your opponent could have you beat already, if he doesn't he at least has quite a few outs that you need to charge him for.

[Elem100]

As others have said, you can fold Hand 1 on the river, only a full house would raise this (except the very unlikely AcKc but given the paired board and your flop reraise he would probably just call) but this is always easy to say and less easy to do !

I raise more on the flop on 2, but definitely go broke here.

Hand 3 is just a bit of bad luck, but you pot committed yourself by the reraise if a K or A were to fall on the flop, was this a tactical choice to prevent your head from playing games post flop?

[ScanX]

3 hands with KK :

are you playing with scared money when you sit at NL400 ?

[LuvDemNutz]

[ QUOTE ]
3 hands with KK :

are you playing with scared money when you sit at NL400 ?

[/ QUOTE ]

No - it may technically be a little too high for my existing bankroll but I'm not afraid to go broke.

Generally, these hands were situations where I felt I was beat but couldn't bring myself to fold (and raising when you think you're beat just doesn't feel right either).

[SpeakEasy]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'm going to highly selectively edit here...

[ QUOTE ]
HAND 1 -
Hero ($475.2)
Hero is MP3 with K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img].
Hero calls $14.
Hero checks,
Hero calls $40.
Hero checks,
Hero calls $100.
Hero checks,
Hero folds.


HAND 2 -
Hero ($412.2)
Hero is UTG with K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img].
Hero calls $44.
Hero calls $55.
Hero calls $75.
Hero calls $75.
Outcome: SB wins $542.


HAND 3 - TILT and an action flop = I lose money
Hero ($246.5)
Hero is Button with 9[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], 8[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img].
Hero calls $10,
Hero calls $25,
Hero calls $211.50 (All-In),
Outcome: CO wins $538.



[/ QUOTE ]

Hero, do you see a pattern and the problem?

[/ QUOTE ]

OK - so I turned into a bit of a calling station for a few of these hands.

So help me out then - when would have been the appropriate spot to raise / fold?

Hand 1 - maybe I should have led at the flop and folded to a raise? What if I am flat called - should I assume I'm beat? Should I have just given it up on the flop - with a Q out there the only hand I beat is a whiffed AK - is a whiffed AK likely to fire another barrel on the turn?

Hand 2 - Where should I have raised? I put my opponent on AA so I thought about folding on the flop (but this is extremely weak tight to me). Should I have pushed on the turn representing the flush? If my opponent has AA with the A of diamonds he's definitely calling me here. Even if he doesn't have the A diamond he may still call because my range of hands could be 99-KK as well as a flush - so I really doubt he folds. I actually think I minimized my losses taking this line (as oppossed to giving my opponent credit for AA and folding pre-flop). People scoff at this idea but in my experience it is rare for a player to RE-raise the max PF (in Pot Limit), OOP with QQ or AK. So that only leaves one holding...

Hand 3 - was just ugly

[/ QUOTE ]

Okay, you saw from my selective editing that you are not playing aggressive. When I hold KK, I'm going to ramp up the aggression, for two reasons which have been suggested elsewhere on this thread (1) you want to get your money in the pot when you have the best hand, at the point during the hand where you are ahead, (2) being aggressive lets you know where you stand in relation to the other hands. "Check, call, check, call, fold" is weak, scared poker. And you know that already.

So, more specific advice:
Hand 1 -- Maybe re-raise pre-flop, to figure out what the minimum re-raise means. On the flop -- BET! On the turn, -- BET! There no other way of knowing whether you have the best hand here. And, more importantly, blast him off any straight or flush draw that he is playing, or at least give yourself this opportunity. On the river, if I were the villain, I would be thinking that you are on a diamond draw, or a spade draw, or a straight draw, based on the way you check-called. The $150 bet in a $350 pot could therefore be with a wide range of hands, thinking that your draw did not come through.

What if he has 88, JJ, T9, KQ, QJ, QT? You may still be ahead on the river, but you could have easily moved him off these hands by being the aggressor on the flop or turn.

Hand 2 -- From the flop on, you called and lost $205. Next time, when he leads with $55 on the flop, what about immediately raising something like $80 or $90 more? If he re-raises, fold, because you can assume AA or a set. (I would probably assume a set.) If he calls and leads on the turn, same assumptions. This way, you would lose only your $80-90 raise, rather than calling all of his bets for $205.

Hand 3 -- Pre-flop and flop you are fine. On the turn, with 15 outs you are a 2 to 1 dog, plus you may be drawing to the second best flush, plus you may be drawing dead except for the 6[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] if villian already has a full house. I would fold to the turn bet.

[LuvDemNutz]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'm going to highly selectively edit here...

[ QUOTE ]
HAND 1 -
Hero ($475.2)
Hero is MP3 with K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img].
Hero calls $14.
Hero checks,
Hero calls $40.
Hero checks,
Hero calls $100.
Hero checks,
Hero folds.


HAND 2 -
Hero ($412.2)
Hero is UTG with K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img].
Hero calls $44.
Hero calls $55.
Hero calls $75.
Hero calls $75.
Outcome: SB wins $542.


HAND 3 - TILT and an action flop = I lose money
Hero ($246.5)
Hero is Button with 9[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], 8[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img].
Hero calls $10,
Hero calls $25,
Hero calls $211.50 (All-In),
Outcome: CO wins $538.



[/ QUOTE ]

Hero, do you see a pattern and the problem?

[/ QUOTE ]

OK - so I turned into a bit of a calling station for a few of these hands.

So help me out then - when would have been the appropriate spot to raise / fold?

Hand 1 - maybe I should have led at the flop and folded to a raise? What if I am flat called - should I assume I'm beat? Should I have just given it up on the flop - with a Q out there the only hand I beat is a whiffed AK - is a whiffed AK likely to fire another barrel on the turn?

Hand 2 - Where should I have raised? I put my opponent on AA so I thought about folding on the flop (but this is extremely weak tight to me). Should I have pushed on the turn representing the flush? If my opponent has AA with the A of diamonds he's definitely calling me here. Even if he doesn't have the A diamond he may still call because my range of hands could be 99-KK as well as a flush - so I really doubt he folds. I actually think I minimized my losses taking this line (as oppossed to giving my opponent credit for AA and folding pre-flop). People scoff at this idea but in my experience it is rare for a player to RE-raise the max PF (in Pot Limit), OOP with QQ or AK. So that only leaves one holding...

Hand 3 - was just ugly

[/ QUOTE ]

Okay, you saw from my selective editing that you are not playing aggressive. When I hold KK, I'm going to ramp up the aggression, for two reasons which have been suggested elsewhere on this thread (1) you want to get your money in the pot when you have the best hand, at the point during the hand where you are ahead, (2) being aggressive lets you know where you stand in relation to the other hands. "Check, call, check, call, fold" is weak, scared poker. And you know that already.

So, more specific advice:
Hand 1 -- Maybe re-raise pre-flop, to figure out what the minimum re-raise means. On the flop -- BET! On the turn, -- BET! There no other way of knowing whether you have the best hand here. And, more importantly, blast him off any straight or flush draw that he is playing, or at least give yourself this opportunity. On the river, if I were the villain, I would be thinking that you are on a diamond draw, or a spade draw, or a straight draw, based on the way you check-called. The $150 bet in a $350 pot could therefore be with a wide range of hands, thinking that your draw did not come through.

What if he has 88, JJ, T9, KQ, QJ, QT? You may still be ahead on the river, but you could have easily moved him off these hands by being the aggressor on the flop or turn.

Hand 2 -- From the flop on, you called and lost $205. Next time, when he leads with $55 on the flop, what about immediately raising something like $80 or $90 more? If he re-raises, fold, because you can assume AA or a set. (I would probably assume a set.) If he calls and leads on the turn, same assumptions. This way, you would lose only your $80-90 raise, rather than calling all of his bets for $205.

Hand 3 -- Pre-flop and flop you are fine. On the turn, with 15 outs you are a 2 to 1 dog, plus you may be drawing to the second best flush, plus you may be drawing dead except for the 6[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] if villian already has a full house. I would fold to the turn bet.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ok - thanks for the thought out response -

Hand 1 - I agree I should've bet out on flop but I don't think Villain's range of hands is quite as wide as you seem to suggest. I think JJ or AA - what really screwed me up in Hand 1 is that it occurred not long after Hand 2. So when I got re-raised PF again holding KK, I kind of froze up, immediately figured AA and went into defensive mode. In retrosect his reraise was on the smaller side so I think he could've easily had JJ - AA, KK or QQ are also very possible.
One of the downsides of multitabling is sometimes I will take what happened in one hand into another hand.

Hand 2 - Raising $90 on top of his $55 would've lost me $145 instead of $205.
I played a hand yesterday where AGAIN, I had KK and my opponent had AA - he led $40 on the flop and I minraised him - it scared him enough to check it down the rest of the way. But of course I still lost the hand. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]