KQs, Misplayed all around

[felson]

Hmm, tough spot!

Preflop: I like the raise. When you get reraised, you're obviously not happy though. KQo is an easy muck I think. With KQs it's closer. I fold it because I like to avoid tough situations like this hand, but I think it's close. If you don't have a good read on your opponent then I would certainly lean towards folding.

Flop: I like it. If raised, you are folding, right?

Another line you could use is check/call flop, bet the turn unless an ace falls, then play poker on the river. Actually, I might like this line better.

Turn: This is the toughest street. Getting raised sucks, but if you check, you might face a bet that you don't want to call. It looks like you are putting in a blocking bet here, and hoping that if he raises, it will be a min-raise that you can call. If AK/JJ made a loose call on the flop, your bet is probably big enough to chase him off now. Still, I think I like a $45 bet better given the pot size. It defines your hand a little more and might be less likely to get raised.

River: Good fold.

[Matt Flynn]

I prefer the limp or a smaller raise because I do not mind playing multiway with KQs and do not want to raise out Th8h, KTo and the other lesser hands that would pay me off some if I hit but would likely fold preflop to a raise.

[TheWorstPlayer]

Really? Does that mean you always raise small (even with, say, suited connectors, premium pairs, etc.) or does it mean that you vary your raises based on your holdings?

[Matt Flynn]

Sounds like river play is passive in this game. That is one huge difference you will have to face if you move to an aggressive game like 10-25 and 25-50 UB or some of the Party 2K games and some of the Pokerstars 10-20 opponents: opponents will fire big with little so you'll have to call down more, radically increasing variance and that lovely feeling of being an idiot when you "guess" wrong.

[Matt Flynn]

I vary my preflop play tremendously and have certainly minraised with AA and overpotted it with 65s. Just ask felson.

[felson]

Yep, I can vouch for that.

[TheWorstPlayer]

Sorry for all the Qs, but does that mean that when you said that you prefer a small raise with KQs here that your 'default' is to make a small raise here, but you will mix it up? Or do you mean that you will almost always make a small raise here with KQs but you will also make the same small raise with a wide range of hands.