Level 2 KQs, flopped top pair (Party $11)

[AliasMrJones]

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When you hit top pair of K's with KQ an A on the turn or river can beat you.

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An opponent calling you down with A high no pair when you're leading with KQ on a Kxx board has three outs. An opponent calling you down with 72 when you're leading with AK on an Ax7 board has five outs. There are tons of ways to get beat other than losing to a higher pair. Yes, you're vulnerable, but you're almost always vulnerable.

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That may be true, but I think you'd agree that it is much more likely an Ax hand will call when you raise preflop with KQ than a 72o hand will call when you raise with AQ. It is even less likely that you'll have 72o call your preflop raise and then get specifically an Ax7 flop.

The question isn't "are you vulnerable?" it is what are your vulnerabilities and how likely are they to happen? The fact is KQ has more vulnerabilities and they are more likely to occur.

Unless you play online, because all online poker is rigged.
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[morgan180]

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Limping late with KQ is how I'd play it too with a UTG limper. I'd raise with AK, AQ and 99+.

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I wouldn't raise with 99-JJ (talking pre-flop here) in this situation. How much are you raising? What are you doing on the flop if checked to or if UTG leads? What if one or both of the blinds call?

Raising with these hands seems like a bad idea to me. You need to raise enough to clear out the blinds because you don't want to play medium pocket pairs multiway. If you are successful isolating UTG, then you are more often than not facing at least one overcard on the flop.

This seems like a situation where you're setting yourself up for a small win or a big loss, which I would prefer not to do in level 2.

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I raise with 99+ here because the odds are that the blinds have crap and that the UTG limper has a smaller pair, weaker face cards or Ax that I have an advantage over. I'll play 99 against a hand like that any day. Raising here makes my hand easier to play moving forward - and i'm all about keeping it simple in these levels.

I don't limp here because playing a hand like 99 on the button with only 4 people in doesn't give me the right odds. I'm 7.5 to 1 against hitting a set and I have to get paid off when i hit it to make up for the times i miss. the blinds and 1 limper make it unlikely that i'll get paid off on my set if i hit it - thus in my opinion makes raising better here.