KK w/ an A. twice. 100-200

[Gabe]

[ QUOTE ]
now i if i think i have the strongest hand, i take the lead.

[/ QUOTE ]

excellent analysis. thanks.

[Luke]

mike,

I think you played both hands perfectly.

Sometimes when I have a lapse of judgment/control I'll bet that flop in hand one with the player behind me, but you did it right. Nice job.

Luke

[andyfox]

A guy I used to play with would tell me, on the flop, "I check to you, you'll bet anything." And he was basically right. Especially if I had raised pre-flop. If I had 3-bet pre-flop, it would take an act of Congress for me not to bet, and even then . . .

Here you show a different way to skin the cats. I think the first hand was perfect. On the turn, how could be resist the temptation to bet after both opponents checked twice, even with something like K-Q? And then, if that's what he has, on the river he may well put you on medium/smallish pocket pair which would have been counterfeited. You lose the minimum if you're behind and of course with kings you're not worried about overcards coming.

I think the second hand is also played well. Once it's checked behind him, big blind is going to bet an ace or a jack on the turn. I'd call him down, as you did, to see, although the fact that pre-flop you had 3-bet an UTG raise would seem to lower your chance of having the best hand here.

[siriusradio]

a check may cause you to lose the hand when he catches two pair on the turn. the pot is worth a bet everytime

[andyfox]

If the opponent has an ace, he's already behind. If he doesn't, he can't fall behind to two pair on the turn.

[Kaz The Original]

I like the first one, for the reason you're either way behind or way ahead. The second one makes me think.

[LarsVegas]

I am surprised few have commented the most interesting part of these hands in my view, the river bet from mike in hand 2 when checked to and with the option of checking it down.

lars

[Kaz The Original]

Are you joking? The flop check in hand one is not only good... it's MANDATORY. There is no other line thats anywhere close.

[Gabe]

[ QUOTE ]
I am surprised few have commented the most interesting part of these hands in my view, the river bet from mike in hand 2 when checked to and with the option of checking it down.


[/ QUOTE ]

I thought it was beautiful.

[Softrock]

Mike:

When playing well, I'd probably play these two hands similarly with the major exception of betting the river on the second hand. Just seems too likely that BB could have A9, AT, or even AQ. Many players will check top pair even with a decent kicker if they've gotten action to the river. In fact I bet you do it with some frequency thinking that you won't get called if your opponent is on a draw and that you have a better chance of making an extra bet by calling a bluff.

I like this post. Many people (unfortunately myself included more often than I'd like) sort of play these hands in a knee-jerk fashion. For me, when I've been running bad and a Ace flops when I have KK or QQ I probably muck too quickly. When I'm running good and my hands are holding up I probably stick around too long in the same situation. Always good to stop and rethink how one SHOULD play in these situations.