40/80 Hand I Thought I Played Correctly

[George Rice]

Another 40/80 hand at the Borgata a few days ago. This one I thought I played right, but now I'm not so sure.

I raised in early-middle position with KK and was re-raised by player in CO or on button, I forget which (coincidently the same player as previous post, but not really relevant), and everyone else folds. I chose not to re-reraise, which is typical for me heads-up to disguise my hand. If someone else came for the ride I would cap it.

The flop comes Jxx and I decide to slow-play my overpair until the turn. Check, bet, call.

The turn comes a blank and I check-raise and he calls.

The river comes another blank and I bet, he calls, and I win. His hand accidently gets exposed while mucking and he held QQ.

There are two aspects of this hand I'm inviting feedback on. The first is whether at this limit I should go ahead and make it four bets before the flop with KK (or AA) at a typical B&M 40/80 game? If I did I'd probably have to lead out on the flop and maybe go for a check-raise on the turn. Since I would probably only call with hands like AK, AQ or AJs in this situation, calling with big pairs in this spot adds deception to my play. And as I said, with more than one opponent I would normally cap it with AA or KK.

The second aspect is whether I should have gone for the check-raise. I was pretty sure he was on a big pair, but he could have had AK or AQs or a smaller pair. With the jack on board, he is leading and will pop me back with AA and JJ, leaving only QQ to just call with. He'll probably fold with overcards or any underpair. There's a chance he has AJs and will call the raise. So realistically, I'm only going to get action on my check-raise with 16 hands, 9 of which beat me and 1 which ties. If you include the AJs, then it's 50/50 I'm in the lead. With a Ten high board then the check-raise is a far better play. There may be other factors which make the check-raise correct with a jack high board. So I invite your feedback on this play. And if I don't go for the check-raise on the turn, then how best to play this hand?

One thought which crossed my mind is that if I four bet the flop and he five bet it (I'm not sure it he can, but maybe, since only the blinds contributed money, I not sure of the rule) then I know I can't try for a check-raise on the turn. Whereas, if he just calls my re-raise, there's a greater likelihood he has QQ and not AA so a check-raise is a safer play.