Did I play this hand correctly/badly (or was I just lucky)?

Hitman Actual

OK, last 4 in Wednesday's Fitz 20euro game, blinds at 3K/4.5K/4.5K (a 3 blind structure).

I'm the button and UTG with 65K approx, find KK, raise to 20K total. The second BB calls, everyone else folds.

Flop = AAx... So is this a good flop for Kings? To be honest I'd be more worried about one ace on the flop. Anyway, BB checks, which sets off the alarm bells, so I check as well.

Turn brings another rag, this time BB bets 20K, which is about half my stack. For some reason I'm fairly sure that if I call, the hand will be checked down at the river, so I call as well.

River brings my money card, a King, it's checked to me and I move in, called by AT. So, definately lucky on the end.

But I'm really not sure about how I played this hand, especially the check on the flop. Should you bet the flop when it's checked to you here? How would you guys play this hand?

Iago

Last 4 pocket K's I'd go all-in straight away. Force the rest of the players to make a decision.

Would AT have called all-in preflop? 4 handed possibly, but if a player had Ax they may have called that raise preflop and then you'd be in trouble on the flop.

All-in for me, but I don't think you played it badly just differently to how I would have.

Lafortezza

I think you played it ok, with KK you want a preflop call from Ax after you raise and hope you don't see an Ace on the board. Gamble...etc.

careca

Not sure. I would ask the question, what you have done if the K had not flopped and he put you all in on the river ?

I don't mind the raise to try and get some action but when AA appears and he bets, albeit on the turn, you have to be able to throw them away. You did say his check on the flop sent alarm bells ringing so why did they stop ringing when he bet the turn ??

mewso

Basically I think you played this fine but on the turn if you think he has an Ace it would be a valid fold. On the river your bet was fine. Sometimes I see people bet on the river when the only time they are gonna be called is by a better hand. When you think it's possible your hand is behind then betting on the river should only be if you know for sure you can force your opponent to fold.

Ian147100

With the blinds amounting to 12,000 in total I probably would have raised it to twice the pot or 24,000 (which he probably would have called anyway), I don't think I would have went all in though, not 4 handed with pocket Kings under the gun. What I would also have done differently is that I would have went all in with my kings on the flop after it was checked to me, I don't think you can do anything else when you have indicated your strength by raising preflop from 1st position, particularly when the flop is one that looks to your opponent like it might suit a raiser. I would have ended up with the same result as you and hit my house on the river so both of us would have got lucky in the end. What you must bear in mind though is that a big blind could realistically call that kind of raise with pocket 7s or 8s or something and by giving him the free card on 4th street you could be allowing him to hit his 7 or his 8 or whatever he needed to make his full house, obviously in this situation that didn't happen and even if it did you would have beaten him on the river anyway, but it could happen the next night you see check on the flop after making a decent sized raise before the flop. Did you win the tournament in the end?

Hitman Actual

Some good questions/points...

Firstly, when I raised pre-flop, and he didn't re-raise, I discounted AK/AQ/AJ, which probably would have pushed. So I though the call meant a weaker ace, or a medium pair, maybe 99, TT.

Obviously when the flop comes down AAx, I'm worried. The BB hesitates before betting, but I cant tell if he likes the flop and is slow-playing, or is worried by the flop.

When he bet the 20K on the turn, I'm now thinking that he may have the pocket pair and thinks he is ahead. And when I call I'm fairly sure that he can't bet the river, because he's afraid of a bigger ace (I dont put him on a big ace). So I call thinking that I'll get a showdown against a lower pocket pair.

The BB is actually in a tricky position... I raised preflop so I could have a big Ace and am slow-playing, so he cant really bet the river.

And if I hadn't hit the King on the end, I would have folded to a bet.

I suppose the way I was thinking was that I didn't want to release the Kings, but I didn't want to go broke with them either on that flop. If the BB had played his hand stronger, I wouldn't have been anywhere near the river.

Hitman Actual

Ian147100 wrote:

What I would also have done differently is that I would have went all in with my kings on the flop after it was checked to me, I don't think you can do anything else when you have indicated your strength by raising preflop from 1st position, particularly when the flop is one that looks to your opponent like it might suit a raiser.

Did you win the tournament in the end?

Yeah, I see what you mean, but if he called the pre-flop bet with an Ax, he's going to call the all-in... and I hate betting when I know I'll only be called by a better hand.

In the end it went three-handed, and we did a three-way even money split. (No deal discussions! We were all practically equal stacks, approx 100K each, and it was 4 in the morning!).

Hectorjelly

The call on the turn is pretty bad IMO, unless he picked up a tell those AA will scare him with 88 or 99 as much as you with KK. Betting the flop with those stacks is really really bad, you will never get a better hand to fold and your up against a hand with at most two outs. If you are sure your ahead then check and induce a bluff. Check calling gets the most in when your ahead, and loses the least when your behind.