.1/.2 LHE -- Top pair against reraising

19637: posts small blind $0.05
jimdandy1013: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to sh4gnscoob [Jh Kc]
miahelene: calls $0.10
oakrob: folds
sacramkings: folds
Jerome01: folds
sh4gnscoob: calls $0.10
jgospinas: folds
19637: calls $0.05
jimdandy1013: checks
*** FLOP *** [Qc 6d Kd]
19637: checks
jimdandy1013: bets $0.10
miahelene: folds
sh4gnscoob: raises $0.10 to $0.20
19637: folds
jimdandy1013: raises $0.10 to $0.30
sh4gnscoob: calls $0.10
*** TURN *** [Qc 6d Kd] [7c]
jimdandy1013: bets $0.20
sh4gnscoob: calls $0.20
*** RIVER *** [Qc 6d Kd 7c] [Ts]
jimdandy1013: bets $0.20
sh4gnscoob: calls $0.20
*** SHOW DOWN ***


Seems like a standard call preflop, 2nd one in the unraised pot from middle position. Top pair on a 2 flush board with a solid kicker, seeing as almost anyone in .1/.2 is raising with KQ/AK, although a limper with KQ is going to ROCK me on this hand, as is AK.

So to protect my hand on the flop I'm DEFINITELY raising there to force out any flush draws. However the bettor could be playing one VERY aggressively, maybe AXs of diamonds. I've seen that before. Turn and river both come safe, but he's betting the whole way down. Could have the straight draw, but AJ probably would have raised from the BB, and I doubt anyone is 3betting the flop with a gutshot.

Seems standard, but that's because there's no chapter on "When you should fold top pair on a safe board" in SSHE. With a 3bet on the flop, I might decide that if I don't improve on the turn I can just fold, but by then the pot has reached a pretty fantastic size, and there IS a section on calling down in big pots when you still could be a winner. Plus it would be foolish to fold the turn or river if he was drawing to the diamonds....

Thoughts?

Seriously consider raising preflop. I don't like limping.

Postflop, it's all standard. You can't find a fold anywhere, so after you get 3-bet on the flop, head for the cheapest possible showdown. If he checks the turn, check behind. If he checks the river (and it's not a third diamond) go ahead and bet. But as the action went, well played. If you happen to know that he's a complete maniac, you can go ahead and raise the turn (and call down if he fights back) but that requires him to be very wild.

i'm clearly not LHE specialist, but my first thought was: why don't you raise preflop?

On raising preflop: KJo is definitely borderline territory. Honestly, I don't raise it PF from middle position because Ed Miller told me so (unless I'm first in, I always raise/fold there), but we can examine the why. I don't think KJ is that strong is such a low limit game, where top pair is frequently not the best hand. KJ makes only 2 straights, it's offsuit, and overcards can come to it, which to me signifies 3 big weaknesses it has in low limits. I can totally see how it would be a really awesome hand in like... a NLHE tournament where it's a good steal/resteal hand, maybe even a cash game although I don't know anything about those, but for some reason, KJo is just so dominated so often but soooo many other hands in micro stakes.

I mean, from the hijack, I would be okay raising there. I'm tending to doubt the +EV is that significant if at all. But like I said, SSHE clearly shows a hand chart where you only raise KJo if you're first in the pot in middle/late position.

Fold it preflop then.