Am I doing something wrong?

TheJace

TheJace

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Ok between today and the last few days I've paid off about half a dozen sets while holding AA/KK on the flop... One hand I just played in the $50 NLHE tables I got dealt Ac Ah the flop comes 10 8 5 with 2 spades and I'm against 1 player. The pot was $7.00 and I lead out with $3.50 and then he comes over the top all-in and I call for another $50. He turns over 10 10 and I catch nothing, $110 pot. Was this a bad call? I'm getting tired of making money and turning around and losing it to sets. I'm not losing any significant pots to anything but sets, over and over again and my bankroll has come to a screeching hault all of a sudden due to this problem. Please help! Just bad luck or what?
 
KyleJRM

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Yes. That sort of move screams set. Unless you have a read on the opponent that says otherwise, you curse, fold your aces and save yourself a buyin.
 
TheJace

TheJace

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When he did it I figured he was on a bluff or top pair thinking if he had a set he'd try to get value out of it because there are so many hands I would just fold there...
 
titans4ever

titans4ever

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You HAVE to call these hands unlike Kyle says. Yes, the set will make this move but so would KK, QQ, JJ and sometimes A10.

You have a double whammy going with those hands. You have an overpair to a board that doesn't scream 2 pair. You are also facing a set (which you did not know at the time). You have the hardest hand to put someone on vs one of the hardest hands to lay down. You need a great read to lay this down (or play high stakes at Absolute). You lay this down and you are giving away money. You will pay people off sometimes but also rake it in more often than not.

You can play conservative and fold a $40 bet into a $10 pot and pick better spots but what is a better spot? You have AA to an innocent board. That is exactly what you want. You will win this matchup most of the time.

I just read an article in cardplayer magazine about physiology in poker and the highs and lows. You feel a loss 2-3x more than a win of the same magnitude. Meaning you feel 2-3x worse when you lose $50 than when you win $50. It also tends to linger longer than a good win.

As far as why you have done it so many times in a couple of days it is just variance. We all go through it. The cards will start to become nicer eventually.
 
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titans4ever

titans4ever

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When he did it I figured he was on a bluff or top pair thinking if he had a set he'd try to get value out of it because there are so many hands I would just fold there...

The overbet with the nuts on the flop is a common play. He is just hoping you have that overpair to pay him off and not just betting AK. He is taking a huge risk that only has to pay off 1 in 5-7 times to work in his favor.
 
TheJace

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Thanks for the advice titan, anyone else?
 
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maltz

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Your opponent plays it badly by reraising you all in (because obviously he owns you there!). Somewhere reraising 3X of your bet would be more appropriate to hook you up.
 
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