My set becomes worthless!

I was at Foxwoods recently at the $1/$2 no limit hold em poker tables and this happened to me. I was in middle position and was dealt pocket 3's. One player raised it to $5. Two players call as well as myself. The flop comes:

8c, 3d, Kh

Excellent, I hit my set. The player that raised bet $10. The other players fold except for myself. I call. The turn is a Ks. I got a full house but if he has a King, I'm screwed! I call. He bets $10. This player has been the dominate one at this table and won the past three hands. I call. The river is a Kc. Uh Oh! My hand doesn't look so good now! He puts me all in. I'm thinking of what he could have. Did he pair the 8? Pocket Queens? There was so many possibilities. I fold. Someone asked if he had the King. He just said " I had the cards to win."

I should have raised on the flop (especially with no flush or straight possibilities) and on the turn. If he DID have the King, I was doomed from the beginning. One good thing that came out of this horrid experience. I learn from my mistakes.

He would have had to have K8, KK or K3 on the turn to have you beat. Just having a king means he has trips, but you have a full house, so I don't think you quite qualify for being screwed already on the turn.

I know this guy you're talking about and he was holding pocket 2s and bluffed you out.

Seriously though, that was a good lay down. He bet big from the get and any pocket pair, 8, or king had you beat. If you would have pressed the issue after the flop he may have still came strong at you with the K or two pair. Then you would've been disgusted and broke watching his hand unfold and crush you. I have to say again that this was one very good lay down.

TBH I dont really know whether to tell you that you played it badly or you lost minimum. Unless you are slow playing a call on the flop is a bad move. Once the K hits the turn you gotta be slightly worried but by flat calling you are not sure where you are in the hand. I would be betting out big on the flop, as the low set can cause you trouble at times. of course only 88 or KK I lose to here so I am betting out, if he calls and catches on the river then fair enough. Saying that, you did only lose minimum, which is always nice

It was also a good lay down, there really isnt much you can beat here

Even if he had pocket 99's at the end he had you, once that river card came up and you couldn't push him out , it's hard to lay down. (I probably wouldn't have laid it down, and possibly of lost right there.) Although I'm not familiar with how river-magickal this site you were playing...

- Raise flop
- Raise turn
- River is a fold if you're not getting good odds if you consider that by playing the hand so passively you've extracted a grand total of 0 information from him.

Laying down good hands is one of the hardest parts of the game, but it seems like it was a good one this time. ( Not sure if I would have raised after the flop or not, hard to with low sets after following a pre-flop raise.) Losing a little money on a good hand beats losing a lot on the second best hand every time though.

Kj Sexton said:

Even if he had pocket 99's at the end he had you, once that river card came up and you couldn't push him out , it's hard to lay down. (I probably wouldn't have laid it down, and possibly of lost right there.) Although I'm not familiar with how river-magickal this site you were playing...

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This wasn't at a poker site, it was at a casino.