Some help here, might have a huge leak in my game.

I was just at a cash game, (.10/.25) sat down with $25, chipped my way up to $50, and then get dealt 10-10, 5-handed, on the button.
I raise to $1.25, get a caller, flop comes up Q K 8 -- The kid bets more than the pot, I've got a feel for how this kid plays.. I'm thinking "He's either got an A8 or a weak K or Q".
So I re-raise, he calls.. bets out again on the turn, which is a blank, I raise, he goes all in for $5 more, by this point I'm pot comited to call... He ended up having K-4, I was absolutely right -- but it didn't matter he had me beat, and even though he's a donk for calling the bet pre-flop, and calling the raises post-flop -- I really didn't need to get involved in the pot... when he raised post-flop I should have just folded... right? Even though I KNOW he has a weak hand.

My image on the table was good. I had only been involved in hands holding A-10s or better, and only showed top-10 hands at show down, and was winner of all of them.
This kid had made a bunch of bad plays - including one where the flop came up J-8-3, he bet $3 into a pot of $2.25 and at show down (called all of my raises in between) he had Q-8. I saw him make another play like this with someone else with a similar hand.

... Should I have just folded after the flop when he bet, even though I had that tell?...

... or am I right and I should go off of my tells?

.... or maybe I'm kind of right but I shouldn't go after it in $2.75 pots.

Let me help you answer your own questions.

If you had a read on your opponent and you knew you were beat, why did you stay in the hand?
When you say you have a read, do you mean just his holdings? or his holdings plus his betting patterns?
If you had a good read on this person and knew he wasn't going to back down, why did you keep firing away?
Stop trying to chase someone out of a pot that has you beat.

The huge leak in your game is disipline, you don't have any.
You have to learn to fold your PP to overs on the board when you know a player is representing that over.
stop chasing a set, if you don't flop a set with your PP and there are overs on the board, the only moves you have here are check/fold

AZE said:

... or am I right and I should go off of my tells?

Click to expand...

The more you play the more you will learn to trust your instincts - even when you have a good hand if your alerted to something think it over, work it out and often (i find) your instincts will be right.

In fact it sounds your oppo played it right - as he overbet with top pair knowing that others at the table have pegged him as a looser player so when you joined him in the pot you would be just giving him money

It is hard to believe at times but when that little voice pipes up and says 'your beat' he more often than not will be saving you money

Laying down a hand is just like saving money which can be used to win another day

To me it was fairly obvious he had anyway crap cards or not. These players you just wait for to pick off simple as. Tens are only tens with that board out there and a loose donk im just laying it down and pick him off in the next metting you even said you felt he had what he had. Good luck

You guys are all 100% right. I didn't even pay attention to my own note on him that he will call-down with a horrible hand.
In my head I said "I know that bet, that's the bet he makes when he hits a piece of the board but is still weak". Most players with K4 would probably lay down in that situation (I might be wrong) so I was trying to assume that he [even though I already stated I know he calls with bad hands that hit a little] was going to play it like I thought he 'should'.

In retrospect, yes - I absolutely should have folded. I never thought my 10's were good and I wasn't chasing for the set - I was set on exploiting my tell that he either had a mid/low pair or a K with a weak kicker, and I didn't pay attention to everything that was in my knowledge.

Discipline is a part of my game that I need to work on, yes, I know - and I believe that goes for just about every poker player alive - but this wasn't a matter of discipline, it was a matter of me not paying attention. And I'm learning.

Thanks everyone.

Suck-Out update.. sitting at a .10/.25 just had a guy catch a 10 on the river to out-boat me.

I have 7-8, he has 9-10, flop is 7-10-8, he bets, I raise, he calls, turn is an 8... he bets, I raise, he calls... river is a 10, he bets, I'm already committed even though I just know he pulled out the hat-trick...

It's not that bad, but stuff like this almost makes me afraid to play with a good hand, lol.

that same thing happened to me yesterday on the full house thing, but yea donks aren't going to fold top pair regardless of their kicker usually. they can't seem to comprehend someone might have a better K then them. It's usually best just to fold a raise to any overcard board unless u have a 100% definite read that they didn't pair on the board. it's tough to lay them down, but in a cash game 1010 is a weak hand IMO.

You do know that chasing a set after the flop puts you on 2 outs and two-outs only. Considering that opponent, if he is any smart, could play his set (or more likely straight) like he would a weak hand, you could EVEN BE DRAWING DEAD right there on the flop.

Plus, I don't get why you raised on the flop if you knew he had hit it and that you were drawing to a 2-outer. You were playing 25NL, not a ring game where you are Phil Ivey and you have to raise because you know the other guy's kicker is low because of his betting pattern and you have tight image. bluffing here won't work 95% of the time since he BETS into you, wich means he has hit something (and 66% of the time on this flop, you're losing).

And let's not get into the turn raise and the all-in call because you were committed. In a cash game, you're never committed as you can always repop for more (well you can be committed on a draw: if you put 50$ drawing to the flush on the flop and the turn is blank and you have 10$ left, you gotta put it in there). Curiosity is very bad for the bankroll in poker.