$16.50 NLHE MTT: Pocket Kings

MatMackenz · Nov 4, 2018

This is a hand that I was not sure if I played correctly, after the Ace has fall on the turn, should I have maybe just checkback instead and try to see the showdown cheap with my pair of kings? I was also considering 4-bet All-in on the flop which probably would have got a fold.

I was able to recover after losing this hand back to a healthy stack but ultimately found myself shortstacked and shoved 88 into QQ.

Replay - http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/view.php/id/9245856
Hand Information
Sunday $16.50 Big Fish $20000GTD
No Limit, 120 BB (9 handed).
Hand History converter courtesy of pokerhandreplays.com

Table Information
Seat: 1 Player 1 ($4515) Dealer
Seat: 2 Player 2 ($3057) Small Blind
Seat: 3 Player 3 ($6500) Big Blind
Seat: 4 Player 4 ($5738)
Seat: 5 Player 5 ($7582)
Seat: 6 Player 6 ($4745)
Seat: 7 Player 7 ($4909)
Seat: 9 Player 9 ($8176)
Seat: 10 Hero ($4676)
Dealt to Hero

Preflop (Pot:180)
Player 4 FOLD
Player 5 FOLD
Player 6 FOLD
Player 7 FOLD
Player 9 FOLD
Hero RAISE $260
Player 1 FOLD
Player 2 FOLD
Player 3 CALL $140

Flop(Pot: $580)

Player 3 CHECK
Hero BET $344
Player 3 RAISE $883
Hero CALL $539

Turn(Pot: $2346)

Player 3 CHECK
Hero BET $1636
Player 3 CALL $1636

River(Pot: $5618)

Player 3 CHECK
Hero CHECK
Showdown:
Player 3 SHOWS

Hero SHOWS

Player 3 wins the pot: $5618

Jacki Burkhart · Nov 4, 2018

So, there are a few things going on here.

if we are deep stacked I would actually just fold to this check raise on this flop....it's such a great flop for the blinds and a terrible flop for us. The times he isn't already beating us he will have a high equity hand that either improves often enough, or barrels and we end up folding.

but since we are not deep stacked I think it's fine to try and take this hand to showdown as cheaply as possible, or just get it in on the flop and charge the draws the maximum.

4bet jamming the flop is OK because there are a lot of draws available and we are doing fine against them. and also, it's hard to get them to put in any more money later unless they improve. It's also good that we don't have a club in our hand which keeps all his big draw combos alive (such as 2 overs and a flush draw or a pair and flush draw). This doesn't reduce the combos of strong value (villain still has ALL the sets, straights and 2 pair) but it keeps that range as weak as possible by keeping all the flush draws in there.

Conversely, if we decide to just call the flop and re-assess as we go, then that A on the turn is HORRIBLE for us because a lot of the flush draw combos he would raise include the Ac.

so, on this turn card we should check back and then if the river is a brick we can call a reasonable sized bet.

It's important to understand that, while we end up losing this pot either way most of the time, by taking a better line we do occasionally get value from keeping his bluffs alive.

Matt Vaughan · Nov 6, 2018

As is often the case when missjacki and I comment on the same hands, I have similar thoughts, but maybe just a slightly different focus.

One quick semantics thing I want to mention is that if we DID put in a raise on the flop, it would be a 3bet. (Not sure if that was a typo or not so just wanna add clarification.) Our cbet is the 1bet, the villain's check raise is the 2bet, so our reraise would be a 3bet.

Anyway. I actually really wouldn't mind checking this flop as part of a larger strategy in which I'm going to be doing a LOT of checking on boards like this that significantly favor the preflop caller (particularly one out of the big blind). But cbetting such a good value hand, particularly at the lower stakes where balance and range construction doesn't need to be to crisp, is totally acceptable.

But as played I'm with missjacki here. We're a little too short to consider getting away exploitatively, and at these stack depths people even sometimes do weird overplays with top pair + draw or TPTK hands. And in line with that and a propensity for these boards to probably be overbluffed if anything, I think I probably just jam now and put his whole range in a terrible spot rather than flatting and potentially seeing one of somewhat many bad turn cards.

As played, this turn is a bad card for our exact holding, though it's probably somewhat neutral from a range on range perspective, depending on how many nut flush draw combos we play this way (both pre and on flop) and how we play hands like A9, A8, and all the sets. But for this holding it's not great.

We still have showdown value though, and for that reason I think I'm turning this into a check on the turn. Maybe we can eke out a BIT of value from some draws, but remember this card isn't a bad one for all the draws. AXcc specifically pulls WAY ahead. So KK seems like a really good hand to check back from where I'm sitting.

As played I am 100% on board with the river check back. The draws won't pay us, and nothing better will really fold most likely.

And Jacki makes a great point about how by playing this hand a little differently earlier on we may make more value - from his whole range.

julianjjboy · Nov 6, 2018

I think this flop 4 bet is better , and slowplay 789 board is not good to your KK.

MatMackenz · Nov 7, 2018

Scourrge said:
As is often the case when missjacki and I comment on the same hands, I have similar thoughts, but maybe just a slightly different focus.

One quick semantics thing I want to mention is that if we DID put in a raise on the flop, it would be a 3bet. (Not sure if that was a typo or not so just wanna add clarification.) Our cbet is the 1bet, the villain's check raise is the 2bet, so our reraise would be a 3bet.

Anyway. I actually really wouldn't mind checking this flop as part of a larger strategy in which I'm going to be doing a LOT of checking on boards like this that significantly favor the preflop caller (particularly one out of the big blind). But cbetting such a good value hand, particularly at the lower stakes where balance and range construction doesn't need to be to crisp, is totally acceptable.

But as played I'm with missjacki here. We're a little too short to consider getting away exploitatively, and at these stack depths people even sometimes do weird overplays with top pair + draw or TPTK hands. And in line with that and a propensity for these boards to probably be overbluffed if anything, I think I probably just jam now and put his whole range in a terrible spot rather than flatting and potentially seeing one of somewhat many bad turn cards.

As played, this turn is a bad card for our exact holding, though it's probably somewhat neutral from a range on range perspective, depending on how many nut flush draw combos we play this way (both pre and on flop) and how we play hands like A9, A8, and all the sets. But for this holding it's not great.

We still have showdown value though, and for that reason I think I'm turning this into a check on the turn. Maybe we can eke out a BIT of value from some draws, but remember this card isn't a bad one for all the draws. AXcc specifically pulls WAY ahead. So KK seems like a really good hand to check back from where I'm sitting.

As played I am 100% on board with the river check back. The draws won't pay us, and nothing better will really fold most likely.

And Jacki makes a great point about how by playing this hand a little differently earlier on we may make more value - from his whole range.

I appriciate these detailed responses from both you and miss jacki. Yes, the turn ace was not a good card to me. I tanked for a while and thought about checking back. I made the choice to bet because I did not want to give the free card on the draw heavy board. I was hoping my bet would make him fold. Looking back now, checking back on the turn would have been a better line.

I will take this advice into consideration next time I am facing this situation.

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$16.50 NLHE MTT: Pocket Kings

MatMackenz

Visionary

Jacki Burkhart

long winded rambler...

Matt Vaughan

King of Moody Rants

julianjjboy

Enthusiast

MatMackenz

Visionary

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