Man, these 5 card draw sit n gos can be brutual sometimes

[t1riel]

pokerstars Game #8077249266: Tournament #41237098, $1.00+$0.10 5 Card Draw Pot Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2007/01/22 - 22:56:44 (ET)
Table '41237098 1' 6-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 3: Mr Manlow (4570 in chips)
Seat 4: bambamutk (605 in chips)
Seat 5: pokermommom2 (2060 in chips)
Seat 6: t1riel (1765 in chips)
Mr Manlow: posts the ante 10
bambamutk: posts the ante 10
pokermommom2: posts the ante 10
t1riel: posts the ante 10
bambamutk: posts small blind 50
pokermommom2: posts big blind 100
*** DEALING hands ***
Dealt to t1riel [9s 3h Kd 7c 9d]
t1riel: calls 100
Mr Manlow: calls 100
bambamutk: calls 50
pokermommom2: checks
bambamutk: discards 3 cards
pokermommom2: discards 3 cards
t1riel: discards 2 cards [3h 7c]
Dealt to t1riel [9s Kd 9d] [8s 9c]
Mr Manlow: discards 1 card
bambamutk: bets 100
pokermommom2: calls 100
t1riel: raises 400 to 500
Mr Manlow: folds
bambamutk: calls 395 and is all-in
pokermommom2: folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
t1riel: shows [9s 8s Kd 9c 9d] (three of a kind, Nines)
bambamutk: shows [Ts Tc Th Kh 7s] (three of a kind, Tens)
bambamutk collected 1530 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1530 | Rake 0
Seat 3: Mr Manlow (button) folded after the Draw
Seat 4: bambamutk (small blind) showed [Ts Tc Th Kh 7s] and won (1530) with three of a kind, Tens
Seat 5: pokermommom2 (big blind) folded after the Draw
Seat 6: t1riel showed [9s 8s Kd 9c 9d] and lost with three of a kind, Nines

 

[mrsnake3695]

Do you always keep a kicker with your pairs?

I've seen 2 posts and both times you held a king kicker.

 

[Lo-Dog]

Do you always keep a kicker with your pairs?

I've seen 2 posts and both times you held a king kicker.

Whats the optimal play here? Sometimes I keep a high card with my pairs sometimes I throw 3 away.

 

[gord962]

Whats the optimal play here? Sometimes I keep a high card with my pairs sometimes I throw 3 away.

I'll keep my A kicker (obviously hoping to spike an A on the draw) but I'm not sure if I would keep a K. In this case I DEFINITELY discard the K being last to act and the two players before me both discarded 3. If you had raised before the discard, it can be a good bluff that you were dealt trips, but a call and only dicard 2 looks like you are on a draw for a flush or straight.

 

[mrsnake3695]

I suppose it depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Sometimes keeping three will help you bluff people into thinking you have a set and if nobody improves you might win with a lesser pair. But if you keep a kicker every time that won't work. Also, if you do keep a kicker everytime when you do have a set to start nobody will put you on it when you draw 2 so that can work.

But if you have a pair and want to get a set (which is obviously stronger than 2 pair) than drawing 3 is better than drawing 2. If you keep a kicker you are trying to get a high 2 pair but you are only getting 2 cards do do it so your odds are less. Plus keeping kickers like kings, queen, jacks can get you in trouble against aces up since alot of player keep ace kickers.

I don;t know the exact math but I am more willing to throw 3 with small pairs and hope to get a set.

 

[gord962]

^^^^
oh yeah, this too.
Again, rarely will I ever keep a kicker, and IF i do, it would have to be an A (I might keep a K but it would have to be late into the tourney after I built a strong table image and working on a bluff.) Two pair just isn't a big hand in 5 card draw and it won't win you any big pots.