Q&A #67: Pocket Kings Flop an Ace… Again
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It happens to us all more times than we’d like to count. We build a nice pot with pocket kings and then the flop comes and… BAM! There’s the ace. The way you handle it depends a lot on your opponents, the stack sizes, and more. Let’s look at a situation from Richard:
I’m chewing over a decision I made last night and would like an objective view. I’ve become a regular reader of you articles, which I find both thought-provoking and entertaining, although I have some work to do to catch up: I’m still reading the posts from December 2006. On to the problem:
We’re at the final table of a live NLH tournament: nine players remain, six places pay. I have a stack of around 14BB, which is above average, when I’m dealt K-K in the big blind. There are two limpers ahead of me, and I raise to a total of 5BB. One of the limpers calls. He’s a calling station and seems to call any raise once he’s limped, and has got this far by mostly hitting his hands. After the call, my remaining stack is around the size of the pot, and his is around 3BB less than mine. The flop is A-x-x and I’m out of position. What next?
Given that my opponent has previously called pre-flop raises with holdings such as unsuited medium connectors, I’m unable to guage how likely it is that he holds an ace. I’ve also seen him bet weak draws, so if I check and he bets I’m still not convinced I’m beaten. A small bet would almost certainly be called, and would also commit me.
What happened is that I pushed and he called, showing A-2 off-suit. Against another player I would have given more consideration to retreating after the flop and saving my
Richard didn’t write the last word, but I think we can fill in the blank. Tournaments add an extra level of poker analysis, and they add an extra level of poker psychology too.
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Tags: big-laydown, no-limit-holdem, no-limit-holdem-tournaments, pocket-kings, poker, poker-psychology, prize-structure
Ed,
How would you feel about a check/raise all in? I feel since we’re not getting away from this hand, it would be more +EV if we check to induce a bet from hands that would fold if we bet, and may bluff if we don’t.
Jason