[venga1]

When do you put down a high pair pre-flop (JJ, QQ even KK)?

Had 2 hands one with JJ and one with QQ at 1-2 no-limit cash game:

Both times a player before me raised to 8 I re-raised to approx 18 they raise to approx 40, I go all in for approx 100, they call - both times they had AK and hit. It turns out i was in decent position both times but would you say given the sequence of moves I did the right thing?

This comes after another hand last week with almost identical moves where I had KK and the other guy had AA.

I have been a fairly succesful player for the last month or so but it would have been even better but for these losses. I seem to find it hard to fold a high pair pre-flop, I dont think I would ever fold KK pre-flop and probably not QQ, JJ maybe.

Thoughts? I am playing these hands badly? Should I have put them down or have I just been unlucky?

[The Poker King]

venga1, on Jan 19 2007, 16:17, said:

When do you put down a high pair pre-flop (JJ, QQ even KK)?

Had 2 hands one with JJ and one with QQ at 1-2 no-limit cash game:

Both times a player before me raised to 8 I re-raised to approx 18 they raise to approx 40, I go all in for approx 100, they call - both times they had AK and hit. It turns out i was in decent position both times but would you say given the sequence of moves I did the right thing?

This comes after another hand last week with almost identical moves where I had KK and the other guy had AA.

I have been a fairly succesful player for the last month or so but it would have been even better but for these losses. I seem to find it hard to fold a high pair pre-flop, I dont think I would ever fold KK pre-flop and probably not QQ, JJ maybe.

Thoughts? I am playing these hands badly? Should I have put them down or have I just been unlucky?

I personally don't think you've done anything wrong with these hands, in both situations you are about 55% favourite to win the hand. Maybe a slightly bigger re-raise initially, but by the sounds of it if you had gone all-in these players would have called with their AK.

I don't think I could fold KK pre-flop in a cash game (maybe in a tourney) surely folding KK pre-flop cannot be a long term profitable strategy? I guess it comes down to the image of the other player as well. If they've been sitting folding for an hour and then suddenly they are raising and re-raising the pot then you've got to think they have a monster.

[venga1]

Got my revenge last night. With JJ re-raised a raise and was then re-raised so called. Flop comes A J rag, opponent with big bet which I just called. Turn is a K, big bet from opponent, I re-raise, he calls. Go all in on river and he calls with AK. Hand worth $320. Lovely.

Also had a hand with 88 against AQ, flop comes A 8 rag, he makes bet, I call. Queen comes on turn - an all in from him and call from me. $530 hand.

A nice $500 profit overall for the weekend.

[cityfan]

I Consider myself an alright poker player and recently have been winning a few cash prizes in tournaments but tonight i had the most unbelievable luck.

Was playing in a tournament and was only a few places off a paid place of at least £25 with 10 people left. There was a guy on my table who was a very loose player, betting and raising all night and had about 22,000 chips and he had been ruining the game the whole time i was on that table with his antics. Anyway i get pocket aces and most people have folded, so i go all in with 20,400 chips hoping to suck someone in and boost my stack before going into the final table. But this guy also goes all in and what does he have??? 2 9 not suited!!!! He went all in with that!! The flop comes and i couldn't believe it, two 9's are in there and he's hit 9 trips! the last cards are a 7 and a 10 and im out!! I couldn't and still cant believe his luck and my bad luck!!

This post has been edited by cityfan: 22 February 2007 - 01:40

[Jambo Stu]

cityfan, on Feb 22 2007, 01:26, said:

I Consider myself an alright poker player and recently have been winning a few cash prizes in tournaments but tonight i had the most unbelievable luck.

Was playing in a tournament and was only a few places off a paid place of at least £25 with 10 people left. There was a guy on my table who was a very loose player, betting and raising all night and had about 22,000 chips and he had been ruining the game the whole time i was on that table with his antics. Anyway i get pocket aces and most people have folded, so i go all in with 20,400 chips hoping to suck someone in and boost my stack before going into the final table. But this guy also goes all in and what does he have??? 2 9 not suited!!!! He went all in with that!! The flop comes and i couldn't believe it, two 9's are in there and he's hit 9 trips! the last cards are a 7 and a 10 and im out!! I couldn't and still cant believe his luck and my bad luck!!

Harsh break.Seen it/had it done to me before too. My mate did it to my other mate in a live game.He nearly got a dooing! Then you get the bawbags who say "thats poker"!No it aint,its fecking gayness!

[venga1]

I recently had AA hand in a cash game where some muppett called my preflog raise 62 off suit, flop gives him a pair of sixes but bottom pair - he makes a big get which I re-raise; he calls and another card comes offering him no help, I go all in and he calls with a bottom pair of 6s, on the river a 2 making him 2 pair - costs me USD500. Just shockingly unbelievable.

[mrpaddyx]

cityfan, on Feb 22 2007, 01:26, said:

I Consider myself an alright poker player and recently have been winning a few cash prizes in tournaments but tonight i had the most unbelievable luck.

Was playing in a tournament and was only a few places off a paid place of at least £25 with 10 people left. There was a guy on my table who was a very loose player, betting and raising all night and had about 22,000 chips and he had been ruining the game the whole time i was on that table with his antics. Anyway i get pocket aces and most people have folded, so i go all in with 20,400 chips hoping to suck someone in and boost my stack before going into the final table. But this guy also goes all in and what does he have??? 2 9 not suited!!!! He went all in with that!! The flop comes and i couldn't believe it, two 9's are in there and he's hit 9 trips! the last cards are a 7 and a 10 and im out!! I couldn't and still cant believe his luck and my bad luck!!

A bit hash perhaps but i've learned that you need to take you bad beats with good grace or it can just eat you up and ruin you play later on. Saying that the worst beat I say recently was one during a Pokerstars tourney a few weeks ago and this would have really annoyed me if it happend to me.

Pre Flop there are 2 people raising, nothing spectacular maybe a couple of hundred chips each and everyone else folds. Flop hits K K 2. Player 1 goes all in straight away and Player 2 calls instantly. Player 1 has Pocket Aces and Player 2 has pocket Kings. The turn then the river are both Aces therefore knocking out a player who had 4 of a kind post flop. Needless to say there were a few expletives typed shortly after.