The surprise bet

[dalecooper]

NL ring game. You have KT suited in mid-late position. One limper and then folds around to you. You raise 1xBB, everyone folds except SB and the previous limper.

Flop: 10 4 2 rainbow.

This is a pretty good flop for the hand. Top pair, second kicker. You're preparing to bet. But the small blind bets out the full pot amount immediately. You have no substantive read on this player. He hasn't played that many hands since you sat down. He's doubled his buy-in, judging from the size of his stack.

Call, raise, or fold?

I put him on AT or an overpair like jacks and made the disciplined, and very difficult, laydown.

[|~|ypermegachi]

pot is small, easy laydown

if they are tricky and like to take shots at the preflop raiser you'll just have to come over the top and reraise all in every once in a while.

[JeffreyGB]

You raise 1xBB, everyone folds except SB and the previous limper.

Wha? Preflop raise of 1xBB? Why? It's shocking (maybe not depending on your limits I guess) that everyone folded for such a small raise. Generally if you do a preflop raise that small, anyone who called in the first place is going to call again, making it largely worthless. Were you in early position so that they'd have to cold call 2xBB? Even still...

You'll see many on here recommend a standard preflop raise amount of 3-5xBB when you raise. This is two-fold: to actually put limpers to the test, since it's a sizable amount to call with absolutely nothing; and to keep from giving away the strength of your hand (if you 1x raise when you have a group 6 but 10x raise when you have AA/KK, good players may well pick up on it). In general, I don't know about raising with KTo anyway (table dynamic and position could convince me), but if you do, why do it for such a low amount?

- Jeffrey

[JeffreyGB]

In regards to the play here, I'm not sure what I'd do. Absent of reads, I'm leaning toward folding, but only slightly. If you had any reads at all on this guy (does he raise to steal on raggy flops? does he raise with less than TPTK in heads up?) that would be the entirety for the basis of my decision, since all he really needs to do here is think that the flop didn't hit you. I still see the 1xBB as an advertisement of a hand you're not sure about, if he did as well, he might have made this play just for that reason.

- Jeffrey

[dalecooper]

Well, no one had called to that point but one person, and he did stay in (as noted above). The reason? Mix up my play, be unpredictable, maybe get a couple people to fold. There's value in strange moves. I will typically fold this hand from anything but late position, and limp it if I play it at all... but sometimes I'll raise with it, anything from 1xBB up to whatever my standard raise is for the table (3 or 5xBB). Sometimes in early or middle position at a tight table, I'll raise 1xBB with a really good hand, too. At a loose table I'd never raise like that, too much likelihood of everybody calling.

With any raise pre-flop I may have multiple objectives:

1. get people to fold - so raise whatever I have seen people fold to at the table

2. send notice that I have a good hand, but not give away what my hand is - so I raise the same for most hands; or I raise varying amounts for all raising hands

3. disguise my play - so at times I raise with hands I would usually limp, or even fold

4. eliminate position disadvantages... any raise gives me the initiative on the hand, so I can play as if I have something when I may have nothing

As long as I'm consistent - or consistently variable with an assortment of hands - mission accomplished.

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[Aces]

pot is small, easy laydown

if they are tricky and like to take shots at the preflop raiser you'll just have to come over the top and reraise all in every once in a while.

laydown ???

cmon man....suck it up and reraise....hard

Rip -even without a read, you think more often then not this is a bluff/semi-bluff or no better then another KT? This has to be a fold or reraise, but you could be in trouble if they don't fold. Could be a smooth called overpair, AT, maybe even suited junk that two-paired the flop. Set would probably slow play it, but also could be that. Could also be QT, JT, T9, etc. or bluff(semi or not)

Is it a close decision or an easy reraise for you(and why)?

[LeFou]

Why are you guys saying reraise?

I'm inclined to go with hyper, in theory. Why stress over a crappy pot? He seems to like it quite a bit, let him have it.

In practice, I'd probably raise, 'cause I have a good hand and I'd assume opp was on overcards. A set would want people to catch up a little. AT would call and bet the turn again unless it was scary.

And I'd probably get squished a few times, 'cause he wouldn't always be on overcards. Then I'd mutter "ddamn, hyper was right.... mutter mutter"

[dalecooper]

In practice, I'd probably raise, 'cause I have a good hand and I'd assume opp was on overcards.

See, I wouldn't assume that from the scenario. SB didn't re-raise my min raise; if he had just overcards (AQ, AK especially) you'd think he would. Or if he was fine with smooth calling my small raise, then he's probably NOT the kind of player who would come out aggressive on the flop with nothing but high cards. I still think the best I could hope here is that we're headed for a split pot with two KT hands... but more than likely he's holding AT.

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[dalecooper]

so basically you are playing K/10....flop the 10 and will fold on a raise ?

gimme a break

what are you playing it for in the first place if you arent going to bet it if you hit either card......If I am playing K/10....#1 I am not going to just limp in....I raise pre flop....# 2 if someone is going to lead out with a bet...Im going to send a message right there with a reraise that I have the 10 with a solid kicker

if he reraises back....THEN re-evaluate...but to lay it down on any bet is ridiculous....why even play K/10 in the first place if you arent going to bet the 10 if its top pair on the flop

#1 - I didn't limp, I raised, although it wasn't much of a raise. But I will limp this or any other hand at various points just for variety. I don't raise every hand I play. Frankly, I'm not comfortable being the guy at the table that everyone is gunning for. I am pretty aggressive but I'll never be you, Rippy, not by a long shot. I tend to limp suited connectors and low pairs more often than I raise with them... I also will limp so-so hands like this one from late position depending how many people are in the pot.

#2 - I play K10 looking to hit top pair with kings or tens, and bet into the pot first (the majority of the time no one will bet before me - that's true of most hold 'em hands); or raise a weak bet, if one is made. What I'm not looking for is someone to confidently bet the size of the pot from UTG and then me raise him. It's arguable whether I should play K10 and if so how much I should raise with it, but to me what's not arguable is throwing more money at it if someone connected with the flop better than I did. And by betting that hard from the worst seat at the table, he's announcing that something there is making him happy. If he's bluffing it's a weird bluff; if he's on a worse hand than mine (JT, QT) he's an excruciatingly bad player, which I wish I had known beforehand.

[Ayce]

Either fold (weak) or raise (strong), calling is not an option as you will get no further information and if he bets strongly again on the turn what are you going to do?

If you do raise strongly and they bet back at you they likely have a set. The value of a strong raise here is that you may get a weak tight on a set of twos to drop the hand.

[johnnyawe]

6-max: Easy raise.

10-man: Not sure.. I probably would raise but it seems like a move that could get me into trouble.

[Mony B]

think about it, he prob put you on more of a hand like AQ-AJ, KQ, low to mid pp somthing like that. He prob hit top pair along with you, he might not have had as strong of a kicker as you did. Notice his strong bet, seems to me if he would have hit a monster he would check and let the bettor make his bet and smooth call and punish you later. I would say it is safe to say he has around JT, QT, T9. Why wouldnt a small blind call to your 1xbb raise? If he hits which he prob thought he did, he can take the pot down and you loose your raise. Him having a hand that beats your hand here just doesnt make sense, he lead out and was first to bet, when you where the bettor on the flop, seems to me he figured you didnt hit and why not take the shot to take down the pot.

[mimmons775]

you should either raise or fold. Callings not an option. if you raise your trying to figure out where you are in the hand, if you get reraised then fold immediatly.

[twosevoff]

6-max: Easy raise.

10-man: Not sure.. I probably would raise but it seems like a move that could get me into trouble.

Agreed.