KQ facing a minraise top pair flops

[Dave Davis]

Hi!

Opponent here is very loose aggressive (early in a tournament he reraised to all in with 99). He might have top pair with weak kicker here, AQ, QJ, everything, even Q9 maybe, even underpair maybe.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t100 (6 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

MP (t1908)
CO (t3168)
Hero (t1630)
SB (t324)
BB (t3605)
UTG (t2865)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, Q.
UTG raises to t200, 2 folds, Hero calls t200, 2 folds.

Flop: (t550) Q, J, J (2 players)
UTG bets t100,


Final Pot: t3410

So - what do you think? Should i move in here? Should i fold preflop? I think I should.

[ShowMeAtlas]

Yes fold prelfop.

This is a tricky situation. This bet could either be an idiotic 'I didn't hit that flop but would really like to see a cheap turn' bet or a 'I have AJ and am tying to milk you' bet. If stacks were deeper, I would reraise here, but in this case I think I'd fold.

[Staresy]

I would prolly fold pre-flop. I don't like calling raises w/ KQ.

However, UTG's weak-pissy flop bet deserves to be stomped all over. Could possibly be worth a smooth call (given how ridiculously cheap it is) and re-evaluate on the turn. He could fear you are slow-playing the J.

[JeffreyGB]

A reraise all-in with 99 shows aggression, but not necessarily looseness. How often has he been raising? If he's raising a lot, I might just reraise preflop. Postflop, if he's really a loose player, I'm probably going for it on that flop. If you're comfortable playing as a short stack and think he's unlikely to make crazy moves, reraise to 600 and let go if faced with aggression. If you expect he'd make a move with anything, reraise to 600 and hope to get it all in. If you aren't comfortable playing short, a push is reasonable given that a standard raise leaves you with relatively little behind.

[Dave Davis]

I didn't describe the hand earlier because I didn't want this thread to sound like a bad beat story. At the begginning, I raised with KK, this guy reraised with 99, I reraised and put him all in and he called the all in. He was all in with 99! He sucked out so I was really lucky to build my stack back from about 400 chips. That was possible because he called my all ins with a lot of crap later. So in this case he wasn't just aggressive but also loose and fishy.

So about preflop you say fold and I agree. I made a mistake here. I thought I should call because of position but I guess in SNG's it is not so important. Sometimes I mix up strategies I use in cash games and SNG's. I would definitely call that in cash game.

Postflop advice is interesting. I raised to 500 and he reraised to 900. So I should probably fold here, right? Postflop seems more important to me here. Raising and then folding seems right because all I can beat is a bluff or top pair weak kicker. What if I had AQ? Should I be afraid of pair of jacks on the board?

[ShowMeAtlas]

Position is extremely important in SNGs! Often more important than your hole cards.

[JeffreyGB]

Postflop advice is interesting. I raised to 500 and he reraised to 900. So I should probably fold here, right? Postflop seems more important to me here. Raising and then folding seems right because all I can beat is a bluff or top pair weak kicker. What if I had AQ? Should I be afraid of pair of jacks on the board?

If you're comfortable playing as a short stack and think he's unlikely to make crazy moves, reraise to 600 and let go if faced with aggression. If you expect he'd make a move with anything, reraise to 600 and hope to get it all in. If you aren't comfortable playing short, a push is reasonable given that a standard raise leaves you with relatively little behind.

What to do when he reraises is completely up to your reads. From the hand you described, I'd probably lean toward calling and/or pushing against his raise, but seeing one hand isn't nearly as good as seeing the entire rest of the SnG. How did he play on the hands that he doubled you up previously? How has he been playing against others at the table?

In general, no, you shouldn't fear jacks on that board. Sometimes you will run into them, but just as often you'll run into a pair that you beat and/or outkick.

[Dave Davis]

He played fishy and got lucky the whole tournament. I really couldn't put him on a hand.

[Molson]

Im very new to this replying business so correct me if im wrong. you floped a very strong hand short handed even pre flop your were very strong. If i struggle to pick up patterns on a player as you have here i would fold pre flop. I like to be in control over players like this you still have a nice stack to compete so wait for a better situation

[gingerwizard]

I think you did some good things.

Firstly the 99 reraise i guess is a little loose but him calling your pushes earlier tells you he is pretty loose ans fishy. This means you have to widen his opening ranges.

KQ, on the button, against this sort of laggy player, facing a min raise this is a call IMO. Next QJJ is a scary board for anyone and seeing him bet at it (even if it is a donktastic minbet) is not surprising. I would bet at this flop with air to scare players off.

I think you have the best hand and therefore you either define it now by putting in a raise, or smooth call and re-evaluate the turn.

Personally i like the raise. It allows you to get it all in on the turn and he he pushes over you can have a think about whether or not he has a J.

The call is ok, but be aggressive on the turn.

[Dave Davis]

So your suggestion is that I raise on flop. If he reraises I fold, if he just calls I move in on a turn. Right? The problem here is that if he just calls he might be slowplaying trips.

[gingerwizard]

Depends how much he reraises.

Yes he could be slowplaying trips but its so unlikely that until you have more evidence you can't be afraid of it. There are too many other possibilities that make this play profitable. Your raise looks like trips.

[Dave Davis]

Different opinions about this hand, I see. It is a trouble hand, preflop and postflop, right? Maybe I should really consider folding this hand preflop even in position against loose fishy player because there are 6 people in and my stack big enough so no need to panic, I think.

[drmcboy]

pushing here is pretty bleh, it helps him fold hands you beat and he never folds a hand that beat you. I would probably just call the donk bet and see what he does on the turn. Other option is to make it ~ 600 to go and shove any non A turn.

One thing you can't do is raise/fold with these stack sizes. You also can't (!!!!!!) fold to the 100.

[Da GOAT]

pushing here is pretty bleh, it helps him fold hands you beat and he never folds a hand that beat you. I would probably just call the donk bet and see what he does on the turn. Other option is to make it ~ 600 to go and shove any non A turn.

One thing you can't do is raise/fold with these stack sizes. You also can't (!!!!!!) fold to the 100.

i like the above.

he doesnt have the J but thats no reason to whack him now, call like its a slowplay and you have the J then repop him on the turn or bet if he check. looks like a stronger hand than what you have.

[Dave Davis]

Thanks guys for replies. Just to let you know, he held JTo. GL all.