I am predominantly an online player (and still is) who started going to casino for live poker recently.

In online settings at 50nl and above, 3/4/5 bets doesn't always mean monsters like AA or KK. However, in the casino I am currently playing, 3/4 bets are always monsters (AA and KK) with almost no chance of light 3/4 betting. 5 bets or shove is almost always AA and occasionally KK.

As such, in this kind of setting, do we still 4 bet with KK since we are very likely to get only AA to continue. What can a 3 bet with KK achieve when we are folding out weaker hands and only getting AA to call or raise us?

How can we play KK profitably in such game dynamic?

Players rarely 3! Light in these games, but many will call them with their entire opening range.

If i were 3! by a typical player in these games while holding KK, I'm flatting frequently and playing post (esp when we are deep). It would take a special breed of nit to convince me I'm strictly set mining in that spot tho...

You can absolutely 3bet KK pre profitably. Most Villains will make the mistake of calling 3bets waaaaaaay to wide. As stinkubus mentioned, many will probably call with almost their entire opening range, including hands like AQ and AJ. That means they are not folding on flops that are Q and J high when they do make TPTK.

As far as opening KK and then being faced with a 3bet... well that's a totally different story. Most standard villains 3betting range is QQ+ and AKs, sometimes AKo and JJ. Most of the time they will fold everything except AA and KK to a 4bet in deep stacked situations. It would be rare for someone to 3bet/fold any of that range in a shorter stacked situation 100BB or less. In general, if they are going to 3bet with JJ, they are going to call it off when they get jammed on.

In short, in normal 100bb games or when villain is short stacked, 3 betting with KK with a view to get it all in is default play.

When stacks are deeper like 200bb, we can sometimes call instead of 3 betting? When we 3 bet and face a 4 bet, we just call to set mine?

Other thing to keep in mind is that you will get calls from significant underdogs much more often than you will get 4 bets by AA. You want to 3 bet for value as well as to create shorter SPR and set up the pot for convenient shove OTF or OTT on right board textures.

You should be able to identify the tables that have a 3/4 bet dynamic and the ones that don't. I'd say the ratio is 1:9 in the games I play. As far as getting 3bet while holding KK in a passive game by a passive player... stinkubus's post sums up my thoughts.

The REAL question is, if you are 3betting a lot in position, are your opponents putting you on an overpair and playing fit/fold?

Absolutely agree on this. We have to play KK aggressively pre for value, we cant be scared of AA at these stakes. I mean,when you got KK you only run into an opponent with AA 1 out of 25 times approximetely, so its probably not a leak at all to not ever be folding kings preflop at 1/2 game.

And the SPR thing is very good point. If you 3 bet an opening raiser who holds AJ or AQ, they will not be able to fold top pair if they hit an J or Q on the flop. When that kind of flop hits i love to C-bet half the pot, a weak bet like i missed and trying to take it down- and then snap call my opponents shove who believe top pair is good

Flat occasionally and 3bet light often on a tight table to force people to open up their calling range.

If the problem's that the table's full of nits, I'd prefer a table change to trying to beat the rake this way.

Depends on the villain. Some really bad live players look up to players like Tom Dwan and Gus Hansen so they think that loose aggressive is the way to play, not realising that it doesn't work when you're at a table of stations, and then get annoyed when their genius play isn't working.

Others are pure calling stations.

Last night i pick up KK UTG, and open for 22bb (table was calling huge bets). I get four callers, despite the fact that i've not played a hand for an hour and am raising under the gun.

I flop a set on KJ4 two diamonds. I bet 80bb, get two callers.

Turn is T, i shove for remaining 70bb, both call. At this point i'm ****ting myself thinking they must have a straight. Oh no. Not live villains.

At showdown one mucked Q3 no flush draw, one mucked T9 no flush draw.

These are the pure stationy types, where you must stack off according to your hand strength, because their range could literally be any old ****e. You can't be scared that draws etc came in because i see so often where they've got a hand that makes zero sense at all so rationalising it is pointless.

Others are nits (me) who only get it in with the best of it. In this situation you have to be aware of table dynamic. Put yourself in my situation from the hand i just described. On this table as a whole, JJ and even TT becomes a monster because people will literally call off with ATo etc. So even though i'm a nit, if i've overlooked the fact that you're playing pretty solid because the rest of the table isn't and you've just blended in by being quiet, i'm more likely to get it in wider than aces and kings.

Also last night, on a table next to me, some guy in your exact same position folded to a tightish player who'd 3 bet him pre flop. The guy mucked kings face up and the villain showed pocket 7's.

Against rubbish LAGs you must stack off 100% of the time if possible with QQ+.

Keep in mind that recreational fish will usually play QQ like it was AA (especially when no over pair flops).

Many will never ever let go of TPTK.