This hand occurred at a 1/1 home game I was playing at. Average stack was ~$450, with some having up to $1.2k or more. The straddle was consistently on with around 2-3 double and triple straddles each orbit. Hero should be viewed as somewhat snug, although capable of bluffing giving action. Hero was also in for $600 at this point and had been coolered (which table knew). Villain is a somewhat action player who was in for $600 and had been coolered boat over boat earlier.

PF:

Hero is in EP with KQss and opens to $3 (No straddle on). Stack = $450
Folds to Villain and V 3bets to $15. Stack = $600
Hero 4bets to $60 and Villain calls.

Flop: TcQsKd

Hero bets $48, Villain calls.

Turn: 4d

Hero bets $125 and Villain thinks for 1 minute (not super long) and shoves. Hero?


In retrospect this is a spot where I feel Villain has very few bluffs. Villain has more TT and AJ than us. However, I tried to convince myself that V could be semi-bluffing with a hand like 99 or JJ. This is something I really need to work on where I get too attached to a strong hand when I am running bad or tilting and try to stack off with it no matter what so I can climb out of the whole.
Any advice on what to do different/on the turn would be very very helpful....

I'd probably call more than 4bet. You can go smaller on the flop and just go 1/4.

But doesn't seem like you can really fold.

Preflop the 4 bet is likely a mistake. Unless villain will fold to a 4 bet a lot your better off seeing the flop with KQs.
As played you have top two and SPR < 5, your entirely committed despite a somewhat ugly board. Villain with AK or even AQ or a hand that has a diamond draw on the turn could feel committed also so your hand is just too good to give up.

luv the 4bet you did nothing wrong

Agree with the others, not 4betting this specific hand in these positions. If we were opening from later position and getting 3bet from a 3bet happy villain i would be more happy to 4bet.

After we get here there is no way to get away from top 2 in a 4bet pot. It wouldve been hard to get away from it if we just called the 3bet too. Its just a cooler if you lost.

I never understood how people got in 4 bet pots w KQ
Also nice deck with two Qs

Given the preflop action (which I don't know if it's a good 4bet) you got a good flop and the turn is a blank, so you go with your top two pair.

there's nothing in villains description regarding his opening range to justify the 4bet pre. I prefer to do that with hands like KJo or ATo or hands I don't care about tossing away to a 5bet jam.

I would open more pre since stacks are deep, to around 8 or 10 and we're deep enough to flat pre athough I don't really like flatting OOP but this might be an exception.

He has AK and other two pairs in his range, but so do we as well as all the sets as the 4 bettor so we're usually smoked here but it's like 200 into 475 so for that price I would call.

What's the point of 4 betting here? Really the only logic that makes it correct is he 3bets extremely light and will call every 4 bet regardless of his hand, so he's going to get to the flop with all hands you dominate. The reality is this probably isn't close to being true, and calling the 3b is the way to go. Here you built a bloated pot with no idea where you're at and even flopping two pair we have no idea how to continue on the turn. If he is 3 betting "light" I'd rather 4bet hands with blockers that do not flop well and have little domination value. Overall would play a little more snug in a 1/1 game - doubt anyone is getting too out of line.

$3 seems really small in a game like this, even if it is only 1/1.

Agree with others -- just call the 3bet. You are OOP with a marginal, easily dominated hand. I hate the downbet on the flop, but I'm rarely a fan. As played, it's a sigh-call.

In future posts, please put pot size on each street

Hmm interesting, the thing is this particular player had been 3betting a little light (showing up sometimes with K7o and in this game it was standard for people to 3bet hands like K5s) although there is definitely the argument that this kinda of behavior is halted once facing a 4bet.

I agree it is probably a sigh-call but what hands is Villain doing this that we beat?

In another reply I wrote about how V was showing up as the 3bettor with hands like K7o and how it was common to see people 3bet hands like K5s at this table. However, as I wrote in the other reply, this behavior probably stops once facing a 4bet. Can you give some examples of those blocker hands you mention you wouldd prefer to 4bet?

If we call the 3bet don't we have less idea of where we are at? Our range is pretty capped calling the 3bet from EP and V is pretty uncapped. Wouldn't that make our decisions after flopping top two on this texture even harder? Thanks for your advice

What is the theory logic for opening larger here with deep stacks?

Given V's 3betting range, the 4bet is looking better. Seems to me he could easily have worse 2 pair or a diamond draw -- maybe with a straight draw or some combo draw?

Opening to only 3x from EP while this deep is inviting everyone to call and see a cheap flop. You should always be shooting for it to be heads up or 3 ways at the most. Even if "everyone's doing it", it's still a pot sweetener and if 3x is getting only one or two players to call, you're probably in a really bad game ; )

How does he react to a 4b though? That's good that he's 3 betting wide, but are people calling 4bs wide as well or folding and only continuing with strong hands? If they're calling 4bs with the majority of their 3b range than I like the 4bet, if they fold those hands than I don't like it as much. Typically players may 3b light but will fold to 4bs without strong hands, so tailoring your calling vs 4 bet range is important. Generally if someone is 3bing wide but folding to 4bs I might be more inclined to 4bet hands that block nutty hands as well as lack domination/playability. Hands like A4s/K9s might be good examples - you don't really want to call a 3b with these types of hands as they lack playability and won't dominate, but KQs has plenty of playability and can dominate.

To sum it up though - if they are 3bing very wide and calling 4bs with most of that range than 4bing the KQs is better.

Don't 4B pre. Just flat call, and check flop.

AP, when we 4B pre and get called, c-bet flop smaller.

When we c-bet flop and get called, and the turn is a brick, fire 2/3 pot.

AP, we've put in over half our stack. Not sure we can fold now. Not loving it, but think we have to call.

I don't have a huge issue with the 4bet. You are perceived as snug and opponent is an action player...has to be at least some change of some immediate fold equity and it's a good hand. Calling is also good.

It's a flop where you have range advantage but not nut advantage. You shouldn't have many two pair here so you are somewhere in between having AA and a set in terms of strength. Opponent can easily have a lot of worse two pair (and pair-plus-draw) here so I would definitely bet two streets the way you did, but I'd probably go smaller on the flop.

The jam is concerning as you can have a lot of sets here to call with. I doubt this is two pair any more. The conditions are set up for you to get stacked here. It's close, but I might find a fold now. Does this opponent call big pairs in position? He could potenially have all th sets as well as the obvious AJ. You block KJs (and QJo). Yes he might blast TXdd or QXdd once in a while, but this feels value heavy