I've been coming to the realization that if you have pocket Aces and someone else has a set, there is really no way around losing alot of chips. So the best you can hope for is not to lose them all.

Is this a defeatist way to look at it, or is there more hope than that ?

The problem is if you raise preflop and someone calls, that's good. On the flop you expect to be ahead so you bet, if there are potential draws, you have to bet enough so they don't have odds to chase - I hate to give away free cards ! If your opponent calls then on the turn you have to bet again so as not to give a free card - correct ? If they call this , they are either a complete donkey or have you beat of they are a LAGG trying to steal your pot (I'm not sure how far a LAGG would go with a steal) . I'm beginning to think that if you get this far you might as well cut your losses and check the river and give it up to a bet ! It's hard, but I'd like some opinions from players who have this figured out !

Thanks,

Martin