Holding AK and flop your pair but opponent has trips....

Twice recently I've held AK in late position and standard preflop raised with it, got a couple of callers.
Flop gives my my K or A and it gets checked to me so i bet (maybe 1/2 pot to full pot) , and get reraised hard.
I felt like my opponent had a set, but since they had very small stacks I called in case they were only paired up with lower kickers ie:AJ or AQ.
I was pretty sure they had the sets both times I was on the losing end of this, but called anyways half hoping I was ahead and half hoping I'd improve.
Do you ever find yourself folding your AK when you hit the flop but feel someone has a set?

yeah wen ever i raise like 3x BB before flop and get short stacked callers i always think someone called my raise with like pocket 8's and sure enuff the flop always come out with middle ranged cards which scares me of the set

I can save you some heart ache for low limit NL cash games:

1. unless the flop is rainbow, don't put your entire stack in jeopardy over TPTK, even then, use caution.

2. Bet BIG (4-5xbb) before the flop with hands like AA/KK/QQ and maybe JJ/TT in LP

if you get action after seeing a small connecting flop while holding a big pair, lay it down, you are not the favorite to win if someone has a strong straight or flush draw.

the majority of money earned in these games is with big pairs and hitting an occasional miracle flop from the blinds.

bluffing at low limits is very tough to do, so i'd advise against it

This is not really something that can be avoided. Just limit your losses when it does happen by folding when your opponent is showing enormous strength.

Also, I don't think you should be scared when two random number cards appear on the flop. It's likely that these are just blank cards that didn't help anyone. In fact, if somehow you know for a fact that your opponent has a middle or small pocket pair, and the flop comes A, 7, 8, 8-8 and 7-7 are actually the least likely hands for your opponent to have.

"In fact, if somehow you know for a fact that your opponent has a middle or small pocket pair, and the flop comes A, 7, 8, 8-8 and 7-7 are actually the least likely hands for your opponent to have."

Yes, but if you have say AK and raised 4x BB preflop, and get just a caller, they probably have you on high cards. If you bet hard after the flop, and they jam a reraise on you, or if they bet out really hard before you, i'd say its most likely to put them on that set or that 87s.

Originally Posted by Greedo017

Yes, but if you have say AK and raised 4x BB preflop, and get just a caller, they probably have you on high cards. If you bet hard after the flop, and they jam a reraise on you, or if they bet out really hard before you, i'd say its most likely to put them on that set or that 87s.

Yeah, perhaps. I'm just saying you shouldn't at all be afraid to bet out here.

yeah, it's a similar syndrome to people not letting go of KK or AA when indicators tell you to ..

today i held AKs and flop was awesome AT9 rainbow, so i bet just under the pot ($4 on $4.50) and got raised to $8, i thought for a while (against solid player) and folded. he had two pair (and really one shouldn't mind playing against someone who calls a 3-4x BB preflop raise w/ AT)

he was a very solid post flop player though.

point is i could have wasted half my stack on this one, but I didnt.

I recently was playing in a $1/$2 NL live game. I had AK spades in the SB and raised to $20 with a bunch of limpers in the hand. I got 3 callers which was my first red flag. Flop was

K83 rainbow.

I bet $25 into a $66 pot. 3 callers again. Another red flag. Turn was:

2

I bet $50 and the BB went all-in. He actually saved me money. Sure enough, he flipped over pocket 8's when we all folded. The alarm bells had gone off in my head but I ignored them because I had a good hand. Don't think I'll do that again -- at least I hope not.

Originally Posted by jmontis

if you get action after seeing a small connecting flop while holding a big pair, lay it down, you are not the favorite to win if someone has a strong straight or flush draw.

huh? Put down the pipe. It's called a draw ... he needs to hit his card to win which will happen less than 50% of the time. I'll play this scenario everyime heads-up.

mj