Playing little pair -- by that I mean QQ

When A or K falls in the flop, how many players does it take to weak you out -- make you fold to a reasonable bet?

If I'm in late and a guy bets on that King, obviously I'm out of there. But how about this one:

PF I raise modestly into 3 limpers, and only one stays in. And there's the K in the flop. I bet about the pot and he raises pretty big. He's middle, almost late position.

Doesn't it hurt your rep if they see you folding every time a K shows up? I can see a guy calling a PF raise from there with a great many hands -- any pair, suited conn, any ace. Am I really just supposed to assume that I'm beat here?

I'd fold to the raise.

You raised preflop and led on the flop to show strength, which he is now raising into. Either he's stupid, or he's got something like AK, KQ, KJ, slow played AA, maybe a small set. There are a wide range of hands with reasonable probability that beat you here, and it's a long road to showdown with only two outs.

Assume he's not stupid and fold, but watch for evidence that he is stupid.

Just my $0.02.

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Originally Posted by koolmoe

I'd fold to the raise.

You raised preflop and led on the flop to show strength, which he is now raising into. Either he's stupid, or he's got something like AK, KQ, KJ, slow played AA, maybe a small set. There are a wide range of hands with reasonable probability that beat you here, and it's a long road to showdown with only two outs.

Assume he's not stupid and fold, but watch for evidence that he is stupid.

Just my $0.02.

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i run into a good number of people that will play king and just about anything (in addition to the ace/anything players).

last week, i lost a hand with QQ raised 8xBB (i had a lot of limpers) preflop to the one dumbass that stayed in with k4 off :x of course, a king on the flop.

so, i have to agree with moe.

You HAVE to respect the Ax and Kx players, especially Ax. If an Ace or King comes down on the flop, you gotta figure that you're beat if someone raises you.

While you have to respect the Ace or King on the board, you can't lay down to it every time. It demolishes your table image, and sooner or later (in all likelyhood, sooner), people will realize that you're going to let go of your cards if an overcard comes out. Sometimes you've just got to show the hand down to the river and see if you've got the best hand. Maybe you don't. But, at the very least, it helps you get a read on the other player(s) in the pot with you, and, while it might put a small dent in your chipstack for the time being, the information you've gained will definitely put you in position to win more chips.

It all comes down to the read you get off of other people. Oh, and another thing... you won't learn anything about someone's hand by checking to them and then calling their bet. If someone bets at the King, I'd consider raising to find out if he really has it. Even if he does, maybe he'll fold his K-low kicker (which he should have done preflop anyway). If you get re-raised, then you're either against a player who's not afraid to seriously bluff at the pot (most bluffers will fold to a raise, even a nominal one), or, the more likely scenario, you're in the pot against a K and you lose a little bit of money. If he merely calls your re-raise, then he's probably got a King, but not a great kicker. Consider making a stab at the pot on the turn. If he calls you, then he's probably still not sure of his kicker. If he raises you, then his not-so-great kicker might have paired, and he thinks he has the best hand with two pair. If he folds, well, congratulations... you've won yourself a pot.

You won't be laying a hand down every time an ace or king flops, because sometimes when you raise pre-flop, you'll have the ace or the king. They don't know what you're holding. If a king flops, and the guy raises you, maybe he thinks you have one of the under pairs on the flop, or maybe you have a king and a low kicker. Maybe, you're semi-bluffing at a flush draw. Every time you fold when an ace or king is out, doesn't mean you have a lower pocket pair.

I dont think folding to a re-raise will demolish your table image. However, if your worried about the overcard, try:

(1) Betting less out of position (no matter what flops) and call the re-raise. Your hurting anyways, unless you put your opp on a draw re-raise or bluff. Since the overcard came-out you should assume top pair.
(2) Vary your betting. Check-Raise, small raise, pot raise.

By doing a check-fold on the flop (after you raised preflop), ppl will see you as easy money and thats an easy table image for opps to remember.

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Originally Posted by LeFou

If I'm in late and a guy bets on that King, obviously I'm out of there.

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It depends here on the bet size, if opp likes betting 2-3rd buttons, draws, etc., and if opps easy to scare. You might consider a re-raise to test this opp out. They could fold outright. If they call, you can also try a fairly big bet on the turn and get the opp to fold (they might have top pair small kicker or worse)