having problems running into sets

[Resources]

alright, i'll post the hand histories later.....but just wanted to throw this topic out here before i went to bed.

played three $10 SnGs tonight and busted out 5-7th in all 3. i seriously think that i'm doing something wrong. everytime i busted out, it was the same senario.

i'm mid-low stack against mid-low stack. i'll have some kind of premium hand (AA, AK, AQ, etc) and raise 3x BB. the other guy will call. i'll hit two pair or tptk. i'll go ahead and raise 3/4-pot size (for both there were flush draws). they'll call. on the turn comes a blank and i go ahead and fire another bet. they seem to always pause for a while here.....(which i normally mistake for "oh crap...i'm pot commited now and i didn't hit my flush") and then push AI. by now, i'm pot committed as well with a decent hand....i call....and they flip over a set.

this seems to happen to me all the time. i seriously think i must be playing these situations wrong or something...can anybody help?

briefly....the three hands i got busted with:

i hold AA
flop comes Q 10 2
other guy has QQ

i hold AK
flop comes A 6 T
other guy has TT

i hold 84 (BB)
flop comes 9 8 4
other guy has 99

and pretty much the same thing every time. flop comes flush draw. checked to me (or i'm first to act and i raise)....smooth call every time.

i think the biggest issue i have is...how do i know if they're not just smooth calling to draw for the flush?

[ekillian]

That's bad luck. It sounds like your stack isn't big enough to play your hand aggressively without getting pot commited. So I don't know what to tell you to do different.

[ender555]

Honestly I have the same problem as you. Playing hand's aggressively means getting trapped is what I am concluding.

So you bet the pot or 2/3 on the flop, and you get smoothe called. The turn comes and the pot is a good size by now, it will usually cost you quite a bit of your stack to do it again. It's hard to decide whether they are on the flush draw or slow playing a set/2 pair. I'd like to hear opinions from some of the better players on the site what to do on the turn when this happens.

You have position and he checks to you on the turn. You have tptk.

I usually bet 2/3 pot and if i get called check/call river unless i'm deep and he's deep and goes all in.

[drmcboy]

I'm going broke on all three hands.

[ngericl]

With mid to low stack, you have to make your move with these hands, imo. Chalk it up to a bad night when they turn out to be 2nd best hands. I've been there, too.

What really sucks is if this is a harbinger of a downswing.