how poorly did i play this?

[crazyIvan 0]

First, to give you some background, I'm a micro limit recreational player. Mostly play $2 and $5 SNG NLHE, some .25/.50 and .50/1 limit ring games. I play reasonably well, have tripled my deposits on 2 sites in about 2 months playing 3-4 tourneys a nite, mostly.Last nite, playing on PokerChamps, I saw Tony G playing at a $2/$4 limit table heads up. He took most of the other guys money. I decided to sit down and play for a while. I know that its above my limits, but figured it would be fun to play him heads up. I was willing to risk $100 doing this, so I sat down and the other guy left leaving me heads up against him.Play went well. Mostly I was up between $20 and $50 for the better part of an hour. Then Tony hit a set on the river against my TPTK and I was only up $10.Then 2 other guys sit down, playing really aggressive, and about the 5th hand after they sit down, this hand comes up:(PokerChamps has no hand history, sorry, and i dont remember suits but flush was not a factor in the hand)I'm in SB with [KJos]2 folds, I call, BB raises, I callFlop comes [KJ7] rainbow.I bet, BB raises, we proceed to cap it.Turn is a [3]Same betting, I bet, raise, ... capped.River is [6]Same betting, capped.I really believed I had the best hand, putting him on AK or AQ, although the thought of 77 came to mind as well.I think the only bet I messed up on was not raising pre-flop.Suggestions, criticisms?Thanks

[cdddc75 0]

Call down after villain raises the turn."Set of sevens" should have entered your head by then.

[Vade 0]

Raise preflop, three bet the flop and lead the turn...then check/call the river (don't three bet the turn!!)Btw, KJo is a raise from I'd say middle position in an unraised pot...

[cdddc75 0]

Raise preflop, three bet the flop and lead the turn...then check/call the river (don't three bet the turn!!)Btw, KJo is a raise from I'd say middle position in an unraised pot...

While this should have definitely been a preflop raise, that was the least of OP's problems. He did threebet the turn (and got capped behind). After leading the turn, he got raised again and went captastic.Moral of the story: You really should slow down at some point with just top two pair. Those big streets were a spewfest.

[Smasharoo 0]

Btw, KJo is a raise from I'd say middle position in an unraised pot...eh..not really.First in, maybe, after a couple of limpers, not really.Ibviously you'd raise on the button or in the SB first in.

[cdddc75 0]

Btw, KJo is a raise from I'd say middle position in an unraised pot...eh..not really.First in, maybe, after a couple of limpers, not really.Ibviously you'd raise on the button or in the SB first in.

I totally misread that as "unopened pot". I sure hope I was reading Vade's mind instead of his words...

[crazyIvan 0]

Yes, i definitely overvalued my top 2 pair. Playing well and staying even/up against Tony G gave me some false confidence. Also, the guy was overly aggressive betting/raising middle/bottom pair in the hands he played to this point, so i failed to give him credit for catching something.My question now is, should I have checked/called him down or bet/called him down?Results:He turned over [66]

[The Red Dragon 0]

Your first mistake was preflop. KJo has a lot of equity against a random hand, and that's what you're up against. Raise for value and take control of the hand, or just steal the blind outright. Calling here is a big mistake. When he raises, you should probably 3-bet and come out firing on the flop. Now that you've shown weakness preflop, the fact that you've flopped a monster is wonderful. I would probably check-raise the flop and cap when I get 3-bet. Come out firing again on the turn, when he raises you 3-bet. When he caps you have to give him a bit of credit and slow down, even with top 2 pair on a fairly uncoodinated board.This makes the river a bit tricky. If an A or Q comes off, I probably check-call since a hand like AK or KQ, reasonable holdings for an aggressive opponent, just hit a better 2 pair. AA hit a set. I'd also check-call if the board paired the river because AA has a better 2 pair and a worse 2 pair now has a boat. With the blank that hit the river, however, especially against a hyperaggressive opponent in a shorthanded game, I bet and call the raise. I'm not as critical of your postflop play as some others, but you really shouldn't go any farther than 2 bets on the river.

[crazyIvan 0]

Thanks for the responses. Reading the strategy section here has definitely improved my game. I obviously don't play really well, but do okay and this forum is great for figuring out how to improve my game to keep it fun and profitable.I used to get really upset with hands like that, but have learned those hands will happen. I'm struggling with trying to maximize my winnings vs. minimizing my losses, and obviously have a hole in my game when I get married to a hand I believe can't be beat.live and learn.again, Thanks.

[Vade 0]

Btw, KJo is a raise from I'd say middle position in an unraised pot...eh..not really.First in, maybe, after a couple of limpers, not really.Ibviously you'd raise on the button or in the SB first in.

I'd raise it for value even with limpers, because it's a very small game. By 2/4 or 3/6 probably not from middle, but this my opinion for a .5/1 or 1/2 game

[cdddc75 0]

Yes, i definitely overvalued my top 2 pair.  Playing well and staying even/up against Tony G gave me some false confidence.   Also, the guy was overly aggressive betting/raising middle/bottom pair in the hands he played to this point, so i failed to give him credit for catching something.My question now is, should I have checked/called him down or bet/called him down?Results:He turned over [66]

Wow. That sucks.I suppose bet/call on the river is fine too after bet/call on the turn.What a lucky donk.

[Smasharoo 0]

I'd raise it for value even with limpers, because it's a very small game. By 2/4 or 3/6 probably not from middle, but this my opinion for a .5/1 or 1/2 gameI really don't see the value, frankly, and it's a disaster to be in for three bets preflop if someone reraises.KJo is really a very marginal hand.

[The Red Dragon 0]

I'd raise it for value even with limpers, because it's a very small game. By 2/4 or 3/6 probably not from middle, but this my opinion for a .5/1 or 1/2 game  I really don't see the value, frankly, and it's a disaster to be in for three bets preflop if someone reraises.  KJo is really a very marginal hand.

You both have reasonable points here. With limpers in the pot, however, even in a very low limit game, I tend to call rather than raise. An exception is when I'm in MP3, CO, or button with one limper in front of me, in which case I'll raise to isolate and try to take the pot down on the flop or the turn. If I don't stand a reasonable chance of taking this pot down on the flop, I don't like making a preflop raise with a marginal hand that tends not to play well in multiway situations. KJs definitely gets a raise at .05/1 and 1/2 limits from me in this position, but I have to lean towards calling KJo. Once I have a multiway pot with a hand like this, perhaps it's not such a bad thing to have as many people in there with me as I can. This is an important point even with stronger unsuited top-pair hands like AQo. Raise if you think your AQo (or KJo) stands a reasonable chance of picking up the pot unimproved, either through bluffing or even just high-carding in a heads up situation. In a pot which is already decidedly multiway, maybe just call and take the flop. Any thoughts?