KQo

This is a typical problem hand for me, and this is an example hand of why:

I get it in the CO, folds around to me. I choose to limp, as I still do not feel it's THAT strong of a hand. Tell me if this is a good idea or not? Suited I would raise with, but not unsuited. Is that a problem?

anyway..... folds to the BB, who raises. I call.

Flop is Kxx rainbow. He bets, I raise, he 3-bets. This tells me he either has one of three things: a set, AK or KQ too. I decide I will call him down the rest of the hand. Should I be doing this, or should I be folding after the 3 bet on the flop?

I get myself in trouble with this hand alot, and I really want to hear lots of opinions on this because I know in alot of instances, KQ isn't THAT bad of a hand...

I get it in the CO, folds around to me. I choose to limp, as I still do not feel it's THAT strong of a hand

It's a very strong hand. In CO, it's a monster.



HUGE problem. You would prefer the pot gets HU, or not contested at all.



Don't fold to a 3-bet on the flop. Call down.

Why call down. What can you beat that villain would 3 bet with

That is amazingly weak not raising KQ offsuit in the CO. I would raise even if 2 or 3 players enter the pot already. Your raising hands from the CO should be fairly wide if nobody enters the pot, otherwise your not stealing the blinds enough. I'll typically raise with anything from K6 suited to 67 offsuit if I'm in the CO with nobody entering the pot before me.

There's also no way this hand is not going to get shown down for me. Since, you only limped in, this looks standard as to how to play it. Raise/Call the Flop and call it down.

w/o reading responses (Screech will nail it, and then I'll be biased )

It's a LEAK to not raise KQ off, probably from any Pos..but especially YOU HAVE TO RAISE IT when first in on the CO.

You are giving BB too tight of a range..because (and this is key!)
BB does not put you on a strong K.
Hand plays differently when he does, (by you not limping with KQ)


that's all I got.

( this is when I go back and read to see if I've learned something)


ps. I think u have some fold equity HU when A/K hits if you've raised pf. Players put you on AK a lot. It's also why small pairs that set can be so profitable "He's got AK..he's bluffing..." imo.

2 pair, a weaker K, QQ/a smaller pp, air...

It's HU, people do crazy things. I'm usually taking TP to showdown HU, unless it's painfully clear I'm beat/drawing dead. Neither is true in this hand.

In cutoff, to open, you I'm raising with anything down to probably K7...that opinion aside, definitely raise with KQ when first to enter the pot in the cutoff (think of it this way, how would you play KQ UTG at a 4-handed table?)....From middle position on, it's generally pretty good to open with any Blackjack 20/21 hand.

Best piece of advice I've ever heard - if your hand isn't good enough to raise it's not good enough to call.

If you raise preflop and BB 3-bets, then you can be more certain about his AK possibility.

With you limping, without knowing anything about him, BB is apt to raise with any Ace, and probably almost any King...he also will do this with just about any pair....Hell, he might raise with QJ.

He's probably 3-betting you on the flop to see where he's at...to find out if you really have that King that you're representing (because, with your preflop limp he's pretty sure you don't have it)....if anything, he's got you on a weak ace or a weak pair, or middle pair.

He could have 88, with a board like K92 and bet this way....he'll bet this way with AQ...or A9. KT and KJ are strong possibilities too. I think you're beating more hands than you're not.

I call the 3-bet, maybe even sometimes cap it, depending on the texture of the board, and what I know or don't know about the BB.

I also possibly still raise him on the turn if he bets.

Most times you just call this down - maybe fold to a four-flush that you don't match.

If you put him on these hands, why did you call down?????

KQo in the CO. Raise or fold. Don't limp. Then it plays very differently. Maybe the BB just cold-call, or fold. KQo is a powerhouse if nobody has raised yet, and especially if nobody is in the pot yet : It means no one on your right has one of the hands that could dominate you (AK/AQ/AA/KK/QQ)

But you didn't raise. So you have to read him now as having AK/KQ/2 pair. If he's usually passive, that's probably the case and you should just fold.

But if he's a good player, he isn't putting you on KQ and is fishing for information or trying to force you to fold your marginal hand. You can't know what he has. Maybe AQs with a backdoor flush draw, for example. I would play it that way against a CO limper with possibly a "weak" king (only if the pot was bigger tho).

Thank you guys, these are the kinds of responses I was looking for, but lets say I do raise this from the CO, and BB still raises me.

Now how do I handle that flop? because I know if he's 3-betting, that AK is a VERY distinct possibility, and if so, he's got me dominated, and I'm drawing to the 3 Q's left.

Regardless, I'm showing this hand down no matter what. If you raise pre-flop and get 3 bet by the BB, I would play the hand the exact same way by raising/call on the flop and call it down or bet if checked to on any street.

If you just get called by the BB pre-flop, then I would bet/raise and call down if he caps, otherwise bet if checked to.

Given the way the hand was played out, raising the Turn is chip spewing IMO, you want to encourage lower pairs and weaker kings to bet into you, but lose the minimum when your opponent has AK or better.

I dont want to get too off subject, but i was curious as to how you suggest playing KQ in the CO if there is a raise in front of you. Against a tight passive player i fold, but what about a tight aggressive or loose aggressive opponent.

KJ does. So does K/10, or queens, or jacks occasionally. So do a lot of other hands that have you beat.

You wont get credit for KQ or AK when you limp from the CO in an unopened pot, so you can't be giving him credit for something that necessarily beats KQ solely on account of the fact that he's 3betting.


When facing a raise, it depends on where the raise comes from. An EP i fold against. If it comes directly from my right, i may 3bet.

you call down.

there are now 12.5 small bets or 6.25 BB

You're getting > 4:1 effective odds to call down.

Again BB could do this with TT.

Only against the real passive players, might I fold the Turn UI.
By UI..I mean no str8/flush draws either.

As a general rule, if you're not sure how to handle KQo, this is what you do (in any position):

Raise if it has been folded or limped to you.
Fold if it has been raised prior to reaching you.
Never call.

It's pretty simple (me likey simple), and it is effective.

Generally, I'd fold it, because KQ is easily a dominated hand when there's a raise. KQ suited might be worth playing, but then you've still got to decide whether to cold call or 3-bet. If you don't know how to handle the situation, a good rule to follow is to either raise or fold and never cold call.

I would however 3 bet KQo or KQs against some players though such as those I can outplay and are straight forward and against someone who has been playing loose aggressive and raising a lot. Where the raise comes from also matters, it's definitely not playable against an EP raise unless against a maniac you want to isolate.

When you've stepped up a little bit from just playing straight forward ABC poker, you'll know how to deal with these situations much better, since they are marginal and pretty close.

Fold.



Fold.

Wait for better spots.

Don't fold KQ in the CO. If there's no raise (and to the OP if there's no one in) raise it up.