played wrong??

[Whalers2005 0]

I was at the final table at a local tourny. Down to 3 players ,I was chip leader. I was in the big blind with J 10 ofs. Small blind doubled the big blind so I called. Flop is J K K. I always watch the player during the flop rather than the cards and I picked up a tell showing weakness. HE checked. I went all in. HE called in a split second. Thought I read him wrong which sometimes happens but I'm pretty good at doing that. HE flipped a 6 ofs. He gets his Ace on the river. Anything I should have done different? Thoughts would be great.

[troutsmart 0]

Depending on chip counts and blind structure, it is difficult to determine if this was a poor or good move. It sounds as if you were trying to protect your hand, and simply wanted to take the pot down vs. gaining value from your hand. Not to criticize your play, as I don't know the total picture, but one thought I have about protecting a hand: In a scenario such as the one described, an all-in bet often appears suspicious of a bluff or a mediocre hand. It is a rather natural suspicion I think, by both poor players and good players. Why would this be a natural suspicion? On a board of KKJ, how would a player play any hand with a king? How would he play the premium king hands of AK, KQ, and KJ? With these premium hands, the player will naturally try to extract value from his hand, typically done (and I don't necessarily agree with doing this) by some form of a slowplay. If you had any other king, you might be slightly concerned of kicker problem, and bet both to gain value and information. How about hands containing a jack? The natural thing is to first find out if your opponent has a king. This is usually done with a standard bet or raise. The same thing applies if you hold a pocket pair. How would a draw like QT play the hand? Such a hand is played countless ways, but does not exclude an all-in, as many like to play draws very strong.In your case, you mentioned that you didn't look at the flop and instead watched your opponent, where you acertained that they didn't have a hand. Good read. This definitely puts you in a separate category from most players. You confidently gained the information wanted without making any kind of bet. Now let's go back to your opponents possible thinking. He makes a small raise in the SB preflop and is called by you in the BB. The flop come JKK, which he is probably has his eyes glued to, like most players. For whatever reason, and there could be many, he decided to check. You go all-in. He is now on the defensive and in a big way. What is going through his mind in that instant? Countless thoughts are cramming his brain. Though he may not recognize it, he is remembering past situations and hands such as this. He is also reverting to natural tendancy, which is to defend. In that instant, he decide that things don't add up for you to have a solid hand. He calls believing his ace high to be good, because of natural intincts. Again, I am in no way saying that this player made a good call. I've seen this situation many times, and surprisingly enough, that call ends up winning, as their opponent was indeed bluffing. I'm simply trying to identify how a player reacts when facing an all-in bet, especially on a board such as KKJ. As players, and students of the game, we should try to understand how our opponents think. Granted, every player will have a unique thought process, but their are some thought processess that are natural and intinctual to nearly all persons, such as those described above.How do we play this hand then? Well, as mentioned, there are many factors such as chip counts and blind stucture that would be important to know. However, if the goal is to protect the hand, it might me best to play the hand in a way that conveys the information to your opponent that you are indeed holding a solid hand, without suspicion. A standard bet on the flop will be effective in getting an opponent analyze their hand, but in a more logical and less defensively instinctive way. You may be called, and then need to analyze the situation on the turn. If a Q or an A has come, you can slow down. In most cases, you will be able to take the pot down at this point with another bet, when your opponent will have been forced to think TWICE about their hand. With a hand like A-high, they will give up and look for better opportunities.

[Whalers2005 0]

Thank you very much for takin the time to reply to my question. I truely appreciate it! :-)

[troutsmart 0]

No problem...though I tend to be long winded :-)

[thespoil 0]

No problem...though I tend to be long winded :-)

Nah, that was a great post.

[troutsmart 0]

No problem...though I tend to be long winded :-)

Nah, that was a great post.

Thank you...glad to hear that the wind is appreciated.