One-timed royal flush FTW

Back-to-back straight flushes!  For information, these hands are somewhat disparate from my archives.  I note them as I play 'em & post 'em at a later date.  In other words, I don't think this hand occurred coinciding with the prior post.  I'm sure it seems like I run like a maniac!

Anyway, 0.25/0.50.  Folds around to the player on my right who opens for $1.50 (it's a normal raise).  I look down at AdQd - pretty automatic 3bet to my standard (and admittedly LARGE, but I get a TON of calls) $5.25.

SIDEBAR ON BET SIZING: My opinion is go as large as you can if you're getting opponents to call it.  If your 3bets are severely weighted towards value, bigger is better.  I'm polarized when I 3bet.  I estimate I'm around 80/20 value.  Against opponents with higher PFRs - and on this site, they're VERY easy to see - I adjust my value/bluff percentages and adjust my definition of value.  In other words, KQ may be a bluff hand to some opens (and a bad bluff because very often, it's a dominated hand to some tighter players), it's a value hand to higher PFR players.  I can also use 75s, or other suited gappers to 3bet as a bluff; they're easy to continue / fold post flop.  Anyway - rabbit holes...

My 3bet folds everyone out to my heads-up opponent who calls.

$11.25 and flop is Kd7h2s.  My 3bet hands are very weighted towards Kx hands - mainly AK - and that's the common assumption of the majority of my opponent.  This assumption makes my cbet somewhat mandatory, though I've been playing with flop checking my top pair hands for deception.  In this case, though, I'd prefer to take the hand down without a fight: My stubborn opponent checks to me & I cbet half pot: $6.25.  Stubborn dude continues to be stubborn and calls.

$23.75 and at this point, only an A will get me to continue with the hand.  My opponent has called me twice & clearly believes he has me beat.  Turn is Jd and though this card improves my draws DRASTICALLY, I feel like I'm getting too close to very narrow stack-to-pot (SPR) ratios that my opponent will feel compelled to ship it if I bet here.  I don't love that prospect even though I have enough equity to call.  Quick math is as follows: I have 9 flush outs + 4 Ten outs + a possible 3 Aces and 3 possible Queens (which I can questionably discount a bit, since hitting my Ace may give my opponent 2 pair, and hitting a Queen may be futile against his possible pair of Kings) gives me a total 13 + ~2 outs (15) with one card to come gives me (15 x 1 card x 2 percentage multiplier) 30% equity.  My opponent checks to me & I opt to check behind.

$23.75 in the middle and I river the stone cold goods: Td.  Final board is Kd7h2sJdTd and I hold a very hidden backdoored straight flush.  To my delight, my opponent leads for roughly 2/3 pot making my shove a very easy shove.  He leads $17.50 with $18.22 behind.  I essentially double it, $37.50 and he snap calls for the rivered set and bad news: TcTh.  Exactly two timed.  Not sure I like how he played the hand, but got unlucky on the end for sure!

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The hand in question is linked here.

Pretty simple, uneventful bomb pot - a straight flush vs. second nuts

$0.25/0.50 tables.  Bomb pot, where each player puts in a single blind and everyone goes right to the flop.

$4 in the pot; flop is 6d7dJs.  SB opens for $2 and gets called my HJ (I have him labeled as a fish).  I'm in the CO and have an up & down straight flush draw: 8d9d.  I'd love to take this pot down immediately, but I'm definitely okay with getting it in.  I 3bet "smallish" to $6.75 and get called by both spots.

$24.25 in the growing pot.  Drumroll.... turn is of course, true to the title, 5d.  I have the 9 high straight flush, with a total lock on the hand.  Checks to me - I have two spots who called my raise; at least one should have a diamond draw - or something worthy of calling a turn bet.  Bonus if both have call-able hands!  That said, I want to bet small enough to keep in those who still feel they can draw out, but large enough that a shove on the river is not out of the question.  Half pot seems reasonable: I continue to lead for $12.  SB folds, but my $44 HJ fish friend soldiers onward.

$48.25 in the pot.  River is a very good / very bad (i.e. polarizing for my opponent) Qd.  I still have the same plan of shipping any river card into my opponent's $32 remaining.  I ship it & get snapped off immediately: KhKd.  Bro, what?

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The hand in question is linked here.

I think I learned something today... Deep stacked with KK

Both fish: 3bet/calls ship KQs, 4bet/ship KQs, 4bet ships A5s & 

I know I've been blogging about deep-stacked poker lately, and chastising my opponents for deep-stacked shoves / poor play.  I think turnabout is only fair play; I get caught in a deep-stacked trap.  I have reasons, which I'll share, but I still think I can get away from the hand & don't.  I learned from it.

We're at the $0.25/0.50 tables - my usual stomping grounds as of late.  I've been starting to play up to the $100NL tables, but the traffic is so infrequent, the volume is somewhat meaningless.  Anyway, I'm sitting on $140, but my largest stacked opponent has $93.61.

Folds to UTG+! who opens for $3 - larger than a usual raise (typical for these stakes is 2.5-3x.  A player calls to my right and I look down at KK from the CO.  Because of the large open and flat, I 3bet to $12.75 - this pot is getting larger, quick, if I get even one caller.  SB 4bets to $40(?) with $53.86 behind & original raiser shoves his $61 stack in.  Notes on the 4better are: "3bet/calls ship KQs, 4bet/ship KQs, 4bet ships A5s" and shover are: "O/c large 3bet K9o."  These are both labeled and noted as fish.  That said, I don't have any notes on a LARGE 4bet so deep-stacked, but these players can overvalue JJ,QQ, AK here.

Thoughts on my action?  Can I reasonably fold KK here?  Ever?  Against the shipper, I don't think I can, or should ever fold KK.  That's for ~100BB, though.  For ~200BB, does the calculous change?  I'm staring down a 80BB 4bet, who doesn't look like he's messing around.  I don't know; am I stuck in the matrix here?

Short of it is: I shipped my $141.22 only to get snapped off by my second deeper-stacked opponent.  I'm up against AA & AA.  Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill?  I think my lesson learned is even I blind squirrel finds a nut every so often.  Respect a 4bet and even respect a fish!

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The hand in question is linked here.