{"id":2525664,"date":"2023-11-24T07:25:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-24T07:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/?p=2525664"},"modified":"2025-12-29T12:49:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T12:49:57","slug":"cash-game-strategy-pocket-kings-in-a-post-flop-pickle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/cash-game-strategy-pocket-kings-in-a-post-flop-pickle\/","title":{"rendered":"Cash Game Strategy: Pocket Kings in a Post-Flop Pickle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Here\u2019s another hand from the PokerCoaching Discord<\/a>. Our hero, Matt, is in a $5\/$5 no-limit hold\u2019em cash game in the Los Angeles area and is delighted to find K\u2665K\u2666UTG7 (traditionally called \u201cUTG+1\u201d \u2013 there are seven players yet to act). He opens to $25 and says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI upped my preflop raise size this hand, because the player to my left has a tell that demonstrated he liked his hand. I raised more under the \u2018raise what you think they’ll call\u2019 principle.<\/em>\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Already I have a disagreement with Matt\u2019s plan. If he thinks that the player to his left likes their hand, what a great<\/em> time to limp\/3-bet! The L.A. area is legendary for its loose gamble games, where massively multi-way flops, even for raises or 3-bets, are common. If Matt limps, the player on his left raises, and gets a caller or three, then Matt can drop a monster 3-bet on the field and make everybody\u2019s life miserable. I\u2019ve already written about that in an article on exploiting wide preflop ranges<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I said so in my initial response:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you think the player on your left likes his hand, then it’s the perfect time to go for a limp\/3-bet. And this would have worked exquisitely since there were three calls after the player you had a tell-on. Visualize that person opening to $20, getting three calls, and now you make it $240. This is exactly how to exploit people who cold-call raises too wide, and L.A. is the perfect place to do it.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Matt opens and gets (count \u2018em) four<\/em> callers, including the small blind (\u201cSB\u201d). Visualize the difficult situation Matt is in. Visualize how much cleaner things could have been for him had he limped and one of the field players had raised. Okay, onto the hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With $120 in the pot post-rake, the flop is 10\u2663<\/mark>-10\u2665<\/mark>-3\u2663<\/mark>. The SB and Matt check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is absolutely the correct play. When you find yourself out of position<\/a> to that many players, holding one pair, you must play defensively. Matt should literally be \u201cchecking range\u201d (checking every single hand that got here). What he does after that can be discussed, but Matt\u2019s check was spot-on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beware \u201cThe Sigh\u201d In Live Poker Games<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is one more check and the cut-off (\u201cCO\u201d) B83 (bets 83% of the pot – $100). The button folds, and now:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSB sighs and goes all-in for $170.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The action is back on Matt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat should I do?<\/em>\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I could hear the chuckles all over the Internet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no more reliable tell in live poker than \u201cThe Sigh,\u201d followed by a jam. It is invariably a monster.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even without the SB\u2019s sigh, Matt would be in an awkward spot. The CO sized up big, betting into four other players in a spot where they should be betting small, if at all. The SB looked at that and still wanted to put all their chips in, knowing that they had zero-fold equity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The others in the discussion felt the same way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilly: \u201cMy first instinct is the SB is full of sh*t and has a ten here the vast majority of the time lol.<\/em>\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BuffaloJr: \u201cThe \u2018I’m so tilted about this board that I put all my money in\u2019 behavior is a huge indication of strength.<\/em>\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Common tells like sighing before making a play <\/em><\/strong>
or being talkative mid-hand a worth looking for. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Pocket Kings in a Cash Game, what did Matt do?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Good poker hand posting etiquette requires that you pause an appropriate day or two before saying what you did, or the hand\u2019s results. Otherwise, any discussion is invariably tainted by the foreknowledge (it\u2019s easy to say that the hero should fold if we know the opponent had the nuts). Matt is a veteran hand-poster and knows better than to reveal the results early. But when the time was right:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRESULTS: I folded. Folds back to CO who tanks with a speech about how he doesn’t have a ten so this is really hard. CO mucks and SB flashes a ten as he drags the pot.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the hand, I had the same thought about limp re-raise. I have never attempted a limp re-reraise, but this would have been a good spot.<\/em>\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, my congratulations to Matt for finding the fold here. Many players would have looked at those two cowboys, rationalized that the SB was on a club draw, and jumped right in. Against one<\/em> player, particularly getting good pot odds<\/a> and knowing you\u2019re going to see a run-out, this wouldn\u2019t be a terrible play. But Matt was squeezed between two players who were very interested in the pot, and he was correct to believe that he was drawing slim at that point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, good for him for thinking about the limp\/3bet idea right after the hand. He says he\u2019s never done one, and I hope he\u2019ll give it a try the next time the context seems right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"It<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Read one of the highest regarded articles on the PokerCoaching.com blog: The Bankroll Bible<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Serious Sixth Street Error<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Finally, let\u2019s back up to that part where we discovered that both Matt and the CO had made good folds\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSB flashes a ten as he drags the pot.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently, the SB, who won the pot, hadn\u2019t read my recent piece in the PokerCoaching blog. They made Mistake #3 in the list of Five Sixth Street Mistakes That You\u2019re Making<\/a> \u2013 showing your cards when the other people fold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What possible good can it do the SB to reveal that they did, indeed, have the dreaded trips? To pat their opponents on the shoulder for making good folds? To show that the shuffler likes them better?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All they did was make both of their opponents feel good about their play. Look at Matt \u2013 he made the unenviable decision to release a premium that you only get once every 200 hands or so. That might have gnawed at him for hours, but instead, he got instant confirmation that he was on his A-game and ready for continued battle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what I wrote in that article, and it\u2019s worth remembering:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We play a game of imperfect information \u2013 don\u2019t perfect your opponents\u2019 information.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, of course, all of us in the PokerCoaching Discord cash game discussion group appreciated that Sixth Street error by the SB. We all patted ourselves on the back and said what a bunch of sage and sharp poker players we are. I hope you\u2019ll come and join us over there \u2013 we are all sage and sharp.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s another hand from the PokerCoaching Discord. Our hero, Matt, is in a $5\/$5 no-limit hold\u2019em cash game in the Los Angeles area and is delighted to find K\u2665K\u2666UTG7 (traditionally called \u201cUTG+1\u201d \u2013 there are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":205,"featured_media":2525864,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,877,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2525664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cash-games","category-poker-basics","category-poker-strategy"],"acf":{"peak_live_date":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/PC-Blog_Cash-Game-Strategy-Pocket-Kings-in-a-Post-Flop-Pickle.png",1280,720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/PC-Blog_Cash-Game-Strategy-Pocket-Kings-in-a-Post-Flop-Pickle-373x210.png",373,210,true],"medium":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/PC-Blog_Cash-Game-Strategy-Pocket-Kings-in-a-Post-Flop-Pickle-746x420.png",746,420,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/PC-Blog_Cash-Game-Strategy-Pocket-Kings-in-a-Post-Flop-Pickle-768x432.png",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/PC-Blog_Cash-Game-Strategy-Pocket-Kings-in-a-Post-Flop-Pickle-1024x576.png",1024,576,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/PC-Blog_Cash-Game-Strategy-Pocket-Kings-in-a-Post-Flop-Pickle.png",1280,720,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/PC-Blog_Cash-Game-Strategy-Pocket-Kings-in-a-Post-Flop-Pickle.png",1280,720,false],"author_image":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/PC-Blog_Cash-Game-Strategy-Pocket-Kings-in-a-Post-Flop-Pickle-100x100.png",100,100,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Lee Jones","author_link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/author\/jonesleehgmail-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":33,"uagb_excerpt":"Here\u2019s another hand from the PokerCoaching Discord. Our hero, Matt, is in a $5\/$5 no-limit hold\u2019em cash game in the Los Angeles area and is delighted to find K\u2665K\u2666UTG7 (traditionally called \u201cUTG+1\u201d \u2013 there are […]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2525664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/205"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2525664"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2525664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2539737,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2525664\/revisions\/2539737"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2525864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2525664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2525664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2525664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}