What do you do in this situation?

TreC

Here is what happened.
The first hand I had KQs(diamonds)and the flop was a total bust with a low suited small straight(3-4-5 spades) so I fold. Next hand I get dealt KQo. Being a bad flop the hand before I decide to fold it since bad luck the hand before and there were already 2 raises ahead of me. As soon as I saw the flop I wanted to shoot myself for folding - K K Q. I could have won the hand for sure with that. I thought to myself "aww #@%&, I just threw away a full house". The turn made it worse, it came up another K. I could have had 4 of a kind.

Is there any lesson I should learn from this, like don't get scared off because of previous bad flop?

The_Gamblar

i believe that poker is a game of timing.. just play ur game accordingly and beware that after a bad beat u might make decisions that you normally wouldn't.. and don't be discourgage.. in this case.. it was just bad timing..

Tilter

When you first missed the flop with totally diferent suits, it was a good move to fold. The second time around, I would have folded to two raise because you would be EP and therefore the players before you, if reasonably good players bet hard, you could have presumed you were beaten. But if there were no raises, I would have called the KQ no problem. Sometimes ppl lose with AA, it doesn't mean they won't play them, it just mean you got unlucky.

Remember, if your holding any two cards, you have a 33.4% chance of flopping one of them and a 2.2% chance of flopping both.

So if you have AK, you should raise because you have a 33.4& chance of flopping top pair and the best kicker.

DJP

TreC,

I found that by playing VOLUME amounts of online freeroll poker tournaments, it has taken away a lot of emotion from my decision making progress. (I've probably played in 200 online tourneys since December on 3 different sites, plus months of daily play on the free money heads up games too) I still also have hands now and then like you mentioned, and it bugs me too, but I move on pretty fast. You have to. If you play cards long enough you'll see it again too. Shit happens. Gotta let it go. I am now to the point where I can prejudge my hole cards in about 2-3 seconds. If I drag out a decision now, I'm usually doing it to appear weak. Or just to mess with a habitual better/raiser type asshole. lol When you play enough games, the decision making will start coming more naturally and faster as well. You almost get into a rythym. Less emotion more science I guess. And you live with your decisions. Poker isn't about playing each hand to an exact standard. ie: These I bet, these I fold. I think it's more about playing what you consider to be any hand that gives you good odds for your money. imho of course.

ScottyZ

Being a bad flop the hand before I decide to fold it since bad luck the hand before

This is a stupid reason to fold.

and there were already 2 raises ahead of me.

This is an excellent reason to fold.

You made the correct play here folding the KQo pre-flop for 3 bets cold.

As soon as I saw the flop I wanted to shoot myself for folding - K K Q. I could have won the hand for sure with that.

The flop is irrelevant. You made the correct play here folding the KQo pre-flop for 3 bets cold.

The turn made it worse, it came up another K.

The turn is irrelevant. You made the correct play here folding the KQo pre-flop for 3 bets cold.

Is there any lesson I should learn from this

Yes. Emotions are irrelevant. You made the correct play here folding the KQo pre-flop for 3 bets cold. Be a robot like me. We are Borg. 8)

like don't get scared off because of previous bad flop?

Does this imply that you would sometimes play KQ for 3 bets cold pre-flop in cases where you were not "scared off"? If so, I think your starting hands need a lot of work.

What troubles me the most is that you made *absolutely* the correct play here by folding pre-flop and this seems to have upset you.

We don't control or know how the cards are going to fall. All we can do is make the best decisions possible every chance we get, and this is what you have done here.

Next hand, please.

ScottyZ

dvst8r

Whoa, talk about going on tilt! Forget the way the flop, turn and river comes out on previous hands. Play percentages, it'll help you become a successful poker player

DJP

Got lost in my own schpiel there. lol Forgot to say I agreed with your decision to fold too. In the long run, it's the smart play.

Also read Daves answer in this thread below. Similar topic.
http://www.pokerforum.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?t=333&highlight=&sid=5c3b7cf9369dd202b5bd20a64f31d0bf

TreC

Thanks for the responses
I guess I was just thinking about the hand I could have had even though I did make the right move(for the wrong reason). After reading my own post over again I realize how stupid it is to look back on past hands and use them as tools for decisions for the current hand.

Dave Scharf

There are sa couple of thoughts in this thread that I would like to highlight. ScottyZ has nailed some of them already.

So if you have AK, you should raise because you have a 33.4& chance of flopping top pair and the best kicker.

There are LOTS of reasons to raise with A-K. The most compelling (to my mind) is that you very possibly have the best hand. Generally, if you have the best hand RIGHT NOW you are never too far wrong by betting or raising (occasionally you will be but only very marginally). If you do not have the best hand there is a good chance you will outdraw a player who has you beat pre-flop.

Those that have read my book know I harp on my twelve word guide to poker: "Bet with the best -- good draw to invest -- fold all the rest."

In the case of A-K you are, generally, betting because you think you have the best hand. You are not betting because you have a 33% chance of flopping a pair. That's a different discussion I think.

i believe that poker is a game of timing.. just play ur game accordingly and beware that after a bad beat u might make decisions that you normally wouldn't.. and don't be discourgage.. in this case.. it was just bad timing..

Poker is a game of timing. It is not something over which you do not exert control though. Timing is the art of knowing how the game is going. How your opponents are playing. And taking advantage of the trends. In low limit games there aren't many trends beyond "my opponents suck" so the only "timing" is waiting for big hands.