A Tough MTT Lesson: When Top Pair Isn’t the Top of Your Range

  • Thread starter Thread starter Das991992
  • Start date Start date
Das991992

Das991992

Legend
Platinum Level
Awards
1
BD
Poker Chips
385
Casino Coins
750
Today I made a costly mistake in an MTT and thought it was worth sharing.

I picked up KQs and called a preflop raise from a player who later showed AK. The flop came K-T-2. Villain continued with a bet and I called. The turn brought another K, giving me trips. When villain fired again, I decided to take the aggressive line and shoved.

He called with AK and I was drawing dead.

Looking back, the mistake wasn't having KQ. It was becoming too attached to the strength of my absolute hand and not considering the range interaction. The second K actually improved some of villain's stronger holdings as well.

Lesson learned: before committing a tournament stack, I need to ask myself, "What worse hands are actually taking this line, and what better hands are in villain's range?"

Definitely one I'll remember. 🃏
 
Reply
  • Like
Reactions: Silversurfer99 and Nameless14
This is basically a cooler. It's not really a question of range. It is a matter of not having the nuts. Still, a valuable lesson for sure.
 
Reply
  • Love
Reactions: Das991992
A lot of information is missing here including positions and the sizes of each bet. These details matter, but barring unusually large bets or something, its completely standard to go after 3 streets of value with trips second kicker, when no flush or straight is possible. So probably this was not a mistake but an unavoidable cooler. With that being said, if I was in position, I would usually just call again and look to get the rest of the chips in on the river, unless it completes a flush or something. Next time consider posting in "Tournament hand analysis" and give us the complete hand history.
 
Reply
  • Like
Reactions: Marshmalo1994
Das991992 said:
Today I made a costly mistake in an MTT and thought it was worth sharing.

I picked up KQs and called a preflop raise from a player who later showed AK. The flop came K-T-2. Villain continued with a bet and I called. The turn brought another K, giving me trips. When villain fired again, I decided to take the aggressive line and shoved.

He called with AK and I was drawing dead.

Looking back, the mistake wasn't having KQ. It was becoming too attached to the strength of my absolute hand and not considering the range interaction. The second K actually improved some of villain's stronger holdings as well.

Lesson learned: before committing a tournament stack, I need to ask myself, "What worse hands are actually taking this line, and what better hands are in villain's range?"

Definitely one I'll remember. 🃏
Click to expand...
Is true that you can consider that AK is on his range, but you can also think that you're blocking that hand.
More information of the hand would be helpful, for example to see if you could have made a 3bet preflop, what to do if he 4bets.
I don't think this was a mistake, and I'm not sure if after a 3bet would have ended in any other way, or if you would have just called back to control the pot would have saved you some chips.
 
Reply
  • Like
Reactions: Das991992
Marshmalo1994 said:
Is true that you can consider that AK is on his range, but you can also think that you're blocking that hand.
More information of the hand would be helpful, for example to see if you could have made a 3bet preflop, what to do if he 4bets.
I don't think this was a mistake, and I'm not sure if after a 3bet would have ended in any other way, or if you would have just called back to control the pot would have saved you some chips.
Click to expand...
I agree with you. Looking at the blockers and having more information about the preflop action would definitely help. I also don’t think the hand was necessarily a mistake, and a 3-bet or pot control line may not have changed the final result.
 
Reply
  • Like
Reactions: Marshmalo1994
That's a harsh one but a great lesson to learn 😅 Trips are great but they are super easy to overlook how the board interacts with villain range. I like how you put it, "what worse hands are actually taking this line" as it could save you a lot of chips, one loss will be forgotten but a lesson like this could teach you for a long time. 🃏
 
That is a tough one but a really good lesson. It's so easy to get attached to trips, but when a villain fires two barrels and calls a shove in an MTT, they almost always have it - You really have to ask what worse hands are going to call your shove there... Usually- it's only AK or a full house that plays that way. Tournament survival is everything so - slowing down on the turn is definitely the way to go next time. Thanks for sharing the hand!...
 
Das991992 said:
I agree with you. Looking at the blockers and having more information about the preflop action would definitely help. I also don’t think the hand was necessarily a mistake, and a 3-bet or pot control line may not have changed the final result.
Click to expand...

Obviously I don't know the stack depths and the bet sizings to say for absolute certainty, but if there is a mistake in this hand, it would be jamming the turn. A more reasonable value sizing would make sense. I think that you got excited and tried to get it all-in when you hit the turn. Nothing gets more folds than a pair on the board so you don't want to bet too large, especially if there is no flush draw, or if the flop size was significant we shouldn't worry much about back door flush. What hands worse than KQ will call a jam here? AT? Mybe? T2? Not really in Villain range. There is not a lot, so as value, the bet is likely too large. If we bet say, half-pot we can get calls from AT, KJ (only 4 combos but hey) On the other hand, what hands better than KQ are folding here? None. So if we happen to walk right into a cooler like KT or TT or 22 or ... AK ... oops! : S
 
Brutal exit, but a great lesson. It is so easy to fall in love with trips and completely forget what the other player raised with before the flop - when you shoved...only better hands like AK or pocket Tens were ever going to call you - Recognizing this mistake is exactly how you improve your tournament game. Good luck in the next one!!
 
Back
Top