KK unimproved (PLO100)

[Aisthesis]

I guess first a bit of a table description. This table was very raisy and very aggro, largely driven by 2 players (possum and dr. cobben, whom I'm sure some of you know, since they're regulars at the 100 and play a fair amount of 200 as well). When I first say down these two were really going at it (I think both of these guys are too aggro for their own good), but they'd kind of burned themselves out, although average pot was still pretty decent.

Then Carnite sat down, whom I figure a lot of you also know, and who imo is probably a bit too aggro but indeed a good player. This hand and another I'm getting ready to post are both against Carnite.

Another bit of background on the hand is that I think I've been laying down too many KK hands unimproved. I had one in the same session where I got into trouble for a little with one of these, but I actually think that when I made the call in question there, I had sufficient equity to go with it. And I laid down when I really was beat without any big loss.

On this one, I have AdKcKh3h in SB (which I might have raised myself). Possum makes a UTG raise to $3, and Carnite calls in LP, as do I. So the flop is 3-way.

Flop now comes Qh7c3s, so quite uncoordinated. I check, and possum checks, which to my mind leaves no doubt that he doesn't have AA. No way a player like him is going to check AA on that board. But now Carnite pots in LP.

My sense here is that he also doesn't have AA but a hand more along the lines of big cards including a Q, so I think more often than not, I'm ahead here, and even though I'm OOP, I have a pretty decent idea what my scare cards are. I also have a 3, so that I suspect pairing my 3 is also going to make my hand good--and I can still pick up a non-nut heart draw. No way I'm check-raising here nor do I like betting out into a super-aggro field, even though betting out would give me a better idea of where I'm at. I just figure I'm up against some kind of Q with a lot of outs for 2 pair at least 80% of the time in this spot.

So, I just check-call for $10. Turn is nice for me, since it's a low heart, namely 4h. Ok, Carnite is also capable of having some kind of 456 hand in this spot, but so am I. He probably knows me well enough to think I would bet out the straight, but my play of this hand is rather uncharacteristic for me anyway: I check, he pots again, and I call again--pretty much going with my original take on his hand, but with hearts just in case.

River is 6d, reinforcing the straight that I doubt he has and giving me no help. I check, he checks, and I win with my KK. He had AQT8ds with nut hearts, so I was lucky not to have made those.

I doubt that making a habit of this line is a very good idea, but it worked out and turned into a big pot (in which I also had a lot invested). I guess in this case, I find it difficult to play this hand anything more than passively against players of this type, against whom I tend to think doing a lot of calling isn't as bad as it is against others. As the hand developed, though, if the flush hits, I presumably double Carnite up in one way or another. I don't know whether I would have bet it myself or not, but he's going to full pot his runner-runner for sure, and I'm also going to call it with the second nut runner-runner.

Opinions?

[Felonius_Monk]

[Aisthesis]