Winning a flip the hard way.

[frob23]

One of the things I have been discussing with some people regarding micro-limit 6-max is that it's almost never a huge mistake to get it all-in with AK pre-flop. Once in a while you might run into AA or KK (unlikely since you have blockers but it happens) but more often you will be against AQ, and smaller pairs. Combine that with the fold equity you have from playing it strongly and it is profitable to play it strongly short-handed.

So far, this has been very profitable. But time will tell if it's going to work in the long run.

So... in that vein, I ended up playing the following hand today:

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PokerNordica $0.02/$0.04NL Hold'em -- 4 players

[No Small Blind]

BB: $3.03
UTG: $2.01
Hero (CO): $6.26
BTN: $9.22

Pre Flop: ($0.04) Hero is CO with As Ks (4 players)
UTG raises to $0.24, Hero raises to $0.76, BTN raises to $2.42, 2 folds, Hero raises to $6.26 (all-in), BTN calls $3.84

Hero shows As Ks
BTN shows Qh Qc

Flop: ($12.80) Ah 6d Qh (2 players)

Turn: ($12.80) Jd (2 players)

River: ($12.80) Td (2 players)

Hero shows As Ks (Straight, Ace-high)
BTN shows Qh Qc (Three of a kind, Qs)

Hero wins $12.16 (Rake: $0.64)
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It's not as huge a deal as it looks. It was basically 47%:53% pre-flop. So I am supposed to win about half the time. But on the flop it was like 3%:97%... brutal.

The other guy was steaming after this hand. Like losing it that way hurt worse than if he hadn't caught the Q and I had hit a pair.

[Chips]

I think what steamed the player was the 10 being picked up on the river. I am sure he was grinning with the set and saying "no 10, no 10" then the river card falls to complete the straight.

[Arjonius]

I think it affects players more to lose via runner runner after hitting the set on the flop. Pre-flop, it's a flip, but after the Q flops, the odds of losing change dramatically, which tends to produce a far greater feeling of disappointment. Whether it's enough to make one steam is personal and situational.