DECISION POINT: In a live $1/$2 cash game the player in MP1 limps, you raise to $16 from MP2 with K♥K♦, the Big Blind calls, as does the original limper. It checks to you on the 7♣5♠3♦ flop and you bet $34. The Big Blind folds, MP1 calls and the turn comes the 4♥. Your opponent checks and action is on you.

What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing in a low stakes $1/$2 cash game with most players having around $200. We’ve chipped up to $320 and the player on our immediate right has us covered. We are dealt red kings in MP2 and everyone folds to the player in the MP1 seat who open limps.

Our hand is far ahead of a middle position open limping range so raising is a must. When isolating a limper the correct approach is to start with the default raise amount then add 1 big blind for the limper. In many low stakes games it’s not uncommon to have that default raise amount of $10-$15 at $1/$2, and in this game the standard raise has been $14 (7BB) so we raise to $16. Everyone folds except the Big Blind who cold calls and the original limper in MP1.

The flop is 7c5s3d and both opponents check. When the Big Blind just cold calls the original raise and MP1 limp/calls it’s an indication that both ranges are usually quite condensed and capped. As a result it’s highly unlikely they have a huge pair like QQ+ and are much more likely to have hands that are considered too strong to fold but not strong enough to raise, such as suited broadway cards and mid pairs.

Our kings rate to be the best hand on this board and there is a ton of room to get value from hands that appear to have good equity on the flop such as 88/99/A7s. The default continuation bet in this spot is approximately 40% ($20). In the moment we choose a bigger sizing of $34, the Big Blind folds and MP1 calls.

The turn is the 4h and MP1 checks. This is a very scary card for both us and our opponent. The main parts of MP1’s range we could get value out of like 88/99/A7s are much less likely to continue to call on this card. Betting to “protect” our hand from Ax type holdings here is tempting. However when we bet for protection this sometimes causes hands that have 7 outs (plus 4 potential outs to chop) to catch up, and almost assuredly gets folds from combos in our opponent's range that have very little equity but might make a thin river call.

We also open up to being bluffed by more aggressive players who recognize this card is much better for the caller’s range, although that scenario is less likely in lower stakes games where players are open limping and generally playing more passive.

Checking is the best play.