[Palomino IV]

It worked out O.K. because a player behind you put in a raise allowing you to re-raise but I would have probably re-raised Villian to start with (he probably had A/6 and a back door flush draw, right?). Anyway, a lot of players don't think in terms of protection with their strong hands, but they should because it is the very strength of the hand itself that results in paying off an opponent even after you have fallen behind in the hand. When someone flops a strong hand like you did to a some what scary board they should ask themselves if they could imagine laying it down at any point. If the answer is "no" then protecting it is something that has to be considered, although more so in tournament poker than a ring game. Sometimes I think I could make a living just waiting to flop trips, especially online, because it seems so often that someone flops 2-pair to your trips or actually thinks their A/6, top pair, top kicker, is in the lead, forgetting that even pocket 7's represent an over pair. Good post! I enjoyed reading it!