so i made a loose raise preflop just to steal the blinds, and i ended up w/ top pair

i had zero information about this player, but his push just felt so stupid if he had KJ or AK or something, so i put him on a draw/bluff

do you think that was correct? obviously the outcome worked but, in future scenarios?

in future scenarios just lay down k5s pre flop will you?

lol, well generally yes, but that's not the question

if i do try to make a loose raise for a steal, get called, and end up in this situation, what things can/should i improve and look for?

I agree that the all in on turn would have been strange play from someone with KJ /AK/JJ. I probably would have called too. There is really no hand involving a king i can imagine he has.

i think i would play this passively postflop

you tried to steal blinds, failed, but made a marginal hand anyway.
the thing about your hand is though, if you are best you are likely to stay that way and if you arent best youre also likely to stay that way. so i would probably play it passively and try to get a better idea of his hand from how he acts out of position.

that way you keep the pot small (this is not a hand you want to play a big pot with) and possibly induce some bluffs from him that he would nto make if you bet aggressively

c/r on the turn tells me he probably can't beat a K in this spot. he c/r'd because he wanted to get you to put in another bet, then push you off of whatever you had. seems like he's gambling that you don't have a K and will be scared that he does. i'd be eager to call this with a FD as well, but you're not getting very good odds.

i think it's really player-dependent, but for the most part i think call and fold are both marginal. go with your instincts here.