What is your play?

[MrG]

325 players left, top 135 make money. Average stack is 9000.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t600 (9 handed)

Button (t6476)
SB (t11890)
BB (t20021)
UTG (t5447)
Hero (t7203)
MP1 (t10500)
MP2 (t14775)
MP3 (t5547)
CO (t10690)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with Q/images/graemlins/spade.gif, A/images/graemlins/spade.gif.
UTG folds, <font color="CC3333">Hero raises to t1800</font>, MP1 folds, MP2 calls t1800, <font color="CC3333">MP3 raises to t5497</font>, CO folds, Button folds, SB folds, BB folds, NOW WHAT????
I am not closing the action with MP2 still to play and having me covered, but folding will leave me with about 8BB and just the ante would be 10% of my stack. Comments on all streets appreciated. Thanks.<font color="CC3333">

[MrG]

I am assuming that no reponses means the answer is obvious.
Well, I still don't know the answer.
I guess my confusion is when to consider yourself pot-committed. If I am pot-committed then this is an easy push, if not then this is an easy fold? Any help appreciated. Thanks.

[ReDeYES88]

Did you view this as a steal attempt PF, or as playing a strong hand? Personally, I don't think I even play this hand PF out of position (UTG+1) and with five players to follow that have me covered. I've come to hate AQ out of position at a full table, suited or not.

If you do decide to play it, then you slide to try to isolate the short stack. More than likely it's either a coinflip to an underpair, or you have his Ax dominated. If he has AA or AK, so be it. Would like to know if he's been sliding a lot lately and has clawed his way back to 5547, or if he's was recently ahead and has lost in the last few hands. Some sort of read would help make the decision.

If you muck, you have ~5400 left, with 900 in blinds coming through in the next few hands. The two big stacks to your right, have they been protecting their blinds or letting them go? When are the blinds going up? Is the table overall tight or loose? What was the buy in? Would help to know that info.

Without other reads, I think I slide it to isolate. Next round of blinds you will be -10x the BB anyway, and you are not in horrible shape at the moment. You have a chance to double up, and if you do isolate and lose, you still have two rounds of blinds left in your stack for desperation time.

But as I said in the beginning, I don't think I play this hand out of position in the first place. If you're playing it for strength, it's really not that strong. If your're playing it to steal, either bet more PF or play a weaker hand that will be easier to let go when reraised.

[patrick dicaprio]

i think you have to fold here since you are not crippled and your best case scenario is that you are a small favorite. if you closed the action that might be different but with another caller of a raise to act behind you this is a tough situation. unless of couse you want to gamble which i cant really afult you for either since you still need to get lucky, but i would focus on survival here.

Pat

[Rick Diesel]

If you fold, you would have about 5,400, and the ante is at 50, so the ante would be 1% of your stack, not 10%.

[Deelah]

What hand is AQs a small fav. against?? AQo? /images/graemlins/confused.gif

You mean a coinflip right? Then its a small dog. Or, a coinflip /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[MrG]

Thanks for all the responses. After, reading everyones thoughts and thinking about the hand a pre-flop fold would be best as my position and stack size are horrible.
And the action after being reraised is to push all-in to isolate. This is what I did and got called by the big stack
Big stack showed QQ small stack showed KK and I lost hand.
Nice to know I went out on hand that should have been folded pre-flop. Live and learn. Thanks again for the responses.

[soxfan70]

I think the first question I ask myself is "Do I feel that I am a better player than most others at this table?" If the answer is yes, then I muck it faster than you can blink. If the answer is no, then I feel I need to get lucky to continue, and I call. I think you're clearly behind here, ad nif you have any confidence in your ability, throw it away and take your shots when you're in position.

[SossMan]

This is why I have started going to a smaller preflop raise...so I can throw away when there is an all in and a caller and I'm not closing the action w/ AQs.

[fnord_too]

[ QUOTE ]
325 players left, top 135 make money. Average stack is 9000.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t600 (9 handed)

Button (t6476)
SB (t11890)
BB (t20021)
UTG (t5447)
Hero (t7203)
MP1 (t10500)
MP2 (t14775)
MP3 (t5547)
CO (t10690)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with Q/images/graemlins/spade.gif, A/images/graemlins/spade.gif.
UTG folds, <font color="CC3333">Hero raises to t1800</font>, MP1 folds, MP2 calls t1800, <font color="CC3333">MP3 raises to t5497</font>, CO folds, Button folds, SB folds, BB folds, NOW WHAT????
I am not closing the action with MP2 still to play and having me covered, but folding will leave me with about 8BB and just the ante would be 10% of my stack. Comments on all streets appreciated. Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

My first inclination is to fold, but, if I think MP2 will fold to a push, I think I push here. MP3 could have a lot of hands, most of which are beating me. (A read on MP3 would be nice, some players would push with AJ, AT, KQ and even worse here.) I think there is a good chance the big stack will fold here, since he just called your raise I tend to think he has so-so hand that can't take a lot of heat. In that case, there is 6300 dead money in the pot, and you won't be entirely dead if you lose.

--edit-- 6300 dead money isn't quite the right phrase. There is 6300 in the pot + MP3's raise.

[gergery]

I usually fold here, having to go up vs. two strong hands.

But, given the overlay, its not terrible to be in there vs. JJ and AK

Note that being up against KK/QQ you are still 28% equity to win the pot, and given how much you’ve already raised and how big the blinds are, you are close to chipEV neutral with a call here (more goes into it than chips, but point is you’re not as bad off as you might think given massive overlay).

--Greg

[patrick dicaprio]

best case scenario he has AJ, T9s or some other decent connector or 22 which is rare, but it would be a best case scenario.

Pat

[patrick dicaprio]

that is not a bad idea, are you talking 2.7BB raise or 2BB?

Pat