How to play AK here?

[Sterno]

Very first hand of a $10 mini-tourney at Paradise. I don't have notes on any of the players. How do I play this?

Paradise Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t5 (10 handed)

MP3 (t1000.00)
CO (t1000.00)
Button (t1000.00)
Hero (t1000.00)
BB (t1000.00)
UTG (t1000.00)
UTG+1 (t1000.00)
UTG+2 (t1000.00)
MP1 (t1000.00)
MP2 (t1000.00)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K/images/graemlins/club.gif, A/images/graemlins/diamond.gif. Hero posts a blind of t5.
UTG folds, UTG+1 calls t10, UTG+2 calls t10, MP1 folds, MP2 calls t10, MP3 folds, CO folds, Button calls t10, <font color="CC3333">Hero (poster) raises to t45</font>, BB calls t35, UTG+1 calls t35, UTG+2 calls t35, MP2 calls t35, Button calls t35.

Bigger preflop raise? I often do about 4-6x the BB with AKo, but with that many callers and extra money already in the pot, in retrospect I'm thinking it should have been more.

Flop: (t270) A/images/graemlins/heart.gif, K/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, 9/images/graemlins/club.gif <font color="blue">(6 players)</font>
<font color="CC3333">Hero bets t80</font>, BB folds, UTG+1 calls t80, UTG+2 folds, MP2 calls t80, Button folds.

Clearly I bet, but I'm not sure what a correct amount is. I don't like the small bet that I went with, and think something like 150-200 would have been better.

Turn: (t510) Q/images/graemlins/spade.gif <font color="blue">(3 players)</font>

Now what?

[amoeba]

bet at least the pot on the flop.In your case 150 to 200.

on the turn, the only hand that beats you is TJ or a slow played set, bet 1/2 pot and fold to any raise.

Although if somebody raises with AQ and makes you fold your higher 2 pair, I'm sorry.

[Ben]

[ QUOTE ]
on the turn, the only hand that beats you is TJ or a slow played set, bet 1/2 pot and fold to any raise.

[/ QUOTE ]

Seriously?

I feel like that is tremendously terrible advice. Could you explain your thinking?

-Ben

[jon_1van]

Amoeba, I'm not sure I agree with you on all counts

The preflop bet should have been much bigger. The goal should have been to take down all the limpers. Getting out to an early lead would be nice.

I agree that the flop bet should have been bigger. Say at least 3/4 pot.

This would have made the turn easier to play as TJ would have been less likely to call. If this is a sit and go (a 10 dollar one) and I raised more on the flop I would put a huge bet in now. You might very well get called with a worse hand becaue some with a medorice hand might think "this is just a pyscho" and call with AQ, KQ, AJ.

All advice is assuming this is a SNG...I'm not familiar with Paradise so I'm not sure what a mini-tourney is. OP might want to post this in the tourney section.

[amoeba]

if there was only 1 caller after the flop I would feel more confident about top 2 pair. A bigger preflop or flop bet would have perhaps limited your number of callers.Again, my earlier turn advice was specifically for his situation in which he underbet preflop and the flop.

my earlier advice might have been a bit too weak. It certainly depends on the amount of the opponents raises on the turn. calling down is certainly 1 option on the turn.

But lets say on the turn, you bet 1/2 pot to pot and opponent reraises all in, do you call?

I think in most cases this is a clear fold.I don't think most reasonable opponents makes a reraise all in with KQ or AQ on this board.

[Sterno]

Yeah, it is a SNG.

I played this hand terrible the whole way through, though it got progressively worse from preflop on. On the turn, I bet about 400 and got one caller. River came a blank and at this point I knew this guy was either a complete idiot or had me dead back on the turn, and being frustrated with myself to play so poorly to get into that position, I made an even worse move by pushing all-in. I mean, what's pushing even do for me there except possibly lose me some of his money if I'm ahead? I don't see a better hand folding to me at that point.

Anyway, I pushed and he called and flipped his TJo for the straight. All in all, horribly played by me. Had I played preflop and the flop correctly, I would have chalked it up to a bad beat, but I got myself into the bad position on this hand and I'm looking to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Not throwing the rest of my chips away on the river would have helped, too. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[DOMIT]

I agree with the much bigger bet preflop.. you don't want to give people a price to flop a set. Unless you raise bigger pre, I would call with 99 in the hopes to flop a set.

As for on the flop, this is not a cash game, you're not trying to get extra "value" from the hand. Take it down here with a pot bet and be happy with the size of the pot from any pre flop caller(s).

[Sterno]

[ QUOTE ]
As for on the flop, this is not a cash game, you're not trying to get extra "value" from the hand.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm pretty sure that's one of the biggest weaknesses in my SNG play, and something I identified while writing up this post. I'll definitely be working on that.

Thanks for the responses.

[jon_1van]

[ QUOTE ]
But lets say on the turn, you bet 1/2 pot to pot and opponent reraises all in, do you call?

[/ QUOTE ]

If you bet bigger preflop and on the flop :: yes
Here you are much more likely to be left with a psycho. The pot is bigger. And it is rarer for you to be beaten. There is 1 way for the opponent to have AA, 1 way for KK, 3 ways for 99 (which might not have played), 16 ways for JT (which probably would have folded)

If you underplayed the hand :: probably
You invested less so you didn't cripple yourself by folding. The JT and 99 which constitute most of the hands that beat you wouldn't have folded.

Sidenote :: I don't think 1/2 pot to pot is a "huge" raise
Sidenote2 :: You'd be surprised the pyschos that play some SNG's. I have been 4 handed in the 20-40 level on Stars (starts at 10-20 and 1500 chips). Granted that's rare

[tripdad]

i think your preflop bet was fine...coulda been more, but it really is no big deal given your position.

i would definitely play for the pot on the flop with a bet of, say T350 or so. if someone has a set, they will push at this point hoping to take it themselves. of course, if that happens, you can fold and still be in decent shape in relation to the blinds, or you can call and start another S&amp;G should you lose.

cheers!