AA on the bubble

[NutCrackerr]

Absolute $100+8 WSOP Satellite
215 entrants, top 2 win WSOP 2005 seats, 3-11 get cash
We are down to the final 12

You are UTG (T15,000)and look down to see AA.
Chip leader (T60,000) is on you immediate left and has been stealing a lot of pots.
Blinds are 750/1500
Avg stack 25,000

What do you do?

[Superfluous Man]

What are the blinds? What is the average stack? Without that information, I can't really tell you what I would do. But I can tell you what I wouldn't do, and that's fold preflop.

You want those WSOP seats? Then don't fold aces preflop!!!!!!!!!

Edit: OK, now it's a little more difficult. If you're very certain you'll get a raise behind you when you limp, you could try for the limp-reraise all-in.

On one hand, it would suck to give the blinds a free ride, or give someone odds to hit a smaller set, and then get your money in on the flop as a serious dog. On the other, it would suck to win just the blinds with AA, especially when a double-up here puts you in great position to actually get the WSOP seats.

If you really don't think someone will try to steal, it may be better just to push and hope someone calls you with a lower pocket pair. But at this stage of the tournament, people will be playing super tight, and there aren't too many hands out there with which they'll call an all-in raise from utg.

Since my only goal in this tournament is to get to 2nd, i'd probably get tricky with the aces here in an attempt to double up, especially with someone playing loose-aggro to my left.

Edit 2: While writing the first edit, I see SossMan has managed to beat me to it, all while articulating the ideas in a much more clear and precise manner. Damn my slowness.

[SossMan]

I assume you are 6 handed.

You have 10x. Normally this would be an all in / fold situation. However, I think the big stack to your left can change this to a limp situation.
I would go for a limp reraise all in. If it doesn't get raised preflop and the big stack LAG is in the pot and the flop isn't too drawlicious, I would check raise all in on the flop. If the board does look drawlicious, I would push on the flop.
Of course, you can't really go wrong w/ pushing preflop, but with the steep payout schedule and the fact that you are on the bubble, I think that you wouldn't be maximizing your potential on this hand. This is a decent spot to get a little tricky.

-SossMan

[NutCrackerr]

Well here's what I did.

I ruled out pushing because I figured that would just pick up the blinds.

I min-raised to T3000. Good/Bad/Ugly?

Chip leader makes it T6000, folded to me, I call. Would pushing here back him off?

Flop came K 9 6 rainbow.

He bet T1500, I push (T9000), he calls and shows KQs.

[Sam T.]

If the question is whether you should fold in order to get into the money (which I would not admit on this board for fear of virtual castration), the main issue is how many smaller stacks are out there. Is anyone else out there about to be put all-in by the blinds? Even better, are there two or three of them?

If your question is how to make the most of this hand, it would depend on your reads and your table image. The best of all possible worlds would be for you to limp, get a raise behind you, and re-raise all-in. How would the rest of the table react to a limp? When a short-stack limps in this situation, my first question is "AA or dope? Raise and make is weak-a$$ fold." I can do this because early in low-limit tournaments, limping is for dopes, but it could be different in this sort of game.

So if you think a raise will just take down the blinds, I'd say limp, and hope for customers.

So no real help here, I guess.

[The4thFilm]

I would push after his reraise, but it worked out for you.

[betgo]

I would limp or miniraise as you played it. I standard raise is strange with 10xBB and pushing may not get action.

I would reraise allin to his small raise. You don't always win with aces, so you don't mind taking the pot. Plus if he missed the flop, he might fold on the flop. He would be getting 7-3 pot odds on calling your reraise push, so he would have to be pretty sure you had a big pair to fold preflop.

[SossMan]

[ QUOTE ]
I ruled out pushing because I figured that would just pick up the blinds.


[/ QUOTE ]

fair enough

[ QUOTE ]
I min-raised to T3000. Good/Bad/Ugly?


[/ QUOTE ]

I usually hate the mini-raise, but this doesn't seem to be a horrible spot for it.

[ QUOTE ]
Chip leader makes it T6000, folded to me,

[/ QUOTE ]


sweeeeeeet, limp reraise time, baby, trapped like a pro...

[ QUOTE ]
I call.

[/ QUOTE ]

/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[ QUOTE ]
Flop came K 9 6 rainbow.

He bet T1500, I push (T9000), he calls and shows KQs.

[/ QUOTE ]


whew...

worked out okay, but I really don't like the call. You give him too easy a shot to hit a better hand w/out paying for it. also, you let him off the hook if he has KQs and the flop comes rag-rag-rag.

[NutCrackerr]

Unfortunately it didn't work out too well, turn was a rag, river a queen, I'm out on the bubble. This was just one of those hands where I got it all-in with the best of it, just bad luck on the river.

[apd138]

Wait you called his re raise? I don't get it.

[betgo]

Actually with the blinds he is getting almost 3-1 pot odds, so he has to call, and with those pot odds you don't even mind to much if he folds.

Given the results, I assume you see whyit was better to reraise allin, although he you probably would have busted out anyway here.

[willie24]

you have to reraise preflop. it is unlikely to "push him off", but even if it does, you are ahead 6k+. look at it from his point of view...how can he fold? the pot is now 12k+ and you are raising 9k. he is going to call the vast majority of the time, getting better than 2-1. if he folds, thats fine, you just creamed him.

not reraising is a disaster.

[Nottom]

[ QUOTE ]
not reraising is a disaster.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not so sure. It sort of depends what he is going for here. If he is trying to get more than a minimum win while maximizing his chance of winning the pot than this line should work. Basically he is pulling a stop and go with AA.

Pushing preflop is pretty much always going to get called here becasue the hero doesn't have enough chips to push the big stack off a hand. Waiting till the flop might make the guy fold if he missed. Now in terms of EV this is certainly not going to maximize wins, but it might fold a small pair that would catch his set on the turn/river or fold out a draw that would have runner-runnered you. I'm not sure all this is worth it considering the overlay you get with AA but I think there are some benefits to this play. I think its a bit better with a hand like KK/QQ where getting an overcard (A) to fold on the flop is very good.

[betgo]

You don't want to play stop and go with AA. If someone thinks he is beaten enough to fold, he will probably be really badly beaten. You want the money in the pot before the flop.

If he could make a bigger raise that had a possibility to provoke a fold, it would still be right to push.

If the money was a lot deeper so that pushing would be a big overbet, then I would probably make a smaller reraise or possibly flat call to trap.