AK late in tournie

[Padster]

This is my first post here so let me know if I'm missing lots of valuable info. It's a hand from a week ago that's been bugging me since.....

Late on in a $25 mtt I'm in 8th position out of 25. Top 20 pay but only $60 until you hit the final table. Top prize $1.8k. My aim is to hit the final table rather than scrape into the money.

BB=$800, I have around $14k chips. Pattern of play has tended to be blind stealing with 3x bb raises into unraised pots pre flop, not huge playing back action so far. None of the protagonists in this hand have been particularly aggressive or tight that I could tell (including me).

UTG+1 flat calls (he has around $15k chips), another late position caller (around $8k chips) and then me on the button. I have AKo and put in a $4k raise. (Pot already had $2.8k in it). UTG+1 calls, other guy folds.


Flop comes QT3 (2 spades). UTG+1 bets $2k into the pot of $10.8k. I raise to $5k, he thinks for ages and reraises all in (he has AQ but I'm now screwed chip-wise and so call and go out).

So apart from the obvious stupid call all-in should I have played that differently?

My thinking was he didn't have AA, KK or QQ or he'd have popped back pre flop. I put him on medium pair or AK, poss AQ. If he flopped trip T's he doesn't bet out, so at crunch decision point I put him on AK, AQ or a medium pair (and hope not trip T's). Admittedly that means I'm hoping to tie at best if called, but at this stage of the multi it's all about representing, and my raise has to look very scary to any of those hands.

I guess my question is, how do I play AK from that position? Is the proper way to play it exactly as I did but fold to the reraise and hope to scrape the money? I think it probably is, but that means 2/3rds of the time he calls my pre flop bet I commit a large proportion of my stack at risk to anyone with big stones and a pair. Is that just the way it goes? I can't see how I can play it differently pre flop.

That's it, any comments welcome.

[tiger7210]

His flop bet was definitely weak but he does have some kind of hand. I would put him on most likely KQ or maybe a middle pair like 66-99's. His small lead is just getting information, and your weak reraise let him know his Q was good. I think you either need to reraise all in which gets the middle pairs to fold and maybe even KQ to make a tough laydown, or fold. I certainly don't like flat calling and the miniraise to 5K into a 12K pot with all kinds of draws is very weak unless you have a made hand you're trapping with. The push says I have AA-QQ's and I'm not letting you catch your flush/straight draw without putting up all your chips. In that spot, that's even a tough decision for AQ to make, although most online players will call there with AQ.

[zaxx19]

Just so you know AA might smooth call and slow play preflop here MANY MANY times from what I have seen. Oh and fold or move in on the flop. This miniraise crap is for people who want action...not people who hold Ace high.

[Lloyd]

From his action, I would say that he either has AQ, KQ, QJ (if he's a little loose), or JJ (if he's a little weak). I think you're clearly behind here. Even thought it's a weak bet, he's still betting into someone that showed quite a bit of pre-flop strength so he's not too unhappy with his hand. I would probably fold. The only other option is to push. Your mini-raise pretty much pot commits you so you might as well push and tell him you can beat top pair.