the hand that frightens me

[tdarko]

this hand always puzzles the [censored] out of me.
i have AK and i make a standard 3-5X the BB raise and a get a couple callers. flop comes down A Q X, i make a pot bet and guy comes over the top...all that races through my mind is AQ AQ AQ!!! and its reasonable that he could have it, how you do you play this hand--early in sng, middle, and bubble?

[snapfc01]

what buy ins are you playing?

[tdarko]

30+3 & 20+2 usually. have gone higher but not as comfortable. these sng's are well within the BR so busting won't break me but i still take every hand seriously.

[ZBTHorton]

At the beginning of a tournament...CALL.
The later you are..the more likely I am to lay this down.

[raptor517]

AQ is a possible hand, but so is AJ and A10 at the 20 and 30 levels. its a judgement call, it can go either way.

[tdarko]

[ QUOTE ]
AQ is a possible hand, but so is AJ and A10 at the 20 and 30 levels. its a judgement call, it can go either way.

[/ QUOTE ]
yeah this is the problem, TPTK is very good early on with the "all-in raise only bet guys" yet my hand still FEELS vulnerable.

[Merlyn22]

[ QUOTE ]
this hand always puzzles the [censored] out of me.
i have AK and i make a standard 3-5X the BB raise and a get a couple callers. flop comes down A Q X, i make a pot bet and guy comes over the top...all that races through my mind is AQ AQ AQ!!! and its reasonable that he could have it, how you do you play this hand--early in sng, middle, and bubble?

[/ QUOTE ]If you called every time, it would surely be +EV. You're not going to run into AQ nearly as often as you might think - especially at the $20+2. You may get a solid read on a particular player in a particular situation that will let you KNOW he has AQ, but otherwise you shouldn't be too concerned. A different scenario is when the flop comes A Q X and X= Jack or Ten - then you probably want to slow down if you get any action on the flop. Sure, now you have a gutshot draw - but you're beat by a lot more hands that people call raises with in these SNG's.

[AA suited]

[ QUOTE ]
this hand always puzzles the [censored] out of me.
i have AK and i make a standard 3-5X the BB raise and a get a couple callers. flop comes down A Q X, i make a pot bet and guy comes over the top...all that races through my mind is AQ AQ AQ!!! and its reasonable that he could have it, how you do you play this hand--early in sng, middle, and bubble?

[/ QUOTE ]

early- fold. think 2pair/set. why risk your stack so early in the tourny?

if he bluffed u, then thats poker. but if the guy is willing to risk chips by bluffing so early in the tourny for so little chips, then he aint going to last long.

middle- depends on stack sizes (yours and his) and blind levels. if you have double his stack, call. check/fold to strength on the turn.

bubble- again, depends on stack sizes (everyone) and blind levels. if you started <10BB, then you should have pushed preflop. if the pot bet on the flop is >40% of your stack, push instead.