$11 SnG - AQs MP, 1st hand

[Dr_Jeckyl_00]

How would you have played this hand?

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t15 (10 handed) converter (http://www.selachian.com/tools/bisonconverter/hhconverter.cgi)

UTG+2 (t800)
MP1 (t800)
Hero (t800)
MP3 (t800)
CO (t800)
Button (t800)
SB (t800)
BB (t800)
UTG (t800)
UTG+1 (t800)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with Q/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, A/images/graemlins/diamond.gif.
UTG calls t15, <font color="#666666">3 folds</font>, Hero calls t15, <font color="#666666">2 folds</font>, Button calls t15, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: (t72.50) T/images/graemlins/club.gif, A/images/graemlins/club.gif, 8/images/graemlins/diamond.gif <font color="#0000FF">(5 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">SB bets t15</font>, BB folds, UTG calls t15, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to t75</font>, Button folds, SB folds, UTG calls t60.

Turn: (t237.50) 9/images/graemlins/spade.gif <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">UTG bets t95</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to t190</font>, UTG calls t95.

River: (t617.50) 3/images/graemlins/spade.gif <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">UTG bets t125</font>, Hero calls t125.

Final Pot: t867.50

[Rex Ruthless]

Raise preflop! Not raising leaves it a family pot and your opponents could hit any number of hands on the flop. Your leaving yourself open to losing lots of chips when your oppoents limped with mediocre hands and hit two pair. Is that what happened? UTG have T8s or T9s?

[Dr_Jeckyl_00]

I think most people in this forum will disagree w/ you. He had QJ and hit his st8

[lastchance]

Maybe raise a bit more on the turn? Otherwise, I think your play is fine. I suck at these spots.

[ClaytonN]

Okay then, I'll be the first to NOT disagree with him.

Your lack of preflop raise sucks donkeyballs.

[Karak567]

[ QUOTE ]
I think most people in this forum will disagree w/ you. He had QJ and hit his st8

[/ QUOTE ]

Then this is a bad beat post.

I don't raise AQ preflop in EP/MP level 1, contrary to what everyone says, and I do just fine.

[Rex Ruthless]

[ QUOTE ]
I think most people in this forum will disagree w/ you. He had QJ and hit his st8

[/ QUOTE ]

I am going to bet most here would agree with the raise preflop. You raise to get the blinds out so they don't get a lucky 2pair flop, and you raise to put your villian to the test. He may have (should have) folded QJo preflop to a raise. Good raise on the flop, but his calling has to send a signal he's on a draw. The straight reaches on the turn and suddenly he wakes up and bets out. I like your turn raise to test him, and when he calls and bets out again on the river, I am getting very suspicious - seems like he is bleeding you of chips. But I am probably not good enough to lay it down and make the call as you did. If the turn had been a club though I probably still test him as you did, but lay it down when he bets out on the river. Personally, I think utg should have reraised you big on the turn since you could have been on a club flush draw for all he knew.

[Dr_Jeckyl_00]

[ QUOTE ]
I am going to bet most here would agree with the raise preflop. You raise to get the blinds out so they don't get a lucky 2pair flop, and you raise to put your villian to the test.

[/ QUOTE ]

The books say raise with this hand, for the reasons you state, but people in this forum even suggest not playing these hands at all at the early levels (only PP and AK... AleoMagus how to bet $10+$1). I have trouble following this advice to the letter, but perhaps the reason they say to not even play these hands is due to the difficulty of getting away from the hand later on, and by not playing at early levels to begin with, you avoid this problem and save your chips for the higher levels. I guess I am looking for confirmation...

[kyro]

I think raising the turn at all is suicidal.

[keithb]

If you like TJ Cloutier's style, he doesn't play this hand at all at level 1.

Personally, pre-flop, if I'm going to play this hand, I'm raising the hand 4 to 5 times the BB early on because anything less than that, and the loser limpers still call you anyways - no respect for a min-raise or 3 times BB when its early.

The raise will either run into a call or two, bettering your chances and minimizing the playing field, or you will get a re-raise from a big pair, possibly an all in, which you will then fold.

The problem with limping in MP is letting in too many players, as the other people correctly stated. Additionally, there are so many tool sheds that play any ace early on in a SNG, that they could flop two pair even if you hit your ace, which will probably cost you a lot of money.

If you are playing at UB or PS, or somewhere you get $1500 in chips to start, you can afford to play some of these kind of hands early on to get a chip lead. If you get re-raised, you can fold, or if you don't hit anything on the flop, you can fold it up and it only costs you $100 in chips. You could also throw out a semi-bluff if you hit nothing on the flop and it checks to you. Your call there.