A little help in a stealing situation

[Augster]

Hey.

PStars $5+.50 Turbo, 5-minute blinds. 1280 players.

I am in the money, and there are about 68 players left. I just won a couple of hands, coming back from the dead, to be 19th in the tourney.

Blinds are 3000/6000 with a 200? ante. I am table leader with 42000. The next closest has 25000. Everyone else is sub 20,000, most are sub 10,000.

The guy with 25,000 has been really loose, pushing with everything, and without a lot of luck he's gotten, he should have been out already.

I am UTG with ATos. The only guy with chips is across the table from me in MP.

What should I do?

I hadn't tried to steal the blinds yet. My previous two hands I won with were pocket 4's and pocket 6's.

Is UTG a good place to raise from with ATos? Should I push with it? Fold it?

Thanks for any input.

I think with blinds going up so fast and the 10k+ in the pot (25% of your stack), you should go all in here. I think you're only getting called by monsters and your stack can take the hit from most of the table.

[betgo]

[ QUOTE ]
The guy with 25,000 has been really loose, pushing with everything, and without a lot of luck he's gotten, he should have been out already.

[/ QUOTE ]

Correct strategy with the blinds this big.

[Augster]

Cool.

I was thinking Push, or fold. I know Harrington hates ATos, and so do I, and being out of position and all. But I did have a much bigger stack.

Anyone find a fold? Players were dropping like flies each hand due to the huge blinds.

So I was kind of in a dilemma, wait and try to advance, or push and be the aggressor with the big stack, with a semi-decent hand.

The only thing worrying me was it was a full table, 9-handed, and I was UTG. I was almost certain the dude with 25K would call, as he had all night, so I didn't think I'd actually get to steal. I was thinking maybe 60/40. 60% he'd call, 40% I'd steal.

Knowing that I'd most likely get a caller, and it's the guy that can cut my stack in more than half, is ATos still a good push?

Thanks.

[adanthar]

No, it isn't, and has nothing to do with that one guy (well, kinda.) ATo is -EV UTG 9 handed because of the distribution of 'good' hands behind you. AJ is close.

[Augster]

So you'd lay it down and pick a different spot?

I thought it felt a bit frisky trying to steal with that from there. And when it feels frisky, it's usually -EV. /images/graemlins/cool.gif

Thanks.

[Spook]

what where the size of the stacks in the blinds?

[Augster]

The blinds were 3000/6000, with an ante of like 200. The second most at the table was about 25,000. Then most of the other 7 players had between 12,000 and 19,000.

There were like 70 folks left and we were already in the money. Turbo, 5-minute levels.

The SB, and BB had like 12,000 or less left. They'd both be all-in if they called a 3x raise to 18,000.