i hate AKs

[Mariogs379]

So I'm playin my normal $5 sit n go and pick up AKs
(blinds 50/100, starting chips: 1500)
guy in MP raises to 150
i reraise all in mainly out of fear of not hitting and then having to make a continuation bet on a flop that i didnt hit. he calls with 1010 i dont improve he wins
clearly my thinking is flawed here
i know some people advice simply calling his raise so you dont feel tied to the hand when you dont hit
would that have made more sense here or should i put the pressure on him when i pick up AKs and push all in?
the final option would be to make a reraise to say 500 but that commits 1/3 of my stack...
any ideas?

[stupidsucker]

you will get called by A2 more often then TT at the 5s. Push was fine, but certainly not required.

AK = Anna Kournakova....Looks good and hardly ever wins

[niquewon]

You need to give some more information before you can get any meaningful answers. How many people are left in the SNG? What are their stack sizes? What position are you in? How has MP been playing? How was MP able to raise to 150 if the BB is 100?

Also don't post results, it skews the responses you'll get.

[nuclear500]

His raise makes no sense given the blinds you state.

You need to indicate stack sizes, people left and position. You say he was MP, but don't qualify if you were EP or LP or if anyone called his raise.

[ QUOTE ]
i reraise all in mainly out of fear of not hitting

[/ QUOTE ]

Sounds like you're scared of simply being out played?

[Mariogs379]

sorry i meant that the blinds were 25/50
im in LP and no one else called his raise
he seems average not playin a ton of hands but not a complete rock either, average for this level
he has me covered: i have T1325 and he has T1470
one of the problems i've encountered is the flop'll come with rags or one paint and rags he checks i bet out 1/2 pot and he raises min...obviously i cant continue but this seems to happen with excessive frequency...ne ideas on what it means

[kong98]

You don't give stack sizes, but I'm going to assume that neither of you is desperately short.

Because you're not desperate, why do you want to be all-in here? You're not at a point in the tournament when you need to gamble your tournament life on a probable coin-flip.

Call his raise, see a flop, and play some poker.

[chipolino]

[ QUOTE ]
Call his raise, see a flop, and play some poker.

[/ QUOTE ]

Amen.

[ QUOTE ]
You don't give stack sizes, but I'm going to assume that neither of you is desperately short.

Because you're not desperate, why do you want to be all-in here? You're not at a point in the tournament when you need to gamble your tournament life on a probable coin-flip.

Call his raise, see a flop, and play some poker.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. Raising all your chips is amateurish and screams that you need to improve your post-flop play. I don't typically reraise with AK unless I know my opponent to be LAG. Don't fear not hitting. You have position. AKs is not a hand to hate - the best way to go broke with it is if you hastily shove your chips in preflop.

[stupidsucker]

lol ya, because postflop play is sooooooooo important at the fivedollarlevel.
bwahahahaha

Why bother playing postflop with players that play 9Ts to the flop for 175 chips when they will also play 9Ts to the flop for 800 chips.

[wiggs73]

[ QUOTE ]
sorry i meant that the blinds were 25/50
im in LP and no one else called his raise
he seems average not playin a ton of hands but not a complete rock either, average for this level
he has me covered: i have T1325 and he has T1470
one of the problems i've encountered is the flop'll come with rags or one paint and rags he checks i bet out 1/2 pot and he raises min...obviously i cant continue but this seems to happen with excessive frequency...ne ideas on what it means

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't see why you feel so obligated to bet the flop regardless of whether or not it hits you. You make a continuation bet if *you* were the opener PF, not if you called a raise. There's nothing wrong with checking behind on the flop or folding if he bets and the flop didn't hit you. I'd call and see a flop, then re-evaluate. You have position on the raiser and a good hand, there's no need to play it so recklessly, at least not when blinds are still 25/50 and your stack is in good shape.

All this isn't to say that I hate a push or anything. You're probably going to get called by lots of hands you have dominated in the 5s. Maybe to the point that it might be a good way to play it. But as you move up limits, the EV of pushing pre-flop when blinds are this low gets lower and lower.

[kong98]

[ QUOTE ]
lol ya, because postflop play is sooooooooo important at the fivedollarlevel.
bwahahahaha

Why bother playing postflop with players that play 9Ts to the flop for 175 chips when they will also play 9Ts to the flop for 800 chips.

[/ QUOTE ]

Post-flop poker is especially important here because hero has (hopefully) more skill than the other players. If you have an advantage over the table, why squander it on a coin-flip? Giving an idiot a 50-50 shot to break you works in his favor, not yours.

[45suited]

[ QUOTE ]
lol ya, because postflop play is sooooooooo important at the fivedollarlevel.
bwahahahaha

[/ QUOTE ]

nh

[ QUOTE ]
lol ya, because postflop play is sooooooooo important at the fivedollarlevel.
bwahahahaha

Why bother playing postflop with players that play 9Ts to the flop for 175 chips when they will also play 9Ts to the flop for 800 chips.

[/ QUOTE ]

Then push every time you have 99+ and A10+. If you can't beat em join em?

[45suited]

Assuming there are pretty deep stacks, I'd probably just call with position.

BUT, against the range of crap that these idiots will call pushes with PF, it's not like pushing here is terrible or anything.

BTW, I didn't answer the poll question, because there wasn't a "call and evaluate the flop" option. Why must every flop be C-bet, even if we are the pre-flop caller???

[Tea_Bagger]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
lol ya, because postflop play is sooooooooo important at the fivedollarlevel.
bwahahahaha

Why bother playing postflop with players that play 9Ts to the flop for 175 chips when they will also play 9Ts to the flop for 800 chips.

[/ QUOTE ]

Post-flop poker is especially important here because hero has (hopefully) more skill than the other players. If you have an advantage over the table, why squander it on a coin-flip?

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly. I play $5 SNGs as well with 1500 starting stacks. I've found that there's almost no reason to risk your stack that early on (25/50 blinds) without AA or KK. Like 45 said, the longer you stick around the bigger edge you have since your skill will hopefully carry you ITM even if you don't put yourself in great position to get 1st. I've played a bunch of tourneys where I just sit back for the first 3-5 levels and watch other people f**k up and take each other out. No need to gamble for your tourney life right here.

[stupidsucker]

I am being coy this morning.
Let me rephrase some things.

A) I dont think pushing is the best option.
B) Post flop play isnt very important at a $5 SnG in the early levels
C) Post flop play isnt very important at a $5 SnG period
D) Early play at a $5 SnG is hardly important either, so clicking autofold and fixing a snack while not paying attention to level 1-3 is still + EV at that level.


Bottom line imnsho

It doesnt matter what you do with AK in this particular situation as long as it is reasonable. You can argue till blue in the face about it... It is marginal and depends greatly on what kind of player YOU are. There is no B&W answer for the masses.

[downtown]

[ QUOTE ]
It doesnt matter what you do with AK in this particular situation as long as it is reasonable.

[/ QUOTE ]

Call or push in this situation, it's close. There's no clear answer. It depends on your style to some degree.

[ QUOTE ]
I am being coy this morning.
Let me rephrase some things.

A) I dont think pushing is the best option.
B) Post flop play isnt very important at a $5 SnG in the early levels
C) Post flop play isnt very important at a $5 SnG period
D) Early play at a $5 SnG is hardly important either, so clicking autofold and fixing a snack while not paying attention to level 1-3 is still + EV at that level.


Bottom line imnsho

It doesnt matter what you do with AK in this particular situation as long as it is reasonable. You can argue till blue in the face about it... It is marginal and depends greatly on what kind of player YOU are. There is no B&W answer for the masses.

[/ QUOTE ]

Fair enough. But how is a hand that is dominated only by 2 other hands (6 card combinations), marginal? It may be overplayed by many, but AK is by no means marginal. You are rarely behind if you hit the flop with it.

[bigt439]

As ghetto as this post is I can't believe people are advocating just calling. Am I going crazy? This seems to be a very basic push.

[downtown]

[ QUOTE ]
Fair enough. But how is a hand that is dominated only by 2 other hands (6 card combinations), marginal? It may be overplayed by many, but AK is by no means marginal. You are rarely behind if you hit the flop with it.

[/ QUOTE ]

He is saying the push/call decision is marginal, not the holding itself.

[kong98]

[ QUOTE ]
I am being coy this morning.
Let me rephrase some things.

A) I dont think pushing is the best option.
B) Post flop play isnt very important at a $5 SnG in the early levels
C) Post flop play isnt very important at a $5 SnG period
D) Early play at a $5 SnG is hardly important either, so clicking autofold and fixing a snack while not paying attention to level 1-3 is still + EV at that level.


[/ QUOTE ]

If one's only goal is to be a winner at the 5's then you are probably correct about the importance of post-flop play.

However OP is clearly trying to improve his game. By being "coy" I think you're doing a great disservice to the OP and new readers who don't know enough to distinguish good advice from bad.

If he doesn't learn any post-flop play at the 5's, how is he ever going to learn it?

[jwesty5]

[ QUOTE ]

If one's only goal is to be a winner at the 5's then you are probably correct about the importance of post-flop play.

However OP is clearly trying to improve his game. By being "coy" I think you're doing a great disservice to the OP and new readers who don't know enough to distinguish good advice from bad.

If he doesn't learn any post-flop play at the 5's, how is he ever going to learn it?

[/ QUOTE ]

By playing ring games or deep stacked MTT. If you want to learn post flop play SNG's are probably the last place I'd try.

[Tea_Bagger]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

If he doesn't learn any post-flop play at the 5's, how is he ever going to learn it?

[/ QUOTE ]

By playing ring games or deep stacked MTT. If you want to learn post flop play SNG's are probably the last place I'd try.

[/ QUOTE ]

You gotta remember that starting stacks are 15friggin00, which is pretty deep. And if this is like the SNGs I play at pokerroom.com, the blinds start out at 10-20. This gives you PLENTY of room to manuever before it becomes 2 card poker. Playing after the flop is crucial as this is where you get Ax to give his stack to you when you hold AK/AQ after the A flops. Plus, most $5 SNGers are such donks that you can get away from second best hands pretty easily or draw cheaply. I say give THEM as many opportunities as possible to make mistakes so YOU can capitalize.