all-in with A-A??

[lem]

I won a seat in a major two day tournament-- I dont want to bust out early-- but what if I make a raise before the flop with a big hand (even aces) and someone raise me over the top-- should I put it all in? I know I have a better shot at winning, but i could also go broke and i dont want to... How does one know how much to bet?

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

First, the rant: If you play scared, you'll never give yourself the chance to win. When you get AA and somebody bets like he has KK or QQ, this is what you *want* to happen.

Now let's be specific. Say it's early in the tournament and you both have about 2,500 and the blins are 15/30. You raise to 120, he reraises to 360 - make it 1,250 to go and force *him* to make the decision. If he goes all-in, call. If he spikes a set and you bust out, go make some money in a side game and console yourself that you played it right.

If you want to make money in tournaments, you have to get your money in when you have much the best of it.

[lucydeucy]

First off, Kurnson has summed up nicely what I was going to originally say. A few more points to add. Yes, most likely you are up against a large pocket pair (Still a big favorite (two outs to hit a set), but often your up against a hand like AK, or even AQ (weak player, player trying to steal limp ins, blinds etc.). If that is the case, you are a massive favorite. Against Ax, a player has three outs, two of which he needs to catch to beat you.

When I play NL tournies I like to limp in cheap with any pocket pairs, suited connectors etc. and trap my opponents in hands where I am a 20+ to 1 shot on the flop. (ie top set vs. top pair big kicker, or two pair) However, tourny poker is much like business or biological theory IMHO Evolve or Die. Very seldom is it a good idea to sit on a stack. You need to always be looking for situtations to grow the stack and a hand like AA is a perfect example of having the best of it.

Good Luck!

lucydeucy

[Some_Guy]

Thanks for posting this. I don't want to fill lem with bad beat stories but i had similar situation this AM in UB tourney.

I'm EP with AA and bet the pot which was T150, the total of the blinds. Loose player next to me, with double my stack, re-raises to T300. All fold to SB who calls and I push all-in. Player to my left calls and SB calls. Player to my left has KK and SB AJo. Unfortunately KK catches a flush to take it.

I was sure I made the right decision but I was still disappointed. I feel a little better now.

Correct play here?

PS my first post here but recent new lurker and appreciate all the info available. I'm a new player trying to educate myself and this site helps alot!

[Copernicus]

Playing NL and L, and watching the TV NL makes me wonder why so many think that NL is the more skillful game. Maybe live, where reading your opponents is possible, it is, but online Limit requires more skill IMO. NL is often the kind of crap shoot this thread talks about.

If youre going to play NL, especially the huge multi-table tournaments, expect the variance to be huge, and your chances of making the big money not much better than random. Chris Moneymaker is the prime example. Are his NL skills anyhwere near those of the, until the advent of online, "usual suspects"? I doubt it. His presence at the feature table in this week's edition certainly didnt show anything brilliant, other than staying alive till he got AA. His play of it wasn't anything that anyone who's played online sit n go's hasnt done.

[Justaloser]

I just have one question.

What hand are you afraid of if you have AA?

That is of course you do want to win. If you just want to play for as long as possible, I guess you could just call.
But tight/weak won't win many tourneys.

[Justaloser]

You got your money in when you had the best hand. Thats all you can do.