Wasting Aces...

PP $10 tourney. I've got 1070 chips. Blinds 10/20. I get two red aces in the BB. UTG+2 limps in for 20. Seems like a loose player who likes to play a large variety of face cards/connectors. All folds to the SB who raises 70 to 90. The SB is the chip leader at the table with 2700. I have position on the SB and aces but with the looming UTG+2 is this always an easy re-raise? I've seen the SB raise with K10 suited, KJ offsuit, A8o. If it's heads up I'm fine smooth calling here.

I raised it to 225 and they both folded. How many would just smooth call the raise from the big stack?

Obviously the big stack is the only person that can really afford take me out of the tournament with the rest of my table hanging around 600-1400 chips.

With both loose players was this just a waste of aces?

[yvesaint]

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With both loose players was this just a waste of aces?

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never, id hate playing AA OOP against 2 loose players

also, youre questioning yourself too much, theyre loose because they will call these re-raises with a lot of hands

[CUonCRUISE]

I would have flat called. I like to gamble there with aces.

[ansky451]

Being results oriented is a bad thing.

[Copernicus]

You have to capitalize on AAs here. If you are going to play $10 buy ins you are accepting the variance that comes with them.

Yeah you run some risk with two callers, but youre getting 2:1 odds and youre a heavy favorite. In a $10 tourney youre going to get plenty of action to offset the flop risk. The disaster isnt getting Aces cracked now and then, its getting them cracked and not collecting on them when they hold up.

Smooth call here, check raise when UTG+2 cant resist betting into two checkers or raise the SB if he leads.

[Sam T.]

This early against the opponents you described I'm raising AA about 110% of the time. Built big pots with big hands.

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You have to capitalize on AAs here. If you are going to play $10 buy ins you are accepting the variance that comes with them.

Yeah you run some risk with two callers, but youre getting 2:1 odds and youre a heavy favorite. In a $10 tourney youre going to get plenty of action to offset the flop risk. The disaster isnt getting Aces cracked now and then, its getting them cracked and not collecting on them when they hold up.

Smooth call here, check raise when UTG+2 cant resist betting into two checkers or raise the SB if he leads.

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disagree. 10$ tourneys are where you can afford to reraise, which i will always, always do in this spot. are players in 10$ tourneys looser or tighter than at higher buyins?

also, heres the other way this thread couldve gone: EP limped, SB raised to 90, I reraised to 220, EP went all in with KTo. Can you believe it? He had to think I had AA after a reraise like that..... get the point?

[woodguy]

Calling for deception is good if the stacks are shallow and you can get all in without a gross overbet on most flops, or I have 2 bets left in my stack and I can get all in on a turn.

Being this deep, and in the middle of the action, I almost always raise for value, build the pot with premium holdings.

If they don't come along, that's life, but not raising when its this deep would be more of a waste of AA than smooth calling and trying to get funky when you are in 2nd position in a multiway flop.

Regards,
Woodguy

[Mez]

I make the same raise with AA in your position every time and feel fine with winning it preflop.

[betgo]

I would make a slightly larger raise. The small raise may have tipped SB that you have a big pair.

I don't like the flat call here at all. From early position, you can flat call, hoping someone else will reraise and not minding if someone else flat calls. None of that works here.

[McMelchior]

You didn't waste your Aces.

You took down a pot of t140, 7xBB, to increase your stack 13%.

That's fine ... much better than losing your whole stack. Believe me, every day I see donks limping or flat calling small raises because they're desperate to get action on their Aces and then calling of everything on horrible flops.

Aces are highly over-rated with deep or semi-deep stacks. Most often all you have is an over-pair - while you're giving incredible implied odds to your loose opponents.

Be happy with your pot and move on.

Best,

McMelchior

[davidross]

I actually would raise more here, hoping to make the chip leader think you're stealing. I wouldn't mind a flat call if it was just the 2 of you in the pot, but the presence of the 3rd player is really bad for you sandwiched between them.

Imagine you flat call, and now the EP player calls (with great odds). You've added 70 chips to the pot, and now have to play the hand OOP. Flop is all 1 suit, you've given the SB a free look at the flop, and the EP guy over 2-1 and position.

Instead make a huge raise (you pick up 120 chips if they all fold), and maybe 1 of them chases you thinking you're making a play.

[Art Vandelay]

[ QUOTE ]
You didn't waste your Aces.

You took down a pot of t140, 7xBB, to increase your stack 13%.

That's fine ... much better than losing your whole stack. Believe me, every day I see donks limping or flat calling small raises because they're desperate to get action on their Aces and then calling of everything on horrible flops.

Aces are highly over-rated with deep or semi-deep stacks. Most often all you have is an over-pair - while you're giving incredible implied odds to your loose opponents.

Be happy with your pot and move on.

Best,

McMelchior

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Good post. I know I am guilty, especially early in a tourney, of getting greedy when I get aces and try to make tricky plays instead of just raising. If you take the pot down, as you say, it's not the end of the world as you've added a nice portion to your stack.