On The Bubble with KK in the Big Blind

[CoinLaundry-CptC0ckwell]

UB 20+2 NL last night - I'm in 19th, 34 players remaining, 30 get paid.

I'm in the big blind with two black kings, stacked about 5900 minus a few hundred in front of me in the blind. All fold to middle position. He raises more than minimum, less than pot. Folds around to me... two black kings... 19th or 20th place with 34 left and 30 places paid...

This is *not* the time to fold KK, right?

I feel wholeheartedly that if I were behind (this could only be that he has AA), he'd be all in already. Folding into getting-my-buyin-back range is ridiculous when I'm looking at two kings, knowing that I'm looking at the difference between $26 and $1k+.

I push it all in, he thinks for a second or two, calls, turns up ATs. He flops something like AAA, turns an A, and rivers an A, taking it down with Six Aces. The suicide king asks me to come with him to the land of the broke people with swords in their heads.

I don't think calling, seeing a flop with an A and folding kings is a considerable play, do you? I mean, the guy called with Ace-Ten. I will NEVER play AQs in that guy's position at that point in the tourney... Well, I *might* raise with it, but I'm folding to an all-in re-raiser... HE HAD ACE-TEN, THOUGH!

What do you do here?

[CoinLaundry-CptC0ckwell]

He had me covered but only by a little over 1000. He would be severely crippled to call my all-in and lose.

The pot was less than 2k when I raised all in, making it just short of 6000 to go.

I had no respect for his raise as he hadn't shown down anything spectacular or made any plays I was concerned about through our time together at the table... Besides, I don't think he even raised pot, and even if he did, I'm looking at two kings and can raise over 3x pot, which I did.

Just so this is clear, he's a guy that will call an all-in raise with ATs when the hand's likely to leave him with 1000 or less.

Here's the two dimes on our hands:

cards win %win lose %lose tie %tie EV
Ad Td 559079 32.65 1146868 66.98 6357 0.37 0.328
Ks Kc 1146868 66.98 559079 32.65 6357 0.37 0.672

[Prickly Pete]

The 5th ace gets me suspicious, but the 6th ace is usually a sign that something's crooked. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

btw, you played it right and lost to a weaker hand. It happens to the best of us.

[Greg (FossilMan)]

If a pot-sized reraise by you takes up 1/3 of your stack or more, then going all-in instead is fine. Otherwise I reraise about the pot, and play from there.

As to what I would do with that nasty flop, I'm not sure, as it depends upon what I know about this opponent. However, more than rarely I would go broke even after the A flops.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)