1 away from the Money with AKx - PP 150+12 last night

[Hotrod0823]

Won a spot in last nights Super on PP with 5th place in a satellite last week. Having never played a tourney over a 50 dollar entry and that was only once I didn't know what to expect.

So I managed to play solid poker and got some nice hands to pay off and was at one point the tourny leader with something like 160 players out of 800+ left. I was on a rush and getting cards and getting paid off. Then I got moved and went to another table where I realized I was no longer the table chip leader but one of many with 20K + in chips and they were just as aggressive. I may have been too cautious but I let my stack get attacked and I found myself playing turtle while my chips got sucked away from me. Mind you I was getting bad cards and happily folding but when we got down to 100 players and hand for hand started I had about 17000 in chips and was about 5th at the table. The table leaders were each to my right and made if very hard to play anything. Lots of raising, reraising allin etc. Saw some nice cards and nice plays.

I sat back and watched the number of players in the tourney drop and the chip leader at my table continued to grow his stack as mine, among other went down. He showed hand ranging from K6s against a small stacks allin up to KK vs anyone who would call.

So now I have been sitting for about 45 minutes without seeing too many flops and I get AKx. We are down to 91 players so the next one out is the bubble. 90th pays 260 bucks. 91 pays nothing. Winner of the tourny gets 29k. You get the picture.

So I have about 15000 at this point and raise with my AKx to 2400. Blinds IIRC were 400/800 I think. All fold to the aggressive big stack.

He raised me 5000. Now I call the 2600 more. Was this a mistake? Is calling 1/3 my stack on AKx a poor play on the bubble?

I put him on a whole range of hands. Discounted AA and KK? Is this correct logic?

If he has a PP I am a dog and need help so I figured by calling I can see the flop and no A or K I fold and make the money with out risking everything on overcards.

Flop comes K 4 7 rainbow, checks to me and I pushed all in.

He calls with AA and I busted out in 90th picking up 260 bucks.

Was it foolish to risk not making the money with AK or is that just not playing for the right reasons. I think I make that call every time but just was curious how others may have handled it.

Thanks,

Hotrod

[USCUNC]

AK is a good hand, flopping top pair with top kicker is normally an unbeatable hand especially if its not a possible four flush. Its not often someone will have better pair, or a set - especially if you thinned the herd by wagering the way you did. Chances are if he calls your all in you are going to loose. And if you push them all in (and) he doesnt think he has you he is going to fold. A more modest wager - another 2500 would have told you which way Mr. big stack was leaning. If he calls you - then try to check out - if he raises you consider folding.

but heck what do i know.

[patrick dicaprio]

you are a relatively large stack in early position. you raise 3BB and get reraised. what hands can he have to reraise an EP raiser?

there is no reason to call here. in my view you either have to reraise all in or fold. if you call and he is getting tricky with a hand like AQ then you will have a tough play on the flop if you miss and check and are bet into.

i would lean towards folding here since i wouldnt want to get all of my chips in on AK here when i raise in EP and are reraised.

Pat

[steeser]

I think I would have re-raised all-in here. Often times you will take it down right there...especially if he is a big stack that has been aggressively re-raising.

I can understand your reason for just calling, but you will only get a flop you like 1/3 of the time, so why check fold if it isn't a good flop.

Tough break he had AA.

[BettnTibetn]

yeah i dont think calling is the right thing to do. I think either fold or re raise all in. If he had a history of being a crazy player then i probably would have moved all in preflop

[Sundevils21]

I say fold preflop. I would fold anything but AA and maybe KK.
You made the only play you could on the flop. Somebody asked what other hands the raiser could have had and the answer is a lot. If he had been stealing the blinds a lot, then he could be doing in with any 2 cards, or at least his half decent ones(gap concept). No reason to specifically suspect AA. If it was me, I would have just folded my way to the money, then try to double up like you tried. But then again the $260 is a good help to my bankroll, some would rather take advantage of every opportunity because a high finish is all that matters to them.

[davidross]

How important is the $260 to you. If it means a lot you fold and wait to hook up with someone who can't bust you. If you want a bigger score you push all-in. Calling is pretty bad here. WIth AK you want to see all 5 cards, not get pushed off on the flop. If he was truly playing a lot of hands then I would lean towards pushing all-in. If he had only been re-raising with premium hands then you lean towards preservation.

[MVicuna]

Hi,

Him Rerasing a open raise from a tight short stack has to give you pause. You say he's been making nice plays. We'll take that to mean he knows how to play. That makes me lean towards thinking he knows your playing very tight. What hands would he reraise you with, but not put you all in? Your lack of a reraise all in tells him you don't have AA/KK. Your call says you have QQ/JJ/AK or your being excessively tricky with AA/KK.

This is the worst flop for you. If you bet only a hand that beat you calls/raises given the preflop action. There is a slim chance QQ/JJ might call given how big his stack is and how short you are, but I wouldn't count on it.

If you had been playing loose and fast, he doesnt have to have a big hand to reraise you, but when your playing tight and timid he'd have to be very a very bad player who was running good to reraise you.

Again, Your image at the table dictates what hands people will reraise/call you with if they are paying attention. You have to figure out whose paying attention and whose not. You do that by seeing what hands they play against raisers and ask your self, is that a hand that you would play against that raiser.


MarkV.

[UMTerp]

Haven't read the other responses yet, but if I care about making the money at all (and I would in a tourney that size, I'm folding preflop. And not to his 2600 raise, just folding. With 11 tables left, someone's going out in the next 2 or 3 hands, and play will loosen back up. You're just too vulerable to a big stack in this situation.

That sounds like a "playing scared" answer, but that's what I'd do. Your stack big enough where you can afford some blinds/antes before you have to get desperate. Maybe it's "playing smart"...

[MichaelOar]

You throw your hand in the muck preflop. However, I DO NOT give this advice because you are on the bubble. I think you muck your hand in any spot in the tourney!

Reason being, the big stack is trying to price you in to the pot with his raise. If he were on a steal, he would have make 8500 or some other big amount to effectively see if you were committed to the pot. By just raising you from 2400 to 2600, he's giving you reasonable odds to call. That's because he WANTS a call. I would think that KK and POSSIBLY QQ would be the worst hands he could have in this spot. Anytime someone makes a little reraise like that, the warning lights should go off in your head---because unless he's a complete fool, your opponent has a hand.

My 2 cents!

Michael

[NotMitch]

[ QUOTE ]
AK is a good hand, flopping top pair with top kicker is normally an unbeatable hand especially if its not a possible four flush. Its not often someone will have better pair, or a set - especially if you thinned the herd by wagering the way you did.

[/ QUOTE ]

That is really horrible thinking.

[Tosh]

Fold or push in. I hate calling here.

[fnord_too]

This is a tough spot. First: was the big stack a pretty good player? Was he aware enough to know that you would not be raising early on the bubble with a weak hand? If so, there are two possibilities, he is reraising you to steal the pot because he thinks you are tight and aware of where you are in relation to the payouts, or he has a legitimate hand. Either way, I wouldn't want to get involved with someone who could bust me when I only have a drawing hand. (Also, the fact that he made suck a small raise is suspicious, it is begging to be called).

Having said that, there is 2400 + 5000 + 800 or 400 (I'm assuming villian is in one of the blinds) = ~8500 for a 2600 call. Calling here is not horrible, nor is folding. Pushing in pre flop here would be a mistake I think, all things considered.

After the flop, pushing in is a big mistake. What would he call with here that would not beat you? QQ? Doubtful. KQ? Unlikely he would make a minimum raise before the flop with that. AK, AA, KK, 77, 44 are the only hands I could see him calling with here. A smaller bet might get him to call with an under pair like QQ, but I would try to get to the showdown cheaply here. At this stage of the tournament, survival is more important than maximizing the chips you win.

If you check and he bets on the turn, you are in a tough spot, but here's the bottom line: No turn card scares you, so there is no real danger of giving a free card (if he is not ahead on the flop, what could he possibly have that would give him more than two outs to pass you. The micro raise, imo, rules out any random hand. He may raise more to steal, or call to outplay you with a random hand, but his small raise screams strength). Check and evaluate on the turn. If he checks again, maybe make a small bet or check it behind him; if he bets, try to figure out if you can call it down without going all in. There are a lot of hands you beat, and a cheap showdown is not bad at all.