AK UTG at Final Table

[Dornkirk]

How who you have played this hand differently? What should my opponents plays have told me? Regardless of the results, I think I should have bet harder than I did, especially post-flop.

8 players left in 30+3 MTT. Blinds 300/600.

I'm UTG with a slightly less than avg stack, around t10000. Dealt Ad Kd. I bet out t200 which is a larger bet than most have been making. Most bets have been 2-2.5x BB. It's folded around to the BB (has around t15000) who calls. Although I don't have a great read, he's seems like a typical player.

Flop: 3h 7s Ah

I bet t2000 again (I think I should have pushed here). He calls.

Turn: Kh

I bet out t2500 this time, he raises me all-in. I call. Given how I played this earlier, is there any way I can get away from this hand without a great read on my opponent?

River: 10c I think.

Although you can probably guess the results, here it is.
<font color="white">
I have 2 pair.
BB shows 7h 5h (A high flush) </font>

[sdplayerb]

make a real bet on the flop, not less than 50% of the pot.

[durron597]

Because your raise was so big, he probably assumed you were on a weak ace; or even if you aren't, he probably figured he is at worst a 60/40 dog to your bet - which when you compound the implied odds if he hits his straight or his flush (he called a big raise with 75? How the hell? I'm sure you'd be thinking if he hit his straight), this is not the worst call preflop. You wouldn't raise MORE if you were on a big pair, since you want to win some money with it.

So given that his preflop call wasn't awful, when he hit a flop he liked, your flop bet was way too small to get him to fold. You bet 25% of your stack into a pot more than twice the size of your bet, giving him easy odds to call, since he had 14 outs on better than a 3:1 call. At the turn, there is no way he doesn't get all your chips, since your play doesn't seem like Qh Jh or worse, so you obviously don't have the flush.

I think your only shot at coming away from this pot with your chips is to push on the flop.

[Scooterdoo]

When you see a potential flush draw on the flop you need to over-bet the pot so that you don't give him proper odds to call.

[curmudgeon]

LITANY AGAINST FEAR

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear - From Frank Herbert's Dune Book Series
© 1965 and 1984 Frank Herbert

[soxfan70]

With a less than average stack, and a good size pot, you've got to hammer him on the flop. Make him pay to chase his hearts.

[MAxx]

You gotta pushin on the flop, especially if you were willing to call all-in on the turn when the flush completed. Charge him full price on the flop and let him make the mistake, not the other way around.

[Goodie]

Seele,

As everyone has said, you should be pushing the flop. Given that, in this particular hand, it would not have made a difference, he flopped a pair and a flush draw, so he's not folding. Just figured I'd ease your pain and tell you that you were going bust on this hand regardless.

Nonetheless, always push on the flop in this situation. If he didn't have a pair with his flush draw, he may not call.

Peace

Goodie

[Squirrel]

If you were willing to lose all your chips on this hand, and it appears you were, ALL IN on the flop.

You're letting a draw get there cheap. If you shove on the flop a crappy Ace is calling you anyway, so why underbet the pot?

[Sundevils21]

Why is everyone assuming he had hearts preflop. Even on a two tone flop, heads up its unlikly that a player has the other two of a suit. I'm expecting a set more often then a four flush on the flop. If the player would have had K7 for the lower two pair, would you be praising his play or critisizing?
I think you need to make a bigger flop bet, about the size of the pot. But to say you need to move all in just because there are two hearts out there is wrong imo.

[Squirrel]

That's not the only, or even the main reason I say shove.

Shoving does these things.

1) Increses your likelihood of getting called by a hand you dominate. Any Ace is calling you here, and some other hands as well. This won't always be the case on the turn.
2) It does put pressure on the draws, IF that's in fact what he has.
3) If he has a hand that he determines is close between calling and folding, you probably want him to fold anyway.

If you know that you're going all the way with this hand anyway, shoving is the superior play because it is solid strategically no matter what the other player holds.

[Dornkirk]

Thanks for the responses everyone. Seems like the consensus is to push this on the flop. I'm going to try this play in similar situations in the future and see how it works because there is a lot of merit to what Squirrel says. The only thing that's nagging me is I don't believe that any ace calls my push on the flop. Given this guy wasn't overly aggressive, isn't it most likely with his call pre-flop that I'm against Ax or a pp? Ax he has 3 outs and a pp he has two (unless he hits a runner runner flush draw or got his two pair / set). Do I want him to fold here? Guess it goes back to it's better to win a small pot than lose a large one.

[Beavis68]

The funny thing is, you are actually a slight dog to a pair and a flush draw on this flop.

Not much you can do about spots like this, the pre-flop bet was good, but he still called with 75ss, then hit a beauty flop. A player that called with that hand, if he is any good, I am surpised he didnt re-raise you all-in.

[Squirrel]

In small buy in tournies, no clown is going to call a raise with a crappy Ace and then fold when the flop comes Ace high.

If he has 2 or 3 outs, yeah I'd rather have a call. Your best chance to get that call is on the flop.