Open question AA

[Leo Bello]

Playing at UB no limit tournament, freeroll, first table break. High stake at table 1680 chips, lower stack 1040, my stack 1310. 10 people in.
I am UTG in the first hand at this new table and I got AA.

What should I have done?
check? Raise?

Well, I decided to raise 100 (blinds 10/20). Result?
I won the blinds, everyone folded?

Did I moved correctly? should I have checked them on the first hand?
No one had tells on other players.

[Leo Bello]

BTW, not my tourney.
Later, I had QQ UTG, and this time decided to check hoping to check raise. Someone betted 500. blinds were at 15/30.
I had 2100 in chips and the guy 2400. Considerable raise, I put him on KK or AA but decided to call. Flop came 2 9 Q. I hit my set. With 1600 left. I checked. He betted 1000. I raised all in.
He called
Turn blank.
River, of course, K.
End of line.

[deacsoft]

When the blinds are 10/20 a typical raise would be 60-80. So, it could be argued that you came out a little too strong. You did bet more than 3 times the current pot. That added to the fact you did it from UTG could be enough to get players to fold fair/good hands. Winning the blinds is not such a bad thing.

I will be suprised if someone doesn't post and tell you to limp or limp-raise because of your position. That advice would be incorrect, period. You have the best possible starting hand and it's better to get the chips in to the pot than it is to hope someone else raises or let others see a cheap flop.

[Smasharoo]

Smaller raise, or if it's early in a freeroll, push. Pushing will appear to be a very weak player and you might get called with a small pair.

[Martin Aigner]

I agree that the raise was too big. But I strongly disagree that a limp/reraise with AA UTG is automaticly wrong. There are tables, where most of the pots are raised preflop, no matter if UTG limps, and at these tables the limp/reraise can be very effective. However, being new at the table I´d sure raise first in with AA.

To say that some kind of play is always wrong just can´t be right in poker. You have to vary the game, adjust it to the circumstances.

Best regards

Martin Aigner

[Dornkirk]

Tough to call with you just sitting down at the table, but I like the 100 raise. Early on in a freeroll, you are still going to have a lot of maniacs out there. Although a 60-80 raise with 10/20 blinds is pretty standard, I find that this early it is not respected at all. I would expect at least a call from AK-AT, KQ, KJ, maybe higher suited connectors, and many other hands that usually get overplayed. Either you ran into an unusually tight table or most everyones' hands were real bad.

I do repeat, I only agree with this early on in a freeroll or maybe a $5 buy in. At higher buy-ins and 2-3xBB raise would be favorable.

[pzhon]

[ QUOTE ]
Playing at UB no limit tournament, ... I am UTG in the first hand at this new table and I got AA.

Well, I decided to raise 100 (blinds 10/20). Result?
I won the blinds, everyone folded?

[/ QUOTE ]

I really don't like raising to 100. On UB, so many people just use the "bet pot" button (which will make it 70 to go) that anything else sticks out, which is not what you want with AA.

Any of the following are reasonable:

[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] Bet the pot.
[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] Limp-reraise.
[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] Move in. This usually fails, but when someone calls it's worth a lot. It's more reasonable with small blinds like this because it's hard to get everything in preflop other than by making a big overbet.