need some help with playing AK late in a tourney

[NNH]

I'm not really sure as to what is the best way to play AKo late in a tourney. These two situations came up recently. Here's the first one...

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t300 (3 handed)

Button (t4414)
SB (t1476)
Hero (t2110)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].
Button folds, SB raises to t600, Hero raises to t2110 (All-In), SB calls t876 (All-In).

Flop: (t3586) T[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 6[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(2 players, 2 all-in)</font>

Turn: (t3586) 8[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(2 players, 2 all-in)</font>

River: (t3586) Q[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(2 players, 2 all-in)</font>

Final Pot: t3586

Results in white below: <font color="white">
SB shows Jd Ks (straight, ace high).
Hero shows Ad Kh (one pair, aces).
Outcome: SB wins t2952. Hero wins t634. </font>


I couldn't find the hand history for the second one, but it went roughly like this...

It's three handed again. I'm on the button and SB calls 400, BB checks, I raise to 1200.

SB folds, BB thinks for a while and calls. Flop comes ragged, no help to either of us. I go all-in. He thinks about it again, and finally decides to call with QTo.

Turn is a Q and I'm down to 400 chips, and bust out in 3rd again.


Any advice? If you need any more info, let me know. Thanks in advance.

[Chief911]

You got your money in with the best of it both times. Not a whole lot more you can do than that. About the only time you dont play like this, is if you think you are significantly superior to the other people still left, in which case you may stay away from possible coinflip situations.

Nick

[NNH]

by no means was I significantly superior(I'm a $5 or $10 sng newbie that wants to improve his game), but both of these times I felt I was playing much stronger than my opponents.

But with the blinds so high, I felt I couldn't fold an AK. I'm just a little annoyed with my placing lately. Here's my last 12 sngs...

1 - 1st place
2 - 2nd place
5 - 3rd place
4 - 4th place

I always seem to get outdrawn when it comes down to three or four handed. I'll post some other hands that have given me trouble, to try and fix this problem.

[Chief911]

You know deep down there is no problem with either of those hands. You got all your chips in, with superior hands. Whatcha gonna do? Have you read Slansky's TPFAP? It has a great section specifically on AK. Not to mention the reading of that book (twice) has resulted in significant increase in my SNG and MTT play. Get it. Read it. Reread it. Love it.

Nick

[carpola]

I really wouldn't sweat your play getting in as a 3-1 favorite in the first case and about a 3-2 favorite on the 2nd one.

If anything getting in as a favorite both times should tell you that you played the hand well.

[NNH]

Nope, haven't read that book yet. At first I was going to start getting into Limit Poker seriously, but I can't seemt to get away from tourneys. I've read Theory of Poker and Jones' Winning Low Limit Hold em. I'm currently reading Positively Fifth Street (loving it so far).

Now that I'm going to try and get more serious about tourneys, I'll definetly pick up TPFAP. Thanks for the help.

[citanul]

you played both hands fine

i might have just gone all in preflop on hand 2 but i dont know what the chip situations were

results bad

performance good

over the long run itll work out

citanul

[Chief911]

Proceed directly to the store, and get TPFAP. Its much better than P5S. After you read it once, wait a day and read it again. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] Or maybe I just take a lot of times through a book to learn alot.

[citanul]

er...

even though it appears your post was directed at me, mostly because i'm a bit out of it right now, i'd like to say:

Positively Fifth Street is a nice novel at all, but it has nothing to do with winning poker. I haven't read TPFAP, but it's probably next on my poker reading list. Then again, I did just finish PFS, and it was good.

So yes, do pick up TPFAP, we can read it together.

citanul

[NNH]

Yeah, I know PFS is just a good novel, but it's still good reading. I'm going to order TPFAP this week, we'll read it together.