$11 bubble: was AK fold too tight?
 

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t150 (4 handed) converter

Button (t425)
Hero (t1430)
BB (t5570)
UTG (t575)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img].
<font color="#666666">3 folds</font>.

Final Pot: t225

BB is typical $11 player: doesn't push enough, calls too much.

Problems I saw playing this hand:
- Taking on big stack
- Two others quite a bit shorter than me
- I'm just under 10BB inflection point, meaning I theoretically have to risk my entire stack to increase it by 10% (if he folds).

Arguments for playing:

- Great time to maybe double up and play for first
- I dominate any Ax, Kx

Seeing this in print, I now feel like I have to push. But could a call possibly be good here, against a weak player???

Re: $11 bubble: was AK fold too tight?
 

[ QUOTE ]
could a call possibly be good here

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't see how. Offer reasons.

Re: $11 bubble: was AK fold too tight?
 

just gotta push that, every time.

You'll get called by things you dominate all the time. That's one of the 6 hands you're waiting for on the button.

Re: $11 bubble: was AK fold too tight?
 

Easy push, in part becasue you don't have anything locked up yet. If the short stacks double up, one of them through you, then you're in big trouble. If the big stack makes a mistake, calls with junk, and hits, so be it. Fire up another one.

Re: $11 bubble: was AK fold too tight?
 

I'd probably push but I don't hate folding.

Re: $11 bubble: was AK fold too tight?
 

I push this everytime. If you get a double up, you're in so much better shape for HU it's not even funny.

If he calls too much, he will almost certainly call with any A or K, which you have dominated. Getting money in as a 70% favorite is a good thing.

Re: $11 bubble: was AK fold too tight?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
could a call possibly be good here

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't see how. Offer reasons.

[/ QUOTE ]

The usual. Lose less if you miss, still get paid off if you hit and have him dominated.

Re: $11 bubble: was AK fold too tight?
 

This is a great spot for a push...you WANT a call.

Re: $11 bubble: was AK fold too tight?
 

So, here's the thing on the call. It's only t75, so not a huge risk, that's granted. However, the only way you are getting more money out of him is if the flop hits both of you. That's not likely. More likely is the flop misses both of you, you check, he bets, you fold bleeding t75.

Only way I call here is to induce a bluff by checking/raising a hit flop, but you really don't want to get tricky at this point.

Push (or fold).

If you do call, you must push if he bumps it pre-flop.

Re: $11 bubble: was AK fold too tight?
 

Q:was AK fold too tight?
A: yes.