Big pair against two overs
 

I've now dropped out of tournaments with hands like these. Is this the best way to play? In these both hands I was pretty sure it was AK or like.

These are both from stars $20 freezouts. About 80 left, 27 get money.

<u>Hand #1</u>

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t150 (9 handed) converter

Hero (t5425)
Button (t4435)
SB (t1270)
BB (t1440)
UTG (t6615)
UTG+1 (t6755)
MP1 (t1160)
MP2 (t1795)
MP3 (t2245)

Preflop: Hero is CO with J[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img].
<font color="#666666">4 folds</font>, <font color="#CC3333">MP3 raises to t600</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to t5425</font>, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, SB calls t1195 (All-In), <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, MP3 calls t1645 (All-In).

Flop: (t9090) 7[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], 4[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(3 players, 2 all-in)</font>

Turn: (t9090) 9[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(3 players, 2 all-in)</font>

River: (t9090) 8[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(3 players, 2 all-in)</font>

Final Pot: t9090

<u>Hand #2</u>

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t200 (8 handed) converter

CO (t13170)
Hero (t4030)
SB (t722)
BB (t6600)
UTG (t16545)
UTG+1 (t1700)
MP1 (t3265)
MP2 (t4075)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Q[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], Q[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img].
<font color="#CC3333">UTG raises to t600</font>, <font color="#666666">4 folds</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to t4005</font>, SB calls t597 (All-In), <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, UTG calls t3405.

Flop: (t8757) Q[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 4[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], T[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(3 players, 1 all-in)</font>

Turn: (t8757) K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(3 players, 1 all-in)</font>

River: (t8757) J[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(3 players, 1 all-in)</font>

Final Pot: t8757

Re: Big pair against two overs
 

Hand 1) You're pushing 5425 into a 825 pot? MP3 raised more then 1/4 of his stack, so I guess your push was an isolation move rather then trying to make him fold? I don't really like the move one way or the other. Don't you have much confidence in your postflop play? You have position on him, take advantage of it or get away cheap if you fear AK on the Kxx flop...

Hand 2) UTG is the big stack so he could also have been raising with any 2 trying to isolate a short stack and suckout on him or just steal the blinds. I think you're well ahead of his range and the push looks fine to me. If he had the A or flush that's tough luck, you can't do much about that.

Re: Big pair against two overs
 

Yeah I agree, I should just call or make a little raise and then fold flop if I think I'm behind. But that is my problem, because I really hate to see Ace or king flop and then fold, so I push all-in and see all cards when I'm little ahead rather than lose small. I really have to change this.

Re: Big pair against two overs
 

Both are standard and automatic. In the first hand, villain raised to 600 and had 1600 more left, so the reraise wasn't an overbet. I would shove like you did.

I have made almost exactly the same play with AK in early position and some idiot cold called with TT, saying he knew I had AK/AQ. Maybe that will happen to you here.

Re: Big pair against two overs
 

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah I agree, I should just call or make a little raise and then fold flop if I think I'm behind. But that is my problem, because I really hate to see Ace or king flop and then fold, so I push all-in and see all cards when I'm little ahead rather than lose small. I really have to change this.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ax is far more likely then Kx on a raise. If you reraise most ppl fold their Kx and you can narrow his range some more specific.

But since Villain's stack isn't that big I don't think a small reraise is going to work. If he likes his hand he's going to push to a reraise. So it's chosing between cold-calling or pushing.