AK . . . nice tournament (Settle this debate please!)

[Taraz]

So I've been arguing with my brother about this hand and I'm hoping you guys can settle the debate.

50 buy-in MTT on Pokerroom
60 people left, top 30 pay
Ave. stack - 6500 chips, ~10 people have <1500 chips
(Finishing ITM is very important to Hero)
blinds 150-300, no ante
Villain just got moved to Hero's table 5 hands ago. The rest of the table has been fairly weak.

UTG folds.
Villain (13k chips) raises to 1500 utg+1.
Two people fold.
Hero (6k chips) has AKo in middle position.

Everybody acting behind our hero and the blinds have 5000-9000 chips each. Hero feels that he can adequately control the table due to the weakish play of his opponents.

What's your play?

[nsj]

Well you can't call 25% of your stack looking for one of six outs, and it looks -- without a read, so generalize -- that a 5x bb raise from utg+1 is most likely 77-JJ from an aggressive player. If you push, he'll likely call. His range would also include QQ-AA, AK, AQ, AJ from a maniac perhaps.

This is almost definitely a coin flip and you have little equity, so while my first instinct is to push, a fold is weak but not horrible, and use your chips in better spots.

I would push because AK is pretty, but that's me.

[ThrillFactor]

[ QUOTE ]

I would push because AK is pretty, but that's me.

[/ QUOTE ]

You would push here because you're trying to win, not just make the money. You DO have FE, many times you have your opponent dominated, and most of the time you're at worst a flip.

[Dave D]

I'm calling here and playing poker. It sounds like I'd expect it to go HU, which is what I want. If you call, you still have 15 bbs, which isn't terrible. You have position on villian here, use it.

If he checks the flop, I 2/3 pot bet it pretty much with an A/K on the flop or not.

I really don't see that big a reason to push here, it's just not neccessary and you could easily be dominated or at a 60/40. I'd push back at 10 bbs or less, not 20.

[Taraz]

This is the position my brother takes. My counterargument is basically that you are going to miss 2/3 of the flops that come and that it is highly unlikely that the Villain will check to you on any flops that miss you. What do you do when the flop comes Q93 and he bets 1/2 the pot into you?

This seems like it should be push/fold preflop, no?

[TomHimself]

I would push preflop

[Blindcurve]

[ QUOTE ]
What do you do when the flop comes Q93 and he bets 1/2 the pot into you?

[/ QUOTE ]

If you take Dave's line you're looking to flop an A or K and letting it go the rest of the time. With 4500 left you can't reasonably call a 2K bet; you would have to push or fold. I think you have less FE post-flop and would have to expect to get called. So I think you're letting this go against this flop.

The thing here is if you're going to fold here, you might as well fold preflop and that can't be right unless you have a fantastic read on the Villain. Or you think you can get a better spot-if you lose you're dead.

I think I'd push PF 98% of the time.

FOITNOF,
-D.

[Lloyd]

You're only going to hit an A or K about 37% of the time on the flop. That alone means you need to be getting about 2 to 1 pre-flop which you are clearly not. I think calling and seeing a flop with the idea of folding if an A or K doesn't hit is a bad idea if you're up against someone who understands continuation bets. Since folding is pretty weak and making any normal type of raise pot commits you, I'd push.

[macdafunk]

play to win, not to finish ITM, who raises 5x the BB with a hand that AK is not at worst a coin flip with?

[2005]

If making the money is important to you then this is a muck.