PokerStars $500k - Help Please

Yesterday, I was involved in a hand late in this tourney that I wish I could play over. Around 3200 entrants with 200 left, and I'm sitting in 38th with 52k. Average is 28k. I get AKo, and the blinds are 3k. Almost all pots are being taken down with a small raise.
An EP player (w/54k) makes it 8k, and I push in LP. He thinks for almost the entire two minutes, and calls. He turns up JJ. I'm out in 200, and he's 2nd. I've been thinking about this hand, and decided that the following were my choices:

1) Make a small raise of 2k more to see where he's at. (this would be for about 20% of my chips) If he reraises, or pushes, then I fold.

2) Flat call to see if I get any of the flop (prob. my best option), and puts me around 44k or 80th.

3) All-in (my option), and hope that he folds, or has AQ/KQ/AJ or AK even.

4) Fold

I think I made a bad play here. He gave me a chance to see the flop, and not take a huge loss. I could've worked my way back up. I don't even consider folding here. I'm in this to win, or at least final table. I'm already in the money, and 200th to 30th is not that much different. I would've been 2nd had I won this flip.
He went out a few hands later with QQ vs AK vs A7, and the turn is an A. Almost all the remaining players were pushing in with AK. I wonder if you have to resign yourself to getting in this type of coin flip to generate the huge stack it takes to win?
I would like some input to see what everyone else thinks.

Thanks in advance!

[Autocratic]

I assume you meant make a small raise of 12k? I don't mind that terribly, as you could probably feel fine folding to a push, but I think calling is the best option here.

[KneeCo]

I think you played it fine.

You're a 5% dog once he calls and I think that minor disadvantage is made up for by the possibility of him folding pf.
Especially if this is a player who you've seen raise a small amount and then fold to a push pf, I like the push.

That being said you can call pf and play position too, there are a lot of correct ways to play this, I'm just saying I disagree with your conclusion that you made a bad play.

[Small Stakes]

Here's my opinion,

1. Small raise) I think this is the worst choice. If he pushes in and you fold, unless he has AA KK you are making a significant -EV decision.

2. Flat Call - I think I like this option best. You have posistion on the flop and can it doesn' kill your stack.

3. This is read dependent. Has he raised from EP before? Is he aggresive on the flop? ect. With no read, I'd rather flat call but I don't think this a bad play. Remember your playing for the top few spots. The piddly cashes don't mean sh**

4. fold. I play mostly smaller buy-in tournies, but I find people have AK-AJ a lot more often than AA, KK in this situation. Also, only AA has you completely locked up. In general I think folding AK is normally weak.

[McMelchior]

You played it fine.

It's mostly a matter of style whether to push or flat call here.

It's not like you're jeopardizing a major lead - if you want to have a chance to make the final table you need to win coinflips (or steal your way up).

Obviously you picked a good opponent for your push - he almost folded his slightly better hand, and you were still a rough coinflip when he called you.

Personally I'm not crazy about the alternative, the call (folding is just not going to get you deep in the tourney), unless you're one heck of a post-flop player (I'm not). Effectively you're investing 15% of your stack with a hand that's going to miss the flop 2/3 of the time, and there's no saying you'll win as much as one chip more when you hit. In this case, do you think your opponent would have contributed chips on a A or K hi flop?

Down to the last 3 or 4 tables and ahead of the field I would be wary of seeking out coinflips. But it just doesn't pay to keep second guessing yourself after busting on a coinflip - this far from the final table.

Good finish! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Best,

McMelchior (Johan)

[tdomeski]

You are making too much out of the fact that you were 38th at that point. .it meant nothing. Playing a 100K pot with AK with the money going in as the raiser with blinds of 1.5/3K and rising is never a bad thing (unless the difference in payouts between 200 and 100 is a life changing amount of money).

He's got to have a better hand, has to call, and has to avoid a suckout. He did all 3 this hand but next time who knows.

Thanks to everyone so far.

I didn't really think about hitting the flop, and then not getting any additional chips (because he would probably fold). Good point.

I would like to point out to the ones that have said it wasn't close to the final table. True, but the guy that won the flip QQ vs AK against him a few hands later made the final table pretty easily as this put him with a little over 300k (there was another caller all-in with A7).

So win two more hands and you're in..... [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]