European Series of Poker £150 freeze out (london)

[KazUK]

Ok, £150 buy in texas hold em freeze out, starting chips are 4000 with blinds starting at 25-50 and increasing every half hour. There were 130 entrants I came out of the tournament with about 80 left after my aces got cracked by a pocket pair of nines. But it was early on in the tournament where I think I made 2 crucial errors that probably could have easily been avoided.

At the second blind level (50-100) i'm in third position with about 4000 in chips and pick up AK[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] and make it 400 to play, everyone folds except the BB (on around 4500) who calls. Flop comes AJJ, the BB checks and I bet 500, the BB then comes over the top of me making it another 1000 for me to call. I think about it for a while, and muck my AK putting him on trips, he shows 57os. Part of me did think he was making a play at me, but I thought I had 2 options here fold or go all in. If I go all in and lose im out of the tournament.

Now on the third blind level (100-200) I pick up AQos (my stack on about 3500), I make it 800 to play, I guy in middle position who has just lost quite a big pot goes all in making it 1600 more for me to call. Everyone folds, I think for a while and decide that I will gamble hoping he has JJ or lower, or an ace weaker than mine. I call and he shows AA; I lose the pot. I dont think I would normally call here, and think it was the wrong move.

I think these two hands really effected my tournament. I'd like to hear others' views on what I think to be poor decisions.

[betgo]

In the first hand, I woudl call. I want to see his trips. If it was a limped pot with 5 players to the flop, it would be pretty likely someone had trips. Here your opponent could be making a play or could think he was ahead with AQ or something.

You have to call with the second hand. You are getting almost 3-1 pot odds and AQo is ahead of a lot of hands a short stack would push with. Too bad you ran into AA.