KK early in tourney

[villafan]

I am new to 50+5 Party SNG, and am trying to log a couple of 100 tournaments to see where I stand (of course, if my losses are too high, i will move down).

These are two play at the early level where i have KK both times.

Hand #1: I raise to get more money in the pot as I think I have the best hand. When I'm getting re raised I am thinking a bit of pushing or just calling, but i end up just calling to see the flop and I am prepared to push the flop (this is bad with KK, right?). When the A flops, I just call the flop bet to see if my opponent will check the turn [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img].

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t30 (8 handed) converter

UTG+1 (t905)
MP1 (t2010)
Hero (t1410)
CO (t865)
Button (t980)
SB (t1135)
BB (t2235)
UTG (t460)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img].
<font color="#666666">2 folds</font>, <font color="#CC3333">MP1 raises to t60</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to t175</font>, <font color="#666666">4 folds</font>, <font color="#CC3333">MP1 raises to t290</font>, Hero calls t115.

Flop: (t625) A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], 4[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">MP1 bets t175</font>, Hero calls t175.

Turn: (t975) 3[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">MP1 bets t1545 (All-In)</font>, Hero folds.

Final Pot: t2520

Hand #2: I limp UTG with KK to re raise if someone raises. My reasoning is that this is the way i (long term) will take down most chips, and its early, so there is probably no need to fight for a small pot out of position (a typical scenario is that I raise to 90 and get two callers and i put in a pot bet on flop and get called and I really can be in a mess if the turn card is bad or when I put in a decent bet on turn).

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t30 (10 handed) converter

CO (t850)
Button (t465)
SB (t630)
BB (t1575)
Hero (t1135)
UTG+1 (t1000)
UTG+2 (t755)
MP1 (t415)
MP2 (t1110)
MP3 (t2065)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img].
Hero calls t30, <font color="#CC3333">UTG+1 raises to t60</font>, <font color="#666666">4 folds</font>, CO calls t60, Button calls t60, SB calls t45, <font color="#CC3333">BB raises to t300</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to t1135 (All-In)</font>, UTG+1 folds, CO folds, Button folds, SB folds, BB calls t835.

Flop: (t2510) A[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 7[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players, 1 all-in)</font>

Turn: (t2510) 2[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players, 1 all-in)</font>

River: (t2510) 6[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players, 1 all-in)</font>

Final Pot: t2510

[curtains]

Hand 1 - I would reraise preflop

Hand 2 - it's okay to sometimes limp UTG, but I generally raise. After limping you played fine.

[iMsoLucky0]

In the first hand I think you definitely have to reraise preflop. You have a player that obviously will put alot of chips in this pot, and you have the second best hand there is. Pushing is probably the best option, but a case could probably be made for reraising to 600 or so.

The second hand, I never limp UTG with AA or KK. Some people say it is okay, but I would rather raise and try and get someone to reraise or otherwise call and take it from there.

[curtains]

It's definitely okay to limp with aa-kk sometimes, but I can understand how it would suit someones style to raise every single time.

[villafan]

I agree, the first hand was played very weak and badly.

The second hand, I decided to play a bit different than I normally do. I just have a feeling that in the 50+5 SNGs a pot will be raised enough times to get more chips out of the limp re raise than with a normal raise.

[iMsoLucky0]

Even if you will get more chips in the long run, I don't know that that will add to your $EV in the long run.

What I mean is, even though on most occasions you will be gaining more chips than normal, on others you will be increasing your chances of going broke early in the tournament. And I think it is always better to eliminate the chance of going broke early so that you can make it to the higher blind levels.