KQ offsuit

[Nelson]

I have a general question that goes with a recent hand. The general question, if it can be answered, is on opening with hands like AJ off and KQ off in early position/UG+1 in the later stages of a tournament (30 players, I'm in 15th, top 10 pay). Or in middle position when there has been one or two callers before it is my turn to act, assuming I have a tight image and the other players are not overly loose.

Blinds 500/1000
I have 6000 chips
UG+1 calls (9000 chips)
EP calls (4000 chips)
Folded to me (KQ off) in MP

I'm not sure what to do...If there had been standard raises before me, I would have folded (correct?). As it is, I lean towards folding. Is this absurdly tight and passive? Thanks!

[ohkanada]

With 6000 and blinds of 500-1000 and 2 limpers, you only have 2 options for any hands. Either fold or raise all-in. I would never limp for 1/6 of your chips. With KQ and AJ I would likely fold unless the 2 limpers were weak limpers who likely would fold or likely have worse hands.

Ken Poklitar

[folded_a_monster]

You did not mention whether the tourney was NL or limit. If it's limit- fold, unless you are in MP, there are no callers, and the table is tight; then raise and try to buy the blinds. If it's no limit- fold. These hands (and I throw AQ in there as well) can kill you in NL when you flop top pair. In the long run, you are not losing money by folding these hands.

[sam h]

if the blinds are really 1000/500 and you are an average stack with 6k, then i think you need to lean towards being aggressive in these situations. in general, i would probably push all in first in with kq or aj in early position and hope for the best. but it would depend on how the table was playing.

in the instance with the two callers i would probably fold because the 4000 stack is correct to call with almost any hand, the larger stack may have limped a big hand, and there are still several players to act behind you. but i dont think pushing in here is a huge mistake, since you may win the pot uncontested and have a reasonable probability of getting heads up on a coin toss or 60/40 shot with 2500 of dead money in the pot.

another consideration is the players to your left and their stack sizes. if they have big stacks and/or are loose, then you will find it difficult to steal after paying the blinds and will need to find a hand in the next orbit anyway with your 4500 stack.

with the blinds this big compared to the stack sizes, the worst mistake you can make is to fold your way to oblivion while waiting for ak, aa, kk, qq, jj, or tt.

[ohkanada]

Sam is certainly correct with a stack of 6000 and those blinds and no callers yet, you need to be very aggressive. AJ/KQ are likely candidates for all-in hands.

Ken Poklitar

[Nelson]

Thanks for your replies and insight.

1. It was NL
2. Yes the blinds were 500/1000 (it was a UB qualifying tournament with over 200 players and we were in hour three).

If I was opening the betting, I would have gone all-in - but there were two callers before me and I was in MP. I was consious of the blind structure, and that I had to pick the right moment to make a move, in all liklihood without having premium cards. All other comments were very helpful. Cheers, Nelson

[eatbush]

being a rookie you don't have to take my advice. but I agree with Sam H </font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
"the worst mistake you can make is to
fold your way to oblivion while waiting for ak, aa, kk, qq, jj, or tt".

[/ QUOTE ] those hands are hard to come by.