How would you play this hand preflop?

Ralle · #1 07-22-2005, 07:49 AM

NL Hold'em tourney. 125 players left, 63 places pay. Blinds at 100/200 with a 25 ante, nine-handed. Average stack approx. 7500.

Three players will be active in the hand: MP with 3500 in chips, SB with 6500, and I have 6500 in the BB.

I pick up AQs. MP opens with a raise to 800. Folded to SB who calls. It's 600 for me to call, and the pot is 2025. I have no good read on either player. How would you play?

JeanieJ · #2 07-22-2005, 07:53 AM

Call, take a flop and see what the action brings there.

bmxreed36 · #3 07-22-2005, 07:54 AM

I would just call. Without a read, I would think MP has something at least a little decent and he invested almost 1/4 his stack so coming over the top may not have too much fold equity. You're getting great odds so I'd just call and see the flop.

sekrah · #4 07-22-2005, 08:01 AM

Fold. Marginal hand, out of position. These are the hands you go bust on.

bmxreed36 · #5 07-22-2005, 08:04 AM

Call. Getting more than 3-1 with 2 opponents and a suited AQ. This is a hand you may double up on. (or go broke)

Ralle · #6 07-22-2005, 08:50 AM

Despite the pot odds, I didn't want to call with AQ (suited or not) out of position for a substantial raise (a tenth of my stack). Unless I hit really hard (like trip Q, two-pair, or flush/flush draw), I won't know where I'm at on the flop.

sekrah · #7 07-22-2005, 08:53 AM

Agreed.. if you don't hit your hand hard, you are in extremely difficult waters.

Calling this hand here is a classic chip bleeding situation that alot of people can't see.

bugstud · #8 07-22-2005, 08:57 AM

any reads? I generally shove here, there's a bunch of dead money in the center and all.

Ralle · #9 07-22-2005, 09:05 AM

I didn't have any good reads, other than the general feeling that people were able to lay down decent hands in the face of a big reraise. The two other guys were definately not maniacs.

I also felt that my image was fairly tight. In addition to that, I had opened the pot preflop for a standard raise (800) a couple of times the last round or so with marginal hands (I think it was 87s and 66), getting reraised big and had to fold w/o seeing the flop. Partly because of that I was down from around 9500 to 6500, but I'm not sure if the other guys noticed that or not.

sekrah · #10 07-22-2005, 09:15 AM

I would rather call AND/OR push with 8-9 suited than push with A-Q here.

With a push, either hand you are only going to get called by hands that can beat A-Q. With 8-9 atleast you have live cards capable of making something.

With a call if you don't hit hard you can get rid of it easily, and if you miss at all, you can still make a play at the pot.

A-Q is probably the most overrated hand in the game.