Am I a moron? Or is he?

[DaNoob]

2nd hand of a $5 NLHE SnG. I get dealt AKo on the button. Blinds are 10/20. One caller to me and I just call, preferring to wait for a good flop and maybe a trap. SB completes, BB raises the minimum.

I ponder the reraise here, but decide to wait. I call. SB calls.

Pot is now 160.

Flop comes AKx, rainbow. SB checks, BB bets 40. All call.
Turn comes rag, making rainbow complete. BB bets 80, called by EP, I reraise the pot 370 or so. Only the BB calls. Flop comes 8.

BB pushes all in. I read him/her for a bluff or weaker hand. I call, he/she turns over 88. I'm out on the second hand.

Am I a moron?

Ok, assuming I know the answer to the first question, how would YOU have played it differently?

Thanks in advance for the pearls, I need em.

[skaboomizzy]

I'm a relative newbie as well, and may be shouted down by the experts, but I'll try...

You've got a top 10 hand on the button, and everyone else is playing fairly weak. I'd raise for 3x the pot preflop. Your opponent may know that pocket 8s is just the kind of hand that can get him in a LOT of trouble, especially pre-flop, and you get a few free chips to start and maybe the start of a good "image".

All I see from your description is that there's an 8 on the flop, but I get nothing else. Without that info, it's tough for me to go any further. But I think you should've laid it to him for at least 350 pre-flop. With only a middle pair like pocket 8s, you might put the fear into him.

[Acesover8s]

Top 10 hands? Man, I'm learning to hate that phrase.

Anyway. Pocket 88's are not the type of hand that can get you into a lot of trouble, they are a hand that can allow you to lose a little or win a lot unless you play the hand stupidly.

As far as this hand, the 88 player played very stupidly and got very lucky, welcome to online poker.

[Al_Capone_Junior]

Anytime someone calls a large flop raise, then goes all-in on the turn betting into the raiser, they are almost certainly not bluffing.

However, your opponent is definitely the moron.

I can't fault you too much for not being able to get away from your hand.

al

[Al_Capone_Junior]

"Pocket 88's are not the type of hand that can get you into a lot of trouble, they are a hand that can allow you to lose a little or win a lot unless you play the hand stupidly. "

I agree wholeheartedly.

In this case tho, they were played very stupidly, but happened to get very lucky. Betting into a raiser when the flop is AK with your pocket 88 is stupid. Calling a huge raise is stupid-er. Catching an eight on the turn is a miracle that will keep this particular sucker coming back over and over. I actually hope he won it because of that hand.

al

[DaNoob]

Thanks guys.

I had a string of several hands similar to this one and was beginning to wonder if I was doing something wrong. Will post some of the others later today.

Appreciate all the feedback.

[bugstud]

I'm not trapping with AK, but after that flop I probably would have continued.

[chesspain]

By the description of the order of events, I believe that the 8 actually came on the river ("flop was AKx...turn was a rag"). If this is the case, I can't believe no one said to go all-in after the flop, with his top two pair and no apparent draws!?