Coming Over the Top of the LAP

[Blindcurve]

Fult Tilt $5.50 MTT.

Relevant stacks: 9 handed
UTG+1: ~1300
MP1: ~1300
CO: ~900
Blindcurve in the SB ~1800

Blinds 20/40

Reads: UTG and MP have both either limped or raised into hands and lost or been bet out. CO had a 2500 or so stack. Just got his 88 (which he called a reraise all-in with) beaten with JJ, and has limped or raised in the past 3 hands. I put him on "must get stack back" mode. I have shown down AA and JJ.

Action: Folded to UTG+1 who limps, MP1 limps, 1 fold, CO raises to 160, fold, <font color="red"> Hero raises all-in for ~1800 with ATo</font>

My reasoning: I know I have a better hand than the CO, who's on tilt. I don't really want to play my hand out of position. CO has already been burned in the blinds by an all-in. My worst case scenario is that he actually has a pair. I put him on mid connectors, A2-AJ, 22-99, K8-KQ. I don't expect a call anywhere and will take down the 280 in the middle.

Is this crazy? Over-agressive or a good play?

-D.

[Sam T.]

Hey Blind,

One point that jumped out at me - "I have shown down AA and JJ." In a $5.50 tournament, he does not know this. You can play like Gibraltar its own damn self, and nobody will notice.

Another claim you made is as questionable: "I know I have a better hand than the CO, who's on tilt." I wish that it worked that way, but the truth is that even guys on tilt get AJ from time to time. Moreover, if he's on tilt, you are probably going to get a call, and while you may not be dominated, neither are you that far ahead of his range.

Finally, if he's got 22-99 (how do you eliminate TT-AA?), or AJ (why not AQ or AK?), pot odds aside, you are not ahead. It sounds like you did the same thing I do far too often: you put him on a range of hands you could beat, and called it a read.

I hope it worked out for you but AT is just too weak for me in this situation.

Good luck,

Sam

I don't think you can 'know' you have a better hand then him. You may know that AT is better than many of the hands he raises with in this position but you can't forget that he's also raising with hands that beat AT here.

Another thing to consider is that when he has a hand worse than AT he folds and you pick up the 280 but if he did get lucky and have a better hand he's calling and much of the time you're losing 900.

I fold this and wait for a better hand. You have great position on him and can probably find a better spot since it's early. Also if there is any risk of a player limping from EP with a big hand it makes this an eaiser fold.

[Blindcurve]

Yeah. I suspected this was a bit donkified. I have been ramping up my aggression earlier in small-buyin MTT's with the idea that I can get a highly workable stack in the first hour and it will improve my chances overall.

What happened here was the MP2 called AI, the CO folded. MP2 turns up 66, and I get short-stacked. [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

I didn't mind the race, but I can find better spots.

-D.