AK hand

Shaun · #1 12-12-2003, 08:22 AM

Party NL 100. UTG makes it 4 to go and has 400 in stack. Everyone calls. I am the button with AKos and 350 in stack. I re-raise to 24. UTG re-raises to 48. Everyone folds.

Note: The old mini-raise is often a CERTAIN sign of AA. Especially when it is preceded by a mini-raise to 4. Of course I ignore all that and talk myself into calling, because, that is what you do to a mini-raise I guess. This is mistake number 1. *I should fold here even though it might be consdidered weak tight.

At any rate I figure I can get away from a bad flop.
Then comes the bad flop: A52. He CHECKS. Again, could be a tell-tale sign he has AA, but since there is only 1 left if this is the case, I am stubborn. He checks. I decide I must keep this pot small since all the signs point to me drawing dead- I bet 50, he calls. HMMMMMMM.

The turn is a Q. As if the A and the check and the mini-raise weren't enough to spook me, he checks again. I ponder and decide at this point, I am not getting out a hand that beats me obviously. I am also not getting called by a hand that doesn't. I decide to check along, and hope that he really doesn't have me beat when he bets his obvious AA on the river.

The river is an 8. Now UTG finally stops the act and bets 100. The pot is 300 with his bet. I know he has AA. Of course I call anyway. He has AA. I lose, which is no surprise since from the moment of his mini-raise to 4 UTG I am thinking "watch out for AA".

The screwy thing is, had I not been the button and positions been reversed, I'd probably have mucked to his "I have AA" mini-raise because I'd have been out of position.
Needless to say I am very disappointed with my play here. [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

bisonbison · #2 12-12-2003, 09:35 AM

Dr. Al's hand-reading quiz:

Are you a good hand-reader?
Do you act with confidence in your reads?

crockpot · #3 12-12-2003, 09:37 AM

i agree you should have folded to the reraise preflop, and been prepared to utilize in future hands your image as a lunatic who raises big then folds to a min-reraise. i've never seen a table where everyone called a min-raise from UTG before, so i really don't know what my play preflop would have been the first time it got to me. as a general rule, though, i like to avoid big preflop raises with AK, because:

- the raise often pot-commits me when my instincts tell me i'm behind (as here)
- the raise tends to knock out hands like AJ and KQ that would otherwise stick around to pay me off if flop top pair

i don't need to tell you how suspiciously he played the hand. if you can't trust your instincts, you can't win in no-limit. just remember that if it walks and talks like a slowplay, it probably is one.

SpaceAce · #4 12-12-2003, 03:29 PM

Usually if something in your head is saying, "He's got AA, he's got AA, he's got AA," he's got AA. Just dump it. If you're wrong, big deal, you lost a couple of bucks.

If you're wrong and you play, you probably win a smallish pot if you get your Ace or King.
If you're right and you play, you probably lose a biggish pot, especially if you hit your Ace or King.
If you're wrong and you fold, you miss out on winning a smallish pot and lose whatever you already had in.
If you're right and you fold, you save lots of bets (especially over the course of several occurences).

You should definitely trust yourself next time.

SpaceAce

Shaun · #5 12-12-2003, 08:16 PM

I have to disagree about AK in this spot, that is, if I play it right, which I unfortunately didn't. If I just call 4, I let in all pairs and suited connectors that can really hurt me should I flop top pair against a better hand. A raise on the button allows me to take control of the hand, and maybe even get a free card should I miss. I'd rather play AK against 1 or 2 opponents than against 6 or 7. I see what you are saying about AQ, AJ, etc, but with more opponents it is also much tougher to buy the pot on the flop should I miss. I also have to raise like this to cover the times when I have AA and KK, which I will raise the same way. Most of opponents have a third the chips, so it is really a mistake for them to see a flop with a small pair for 25 (unless many have called in front of them). If I get called by 4 or 5 opponents, we are playing a big pot with me on the button, and I am of course weary of hands like JJ etc.

Again, had I just listened to my gut and played AK correctly here, the strategy could have worked out a lot better. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] I should have known, and basically did that he had AA because of his actions after my re-raise pre-flop. Then the flop came and I second guessed myself.

Had I not re-raised in this situation I may have been able to get away, but were he to just call my raise pre-flop and we see it heads up- he could have broken me. That said he got plenty considering the warning signs that I ignored...

Anyway I actually really like AK, and play it pretty agressively most of the time, because it is Party Poker and the stacks are 50 times the BB usually. Most of the time I can get away from it when I smell I am dominated. This time I played like a muppet- and had a feeling I was playing like a muppet- and did it anyway. LOL.

crockpot · #6 12-12-2003, 10:17 PM

yeah, this discussion does a great job of explaining why i prefer pot limit omaha to no-limit hold 'em. it's partially because i'm just better at it, but it's also much easier to stay out of trouble, particularly when you're talking about hands like AK. besides, i flopped an omaha hand with 24 outs yesterday. let's see you do that in hold 'em!

truth is, my AK play can definitely use some work. i should really open up my game and get into trouble with slick a few times so i can analyze my play, instead of running away scared with it.