Dodged a bullet, feelin' ashamed

[Gar Pike]

Poker Stars 3$ NL Multi, blinds 25/50, 2700-ish stack, UTG w/ AA. 2 people behind me have me out-stacked.

I have been getting some good cards, last time I was UTG I had AK, raised to 3xBB and everybody folded. So I thought, well, maybe I should go for the limp/re-raise all in, and limp. Table had been moderately aggressive PF and I was pretty sure somebody would raise.

Which, of course, nobody did, so there's 6 or 7 of us see the flop of

Kc Jc 8c

Not having any clubs, I checked, next guy checks, 450 bet, fold, fold, raise all in (3500-ish), I fold, next guy folds, original bettor calls (1900-ish).

The results left me feeling pretty good, I'd have lost all my chips with my original plan, lost about 300 or so by raising to 150 PF and a flop probe bet, and I did go on to finish 4th, but dam, what a weak way to play aces.

On the other hand, I had a plan, and there are some flops you don't like to see with Aces, so maybe I did a good thing.

What do you think?

Regards

Gar

Oh, and for you result-oriented...in white...
<font color="white"> original bettor had Ac 6c, big stack raiser had J8o, rivered a boat </font>

[fnurt]

After you limped, which might have been right if people truly were raising PF that much, you did well to get away from the hand with all this action. Too often, people who bet too small end up overcompensating by making huge bets on future streets, trying to buy the pot they would have had if they bet stronger to begin with.

[gobboboy]

I want to make this perfectly clear.

<font color="red">DON'T LIMP ACES. DON'T DO IT. EVER.</font>
You can avoid situations like this by not limping aces. It's bad. Making a standard raise and taking the blinds allows you to mask the strength of your hand. Limping UTG late in a tournament sets off alarm bells for anyone with a brain. If someone is raising, they're likely playing the hand if you raise anyway.

[Juff]

With the blinds at 25/50, I don't think it's late in the tournament.

I also doubt that A6s or J8o would have called a limp-push if they did raise preflop.

[Kevin West]

I agree. Since he was able to get away from the hand and didn't treat it like the nuts on the flop, limping hoping for a reraise is fine.