Fold AA preflop

[JNash]

A few months ago, I was berated extensively for a remark I made in a post that folding AA preflop can sometimes be correct. The comments were pretty nasty...weak player, worst advice ever, you have to play to win, etc., etc.

I just got done playing a SNG where I got busted going allin with 99. After thinking about it, this was exactly one of those cases where I shouldn't even have played AA...here it is:

$20+2 SNG on UB
4 players left, blinds at 100/200, payout is $100/$60/$40. Hero with 1800 chips is UTG. Button has ~400 chips, SB ~700 chips, BB has ~6700 chips. BB is maniac and will call with almost any 2 cards.

Does anyone believe that playing AA in this spot would be a good idea?

[Pepsquad]

I most certainly do. I'd come in for 3-4 time BB raise and pray to God that Mr. Maniac pushed with his "any two cards".

[redeye3030]

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Does anyone believe that playing AA in this spot would be a good idea?

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It's a real good idea if you want to finish 1st.

[Irieguy]

It's never, ever correct to fold Aces preflop in a SNG no matter what conditions you can imagine (assuming traditional pay-outs).

I promise.

Irieguy

[Gramps]

[ QUOTE ]
Does anyone believe that playing AA in this spot would be a good idea?

[/ QUOTE ]

If you goal is $EV maximization, then yes. If you want to lose money/lower $EV over the long-run on this hand, then no.

If this thread is a joke, then I bit.

If there was some ridiculous situaiton where (for example) the payout was top 2 place only (say 60/40), BB had 8,000 chips, you had 1,998 chips, the other two players had 1 chip each and BB would call with any two....then it's a clear fold $EV wise...

...but I haven't yet encountered a situation in a 50/30/20 payout SNG yet where it was correct $EV wise to fold AA preflop.

[pistol78]

If you dont play AA 4-handed then what DO you play?

Or Do you just close your eyes and hope that the others somehow manage to bust each other up.

Come on man, are we really discussing folding AA? Lets talk about mucking KK preflop at least there we might have a very good argument.

[SmileyEH]

I folded AA preflop in a cash game once. Stick to your guns!

-SmileyEH

[Benholio]

[ QUOTE ]
It's never, ever correct to fold Aces preflop in a SNG no matter what conditions you can imagine (assuming traditional pay-outs).

I promise.

Irieguy

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, the circumstances have to be pretty extreme, but I think we did recently find a real example of when someone should have folded aces. Remember? Right over here.

[stlip]

In limit games where you cannot always stop multiple people from having the pot odds to stay all the way to the end trying to draw out their straights and flushes or hitting runner runner sets or two pair -- AA wins 80 percent of the time. If you're afraid of that, then what other kind of crazy decisions are you making in the name of better safe than sorry.

(I did have KK once against two AA hands and a K came on the flop -- that was sweet!)

[pistol78]

[ QUOTE ]
I folded AA preflop in a cash game once. Stick to your guns!

-SmileyEH

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this is just scared poker IMO. my friend did this once in a limit game, of course it was his first time playing in an B&M, and of course he was a total newbbie, what was your excuse.