The Hand -- An Ace-Queen Problem Part I

MLG -

What do you do here: push? raise pot sized (say T1200)w/ intent to push on any flop if called?, make a more normal sized 4x/5x raise and play post flop? fold out of concern of the UTG limper? (last option's a typo!) other?

I'm pushing since I believe I have sufficient fold equity and I'm concerned that anything less is likely to be multiway and I wouldn't want to fire post flop into multiple pot committed opponents if I whiff. If I get called it's likely by an underpair and I'm getting compensated for racing that off.

[schroedy]

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Consideration #2: Hard (for me) to imagine an UTG limp that AQ is ahead of.



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Is this a typo? Seriously.

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Not a typo. The guy was tight. The texture of the game was such that no one had a right to believe that they could get away with a limp with T9s (in fact, I am pretty sure that this was the first unraised pot of the day).

Maybe I am giving him too much credit, but I would think AA is more likely than T9s, but that most likely of all is 88 followed in order of probability by the pairs surrounding (99,77,TT,66 . . . at the point of JJ I would expect the raising to start).

[schroedy]

[q]consideration #4 contradicts #2 and #3. if he's just raising on principle then you probably have the best hand.[/q]

I am not communicating very well, I am afraid.

The combination of possibly being way behind to a sneaky UTG limper, probably being behind at least somebody with a PP and facing shenanigans from Villian, left me frozen with fear. Which is not a great way to play tournament NL, but that is where I was.

I am not happy at all to be playing AQ out of position to a full table, so my preflop decision was actually just a prayer that the flop totally misses me so I can get out of this and be done with it.

Alas, the fates were not so kind. More to follow on after the flop play this afternoon.

wow, you will get nowhere if you are scared of every limped hand. Raise to isolate. Why are you scared of a small pair? AQ against small pair is not a bad hand, and if you miss flop and fail to win from CB at flop, easy enough to let hand go. Rebuy limpers (even when table is playing tight) hands are very often marginal (like suited gappers,connectors or small pairs).

[FrogMouth]

I'm familiar with that tourney, and I know you must start accumilating chips. Ante's kick in very soon, and 30 min levels (i'd be willing to bet they're 20 min) You really need to accumilate chips at this point. Grow a set of nuts and push that shiznit. Your not up against AK and the chances of AA-QQ are slim. You may be called by some donkey w/66, spike the A and tell him to rebuy. This is a VERY powerful move, and it will pickup the pot the majority of the times no doubt!!

Point is that the blinds in these tourneys move so fast, and you get so few hands that you must make a move with any edge you have. You can't sit back at this level.