A few 20+2 hands (#2)

[Luke]

Here’s a 2nd hand from my Party $20+2. We’re about midway through and the blinds are 300/600. The stacks on my table range from (1040 to 12,085).

I’m right in the middle with a stack of 6,455 and I have the preflop raiser covered by a little (5045).

This is my first hand the table so unfortunately I have no read on the player but since this was a borderline steal situation, I felt he could have been raising a little lightly.

There are 5 folds and the CO-1 (5045) open raises to 2,000. I’m in the BB with A [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]Q [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] and push all-in for my 5045.

Easy? Obvious?

Any and all comments welcome…

Luke

[caretaker1]

I'm not re-raising a guy who has me covered, and would likely only call me with a hand I'm an underdog to (AK, AA, KK, QQ, maybe JJ). Easy fold for me.
But maybe that's a little too tight?

[Synth]

I push.

You have a little over 10.5 BB's and the villian could be making this raise with many hands (JJ, TT, 99, 88, AJ, AT, A9, KQ, etc) so your AQo could very well be ahead or in a coin flip situation.

[kuro]

If co-1 looks like he's been frequently stealing blinds or if he's the type that always limps with aa/ak then I think your move is perfect. If co-1 is tight and hasn't been raising preflop then you've got to strongly consider folding. You've got to base your decision on what kind of play you've seen by him.

[Luke]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I pushed, my opponent turned over KTs and my AQ held up.

Being new to the table and having no reads, I felt that pushing here with AQo against a potential steal is the correct play against an "average" opponent. AJo would be iffy and ATo I'd muck.

I wonder what others think about where I'm drawing the line in the sand?

Luke

[zaxx19]

Good hand to protect blinds with IMHO and his larger than 3BB raise doesnt scare me into believing you are up against AA KK or QQ or...id only fear AK here really good push.

[Guy F]

[ QUOTE ]
Easy? Obvious?

[/ QUOTE ]

For me, neither, but I have much to learn. It seems to me there are two competing forces at work. This is your 1st hand at this table so you know nothing about the players, but your stack is smallish compared to the BB. Between a rock and a hard place, that.

The size of his raise tells me he's probably going to the wall with his hand. It's 40% of his chips, but more importantly it would leave him with 5xBB if he folded. Maybe he would fold to a reraise or flop bet, but that's hard to judge since you've never seen him before. If you enter the pot at all you might well view it as calling his all-in bet. He's put you on notice. Then again, if that's his intent why not just go all-in now? It does have a whiff of timidity.

I'm comfortable stealing to wait for a situation that's less of a crapshoot, and one where I'm playing offense instead of defense. But if this is the 1st reasonable hand I've seen in 5 orbits, I jump all over it and take my chances.