AKs cripples me

[rannerboy]

Early in a live tournament. Blinds are 50/100 and my stack ~5k which is average.

I get dealt A [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]K [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] in EP. I Raise to 400. One shortstacked MP player calls and the BB calls. BB has played very loose and has a stack significantly taller than mine.

Flop: 2 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]6 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]6 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] (Pot 1250)

BB checks. I bet 1000. MP player raises all-in for 2150 or so. BB folds. Probably ~7 outs (including the backdoor flush draw) and if I'm lucky I might even be ahead to some other random overcards. I get 4:1 pot odds so I call.

He shows 7 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]7 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. No help on turn or river and I'm crippled down to ~2.5k.

This situation happens to me every now and then. I get a good hand like AK or AQ, miss the flop and consequently lose a big part of my stack. How should I have played this?

I probably woulda played it the exact same way ... however I have not had a winning month yet so maybee I am not the best person to give advice [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

[Matador225]

Generally you want to make a continuation bet of about 1/2 the pot on the flop. You bet about 5/6 of it. The problem with this is that in a situation like this or a similar situation where your opponent has even more chips your not allowing yourself to get away from the hand.

After the flop bet you had the right price to call but your flop bet is too big.

[rannerboy]

Advice from anyone is welcome, even losing players. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

The problem is that I think I might have played this hand correctly, still I hate when it costs me half my stack this early in the tournament. Maybe the continuation bet on the flop was stupid, I don't know. I just thought it was possible I had the best hand at the moment and didn't want to give other overcard hands any free chances to beat me or bluff me out of the pot.

Couple of things to think about:

1) It's okay to go broke with AK. You basically lost a coin flip, there are worse ways to bust out.

2) If you raise with AK and get two callers, it is profitable to only fire again if you hit. I'm not saying that's necessarily the best line, but it is +EV.

3) I believe it was CSC who pointed out that check-raising all-in with AK in a spot like this can yield some increased fold equity, as your opponents may put you on a big pair. My gut tells me that wouldn't have mattered here, though, as this guy was going to get it in with his 77. Checking and folding to a large bet or calling a small one hoping to hit one of 15 cards (club, A, or K) on the turn wouldn't be bad either.

[rannerboy]

[ QUOTE ]
Generally you want to make a continuation bet of about 1/2 the pot on the flop. You bet about 5/6 of it. The problem with this is that in a situation like this or a similar situation where your opponent has even more chips your not allowing yourself to get away from the hand.

After the flop bet you had the right price to call but your flop bet is too big.

[/ QUOTE ]

To be picky, the CB was actually 4/5 of the pot. I made this bet on purpose because I thought a normal sized CB stood too good a chance of being called, especially by the BB. I also wanted the player behind me to know that I had a good hand so he wouldn't try any kind of fancy all-in raise with some other overcards.

In case I had made my CB ~600 and the player behind moved all-in, I would have to pay 1550 more to win 4000. That is less than 3:1 pot odds and I would have a much more difficult call of his raise. Right or wrong?

[rannerboy]

[ QUOTE ]
Couple of things to think about:

1) It's okay to go broke with AK. You basically lost a coin flip, there are worse ways to bust out.

2) If you raise with AK and get two callers, it is profitable to only fire again if you hit. I'm not saying that's necessarily the best line, but it is +EV.

3) I believe it was CSC who pointed out that check-raising all-in with AK in a spot like this can yield some increased fold equity, as your opponents may put you on a big pair. My gut tells me that wouldn't have mattered here, though, as this guy was going to get it in with his 77. Checking and folding to a large bet or calling a small one hoping to hit one of 15 cards (club, A, or K) on the turn wouldn't be bad either.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think check-folding would have been the best play, since I probably wouldn't have got the turn card cheap enough to call (you noticed I had only the backdoor flush draw, right?). That would have cost me only 400 instead of 2500 like it did now, and I could just have played on in my normal pace not being shortstacked. But... The BB's check and the texture of the flop just made a continuation bet too tempting...

[Melchiades]

[ QUOTE ]
In case I had made my CB ~600 and the player behind moved all-in, I would have to pay 1550 more to win 4000. That is less than 3:1 pot odds and I would have a much more difficult call of his raise. Right or wrong?

[/ QUOTE ]
Thats right. You say it like it is a bad thing though, it's not. You are giving yourself a chance to get away from the hand if you feel you are behind. You can still make the call if you think he is full of it.

[ QUOTE ]

I think check-folding would have been the best play, since I probably wouldn't have got the turn card cheap enough to call (you noticed I had only the backdoor flush draw, right?).

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, the idea would be to pick up a flush draw on the turn and then semi-bluff all in (check-raising all-in would be ideal, but it doesn't seem like stacks are deep enough for that). Don't get me wrong, you will still be all-in with a dog a lot of the time, but this will give you at least some fold equity that you don't have on the flop. Even better, your check call might confuse him into checking behind. This also lets him bluff at you with three outs if he's got AQ, AJ, KQ, etc.

[Melchiades]

If the plan is to pick up a flushdraw on the turn, why not change the plan to turning an ace or a king instead?