Advice on this early position AA hand

JGlo · #1 05-31-2005, 11:22 PM

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t15 (9 handed) converter
Early in a 2 table, it is like the 6th hand- no reads

MP2 (t1620)
MP3 (t1150)
CO (t530)
Button (t975)
SB (t1010)
BB (t1000)
UTG (t900)
Hero (t985)
MP1 (t1275)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img].
1 fold, Hero raises to t30, 1 fold, MP2 calls t30, MP3 calls t30, 1 fold, Button raises to t100, 2 folds, Hero raises to t170, MP2 folds, MP3 folds, Button calls t70.

Flop: (t422.50) 6[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], 5[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], 4[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] (2 players)

Hero?

JGlo · #2 06-01-2005, 08:18 AM

The reason I posted this was because I was first to act after the flop and bet out $225 and the guy folded. Should I have been less aggressive and tried to milk this for more $$ or was this the correct play? Not sure of the proper way to play hands like this.

thetman · #3 06-01-2005, 08:28 AM

I would have raised more to see the flop...maybe 225 or 250.

wdcbooks · #4 06-01-2005, 09:14 AM

This is a bit ugly all the way. I don't like the min raise to begin with. This is early in an tournament, people love to call your raises, why not get some value out of it. If everyone had just called you would have been in trouble with that flop.

Second, you got your re-raise and I think you chose the worst option. You could flat call, re-raise a little, or reraise harder. Flat calling allows you to check to him and let him make a continuation bet. A big re-raise gets more money in the pot now, which he will almost surely call. Your little raise does nothing but announce 'I have a huge hand, you better fold unless you can beat kings or aces'.

In short, the bet on the flop wasn't the problem. Your opponent had shown a willingness you play with you. I would have raised to 250, and I think he would almost certainly call.

stantheman · #5 06-01-2005, 10:12 AM

There are spots where miniraising is a good idea but they are few and far between, and this is certainly not one of them.

What happens if you are just called in 3 or 4 places (a very common occurance)? You are playing a flop out of position against 5 players and just asking to lose a big pot.

Raise 3x or 4x preflop and take it from there. The way it played out here, reraise to T300 to make sure you isolate.

ethan · #6 06-01-2005, 10:18 AM

Preflop is pretty bad. Raise more the first time you have a chance (I'd make it 60), and either flat-call the 100 or reraise more (I'd make it 250-300 if I reraised.) After a min-raise and a min-reraise you're not likely to get much action from a hand that doesn't beat you.

Once you get to the flop you might as well bet, because a check will look even fishier to your opponents than your minraise/minreraise. Go for 250 or so and hope he gets stubborn with QQ.

nightlyraver · #7 06-01-2005, 10:44 AM

I'm not sure I really like the miniraise there - if you're going to play the aces "second hand low" you should limp and reraise big to get it heads up. Luckily the button raised you, but you should have reraised bigger I feel. His raise was either a bad steal attempt or he has AK or a big pair. Any of those holdings will call your reraise to 220 or 250 if he's calling to 170.

Anyway, going to the flop you need to bet. It's expected that you will with anything decent and a check-raise will look suspect. You also don't want to give A [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]K [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] a free card and you need to extract full value from the hand. This is actually a great flop for you since you will probably break him if he has KK or maybe QQ - his two most likely holdings.

I would fire a bet of about t250 into this pot. You're not giving him good odds to draw to a flush if that's what he has (remember, we are firing a big bet on the turn) and the bet looks like you have a pocket pair like JJ or TT and you are trying to figure out where you are in the hand. I would expect him to raise you, perhaps with a push, with the KK or QQ and you'll probably take all his chips.

Kronon · #8 06-01-2005, 11:05 AM

I agree with everyone else. A bigger reraise preflop would be inorder, I would probably make it 250-300. A small raise just screams big pair, you want him to think you have something like AK, just in case he is sitting with a middle pair.

After the flop, its highly unlikely that the flop hit him in any way (remember, he raised first, then was reraised and called). He either has a good ace (not necesarily AK, its early in the tournament), or a medium-high PP.

To sum it up, I would raise to 300 preflop, and if I was called I would make a small bet on the flop (a bet that appears weak) and hope for a reraise. If he reraises, its time for all-in obvious, and if he called, I would bet hard on turn (giving one cheap card is enough).

I would never check that flop though, since that only makes me seem stronger, atleast to people who have seen me play before. Besides, AA is only one pair, far from enough to go for a real slowplay.