LImping with AK and AQ in early levels

[Mr_J]

No I'm saying limping gives other people better implied odds.

[ChoicestHops]

Sorry, Mr_J. My comment was directed to this quote

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You may lose hand value pre-flop...but you save when you miss and you gain in disguised kicker strength when you hit (bump in implied odds I mean...)

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[Snarf]

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Sorry, Mr_J. My comment was directed to this quote

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You may lose hand value pre-flop...but you save when you miss and you gain in disguised kicker strength when you hit (bump in implied odds I mean...)

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Players are more likely to give you credit for a good kicker with a paired ace after you've raised pre-flop than if you've both limped in....(duh)

My thinking would be flawed against good players, admittedly...but the 1st level will often hold unknown fishies....

My point is that if I raise now - a decent fish may dump his A x...but if I limp and we both pair the ace post-flop, he'll call down plenty of bets. He may think his medium ace the best hand 'cuz surely someone would've raised with a 'good' kicker, right?

Generally...it seems that I take a bigger pot in level 1 when my AK hits with limping in than with raising. No data for you...just a memory thing - which I know can be flawed.

Thats not really the whole reason I limp in level 1 with these hands...but its a nice side effect.

And the - I pair - someone else two pairs thing is generally rare enough to not worry me that much. It happens. Oh well.

I'm sure my thinking obviously exposes the buy-ins I play at too.........

[ace_in_the_hole]

I think taking the structure into account you have to raise especially up to the $55's. You would be amazed at how amny people will give you their stack with a weaker ace when they hit top pair with you. I think when you limp it is just too hard to find out where you are at with six people to a flop, unless you flop the nuts.

[tigerite]

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raise your AKo for value if nothing else. sure you'll miss but if you raise to isolate your c-bet should work often, especially against lower buy-in opponents.

its okay to muck AQo UTG, UTG+1.

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I agree. I sometimes limp AQo behind limpers, but I will raise AQs behind limpers (both from a late enough position of course).

[Snarf]

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I agree. I sometimes limp AQo behind limpers, but I will raise AQs behind limpers (both from a late enough position of course).

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me too actually.

I play EUR 5 + 0.5 on a Scandinavian site - all complete maniacs.

I have finished ITM 8 out of 10 SnG's so far. The starting stack is 1000 - starting 10-25 with 8 minute levels. I find that raising 3-4 XBB will nearly ALWAYS get a caller - then I either 3/4 or 1/2 pot depending on colour.

I do this with weaker hands too so they never really no where I am - I take down a lot of pots on the flop - if I played it more tricky then sure I could win a few monsters. In the low buy ins though I think its best to get in and out quickly - lots of small, uncontested pots, rather than a couple of big ones where you may have let an idiot in with two pair, a set e.t.c

I know Im no regular so what I say isnt meant to be advice, just my observation of play at my tables.

[Snarf]

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if I played it more tricky then sure I could win a few monsters. In the low buy ins though I think its best to get in and out quickly - lots of small, uncontested pots, rather than a couple of big ones where you may have let an idiot in with two pair, a set e.t.c

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You just summarized my online frustration of the last two months. Thank you. I'm gonna revert back playing like what you just said... I wonder if thats how I played back when I used to...ya know...WIN...

[tigerite]

It's better to just pick up the small, uncontested pots in all SNGs, in my opinion. Sometimes it's good to be "tricky" (if you can call it that) by check-raising all in on a co-ordinated board, but that is necessary to prevent reverse implied odds from acting against you and so on. But for the most part, play your big hands fast and strong, and you really won't go far wrong at ANY level.

[Mr_J]

The best is when AA limps preflop and runs into 2p or set made on the flop, and then proceeds to whine about a 'bad beat'.