AA in early tournament

Blinds 5/15
Hero in CO with AA
MP + 1 limps
MP + 2 limps
Hero raises to 75
Button calls
MP + 1 calls
MP + 2 folds
flop comes JJ8 rainbow
checked to Hero who bets 175
Button calls
turn comes K
Hero goes all in.
Button goes all in.
Without posting the results, what should I have done differently in this hand?

Thanks,

Han

[djshawk]

Bet more PF (~T100)
bet more on the flop - 260 in the pot so I'd bet about that, maybe a bit less say 220.

If you still have a caller then I'm wary of jamming it all in on the turn.

Info on stack sizes would be pretty useful.

[37offsuit]

Need stack sizes.

This is a Party $2 MTT, so stack sizes were about 800 for Hero and 800 for others.

[MATT111]

[ QUOTE ]
Bet more PF (~T100)
bet more on the flop - 260 in the pot so I'd bet about that, maybe a bit less say 220.

If you still have a caller then I'm wary of jamming it all in on the turn.

Info on stack sizes would be pretty useful.

[/ QUOTE ]

I do not understand the logic behind this. (I don`t normally play NL)

I think we are either way ahead or the J is out and we are almost drawing dead.
Do we really fear str8 draws here?

[nightlyraver]

You can't really expect too much serious play at a Party's $2 MTT, but you can at least try.

I would raise to t100 preflop to show I'm serious and get some real value from the hand.

I would check this flop almost always. You don't need to protect your hand against anything except for a 2-outer draw to a boat. So, you're either way ahead or way behind. There is no reason to even think that no one has a Jack - best keep the pot smaller for now and collect bets later.

I'm betting any turn, or smooth calling a bet form my right for really the same reasons as above. This way you save part of your stack in case someone does have a Jack and you get maximum value from a bluffer or a good second best hand, like KT or something like that.

I'm calling any bet on the river, but I'm not raising. If it's checked to me, I'll either fire off a small bet or a big bet depending on the Villian.

All in all, you are either way ahead or way behind. It's best to play hand like this passively since you have nothing to protect. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind getting all my chips in the middle here - it's simply a fact that passive play will induce an all-in from a wider range of hands we beat than aggressive play.

[Black Aces 518]

I think preflop is good.

On the flop I don't mind betting out, I would have bet 200-225, but no big deal. Once you're called, you need to decide if you're willing to go to the felt with this hand. I think this just depends on your feeling. My guess is, being a Party $2, there are 1000s of players, so chip accumulation is very important. Also, plenty of players will stack off with hands other than JJJ here. I'm willing in this situation to get all the chips in the middle.

But the best way to do that is to let your opponent put them in. Why? Imagine he has TT or QQ or something like that (AK, 22, QT and numerous other possibilties this early in a $2.) You're blowing him off a lot of hands by pushing the turn. You pretty much are only getting called by JJJ and in some cases a king. AK surely calls. But by checking, you show weakness, and may convince him to push, either as a bluff, or thinking incorrectly he has the best hand. If he checks behind, I would bet 300 or so on any river. I would call a push, and I would push over a non-allin bet.

This isn't how I'd play it in the WSOP ME, but with this many players, this many bad players, this fast structure, and easy constant availability to fire up another if you bust, I'm looking to double up.

[Black Aces 518]

Raver and Hawk--

Are you guys really opening to 7xBB in the CO with AA when it's folded around to you? Why? Are you opening the same amount with any other raising hand?

[Pondy]

Doesn't matter what you're holding PF in a Party $2 MTT. Go all in pre flop, you're bound to get at least 7 callers, and get done by the guy holding 25 offsuite.

[nightlyraver]

It's simply a function of Party Poker and the donks who play at this level. I have found that people will limp with say KTs and then call a 4x raise with it. Fine with me, but they almost ALWAYS will call for the extra t25, especially early in the tourney. Why not take the extra value? Early in a Party small buy-in tourney, I'm raising aggressively with any raising hands.

This all changes if you change tournies. On FullTilt, almost EVERYONE opens for a 3x raise and they probably only raise it to 4x, MAYBE 5x, if there is a caller or two. Raising more risks blowing too many hands out of the pot, and this isn't really the goal with AA in position. On a $2 Party game, they're simply gonna call anyway.