AQ in late position, worth the risk?

[jsmith5]

$100 72 person live tournament, pays 8. Start with T1500, one T1000 add-on after round 2. Blinds start at 25-25, raise every 30 mins.

I've played good poker all day with a solid table image. I was chip leader at my table (almost 10K) until two bad beats took me down to T5200, biggest stack at table is 7K so I'm still in good shape.

Blinds are 150-300, ante of 50 (3 tables of 8 players left). I'm in the cutoff seat with AQo. 3 limpers in front of me, 1 solid player (who I read for small pocket pair), 1 maniac, 1 loose passive player who tries to limp into almost every pot. There's 400 in antes, 450 in blinds, and 900 in limping callers for a total of 1750.

I sensed weakness from each of the limpers, and only the inexperienced maniac had me covered (about 30 mins earlier he called my 4x BB raise with K3 when I was holding pocket QQ and got another 1K out of me when I bet the flop with a K on board).

My options: 1) limp and hope to hit the flop just like everyone else.
2) make a standard raise and probably get 1 or possibly 2 callers (maniac guaranteed, loose-passive player possible).
3) push all-in.

I opted for #3 because I thought it gave me the best chance to win the pot right then and there, since it was 1/3 of my stack anyway. I expected everyone to fold, but the maniac said, "ahh, I'm ready to go home anyway" and turned over KJo.

As you can already guess from the tone of this post, a J hit the flop and it was all over for me.

I know I'm a pretty good favorite over KJo, but what do you think about this all-in? Is it the right move or should I have picked a better spot given my read of the table? Is AQ too weak to push with here?

[Che]

I don't play live, jsmith, but here are my thoughts:

I don't like option 2 because my "standard raise" with 3 limpers in front would be in the 6 or 7BB range and that potcommits you so pushing is better since it guarantees you five cards.

So, I limp if several opponents are calling stations (e.g. Party tourneys, not on the bubble) and take advantage of my position. If I think the folding equity is significant and opponents will fold 77 or less, I push (e.g. Party tourneys on the bubble, some Stars tourneys).

Later,
Che

[betgo]

You had to push. Too bad the J hit. You were a 3-2 favorite plus pot odds. There was a good chance no one would call. All you are really worried about is the first limper might have AA or KK. You are not going to win at no limit avoiding favorable gambles that might bust you out.

[texman]

I would think it depends on if the maniac is a reraiser. If he is not then just make a standard bb raise x 3or 4. It sounds like you have people that are ready to call you despite your table image. It seems like you were doing well - but the coin flip got you (even if you were 63/37 or whatever it is with aq vs kj) - in late position with your table description you had better raise because if the flop comes q98 you will be even more pissed that the JT hit the straight or the 98 2 paired you - H
Hereis an interesting question:
You make a raise of 3xbb with same AQ and the solid player calls and the board goes q87 rainbow and you bet the flop and he reraises you - now what do you do - give him credit for a set or not?

[jsmith5]

[ QUOTE ]
I would think it depends on if the maniac is a reraiser. If he is not then just make a standard bb raise x 3or 4. It sounds like you have people that are ready to call you despite your table image. It seems like you were doing well - but the coin flip got you (even if you were 63/37 or whatever it is with aq vs kj) - in late position with your table description you had better raise because if the flop comes q98 you will be even more pissed that the JT hit the straight or the 98 2 paired you - H
Hereis an interesting question:
You make a raise of 3xbb with same AQ and the solid player calls and the board goes q87 rainbow and you bet the flop and he reraises you - now what do you do - give him credit for a set or not?

[/ QUOTE ]

Once the maniac came, the table got really bizarre. I made a set of jacks on the flop (made standard raise with pocket JJ before flop), and he called 2 pot-sized bets with KQ diamonds and caught runner-runner flush (board was 2-J-4-7-9). He was the only person who was willing to call my raises, probably because he just came to the table. He also called an all-in for 1/3 his stack preflop with A2o. He lost to KK but that didn't slow him down.

That's a good question about reading the solid player (actually she not he [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] ) for a set. I generally play that hand with a pot-sized bet. 9/10 the set will just call hoping to trap you further. If I do get a call, I would put this player on either a set or perhaps QK. It would be tough to put her on 10-J here. Regardless I would have to slow down on the turn. Sklanksky has some good advice on this exact situation, except with AK as an example instead of AQ. The good news was I had this player covered by about 1500 so I would still have some room to play afterwards.

As it turns out, she had pocket 44 and would've made a full house had she called. Hindsight being 20-20, I would've limped and let those two duke it out once I miss and he flops top pair. At a table where A-anything will limp in, I have to figure at least one of my Aces (if not more) is gone.

But I can't really regret my push as I read the situation perfectly and got called by an inferior hand--like someone said you have to win at least a few of these situations in a tournament if you want to win it all.

[durron597]

I would call and see a flop. You have deception value (wouldn't he have raised if he had a hand as good as AQ?), and you have a very vulnerable hand. When you limp, you can get away easily if you miss and will win most of the time when you hit an A or a Q. Also, you have position, which means actually seeing and playing a flop makes just calling an even better option.

The best way to play against a maniac is to wait for a big edge and then get all the chips in. 60/40 edge is not good enough, because you will be in that situation multiple times. and you will still lose 40% of the time. You've got plenty of chips, a skill advantage, position, and a good hand. Take your opportunity to outplay them!

[sdplayerb]

I pushin.
While you have more than 10x the BB, almost everybody in the pot does not.
There is a lot there to be picked up. Pretty standard play.