Can you get away from this hand?

[MtSmalls]

I think I played this about the only way, but if anyone sees a way to get away from this hand....

Sunday $200+15 NLHE on Stars. Third level Blinds are $50/100. My stack is roughly $1300 of the starting $2500 (pocket JJ ran into K's). BB stack is $6k. Folded around to me on the button with A-J suited. I make the same raise I have with every raise I have made 3x the BB. SB folds, BB calls. I don't LOVE this hand but HU against the BB I am pretty sanguine. Flop is A-little-little, rainbow. BB bets $100, I call hoping to get a little more equity for my hand. Turn is a Q (none of my suit have showed). BB again bets $100, I call. Turn is a J, giving me two pair obviously. BB bets $100 again, I raise to $300, he re-raises enough to put me all-in. I thought about it for 15 seconds or so and called. Got shown Pocket AA and the door.

This is my first shot at this tourney, I won the seat in a $39 satellite. All comments and flames welcome

[John_Manley]

Tough break. Unfortunately I would have played your hand alot like you did. Infact, on a mini-tounament on Party Poker I slow-played Q-10 two pair on the flop until I got myself and my opponent all-in. Unfortnately I got burned because he hit trip eights on the flop. Going back through my play and from what it sounds like, in your play, all of your raises were called. In retrospect, when your oppoent called that first big raise that should have sent up red flag indicating that this guy at least thinks he has a good hand. From a tournament players point of view, you have to assume he acutally has a better hand. It is hard to do this but it's probably right to back down and become ultraconservative at this point and on the turn and check. If he raises then assume he has a better hand then fold. I have to say though, he trapped you well.
Your AJ two pair and my Q-10 two pair in most are great hands and you EV of playing these hands out would be positive in the long run. In tournaments where I have been successful the strategy of hit hard early with marginal hands and fold quickly if my opponent shows strength has served me reasonably well.

[Ignatius]

Even if his min. bet on the flop looks somewhat suspicious, with T700 in the pot and T1000 left, there's no way that you can possibly get away from the hand.

[Sarge85]

I can't see where you exit here. I guess at the river, but your so far in, that it wouldn't make sense to at that point.

Do people advocate a raise here at the flop to get a feel of how strong the other's person Ace is?

[Jon Matthews]

Do people advocate a raise here at the flop to get a feel of how strong the other's person Ace is?


A good idea but I think that Mr AA would have flat called the raise, giving away little information. The likelihood is the turn would go check-check and then when the J hits on the river it's all in as it's unlikely that the straight is out there - to the same end unfortunately.


Jon

[Guy McSucker]

You can't get away from it: your stack is too small. What I am more interested in is how to play the flop.

With a normal size stack ($3000 or so), I would raise the flop, and I would be thinking of folding if reraised. But you only have $1000 after the flop, so if you raise the pot, it's almost all-in, and you might as well raise all-in yourself. If you raise smaller, you still have the odds to call if reraised. You can't dump it. On the other hand, he will surely fold if he doesn't have an ace, and probably if he has a weaker ace than you.

So raising the flop doesn't help you escape a loser, but it helps him. Clearly you're not folding, so calling is your only option. You're hoping he will continue to bet a weaker hand than yours. Getting all-in on the river looks good.

The only way raising all-in on the flop helps is if you knock out a hand which would have outdrawn you if you let him to the river cheaply. This isn't often enough, in my opinion, so I like your play.

Guy.