Tear apart my AKo play

jaybird · #1 04-05-2004, 12:33 AM

This is my first time posting any of my hands. Feel free to tear me apart =)

I play mostly NL25 and usually PFR $3 with AKo. Should I try for more? less? change it up?

Here are two hands I dug up from PT

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (8 handed) converter

Hero ($70.30)
SB ($46.90)
BB ($23.35)
UTG ($24)
UTG+1 ($11.35)
MP1 ($70.90)
MP2 ($25)
CO ($25)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. CO posts a blind of $0.50.
UTG calls $0.50, UTG+1 calls $0.50, MP1 folds, MP2 calls $0.50, CO (poster) checks, Hero raises to $3, SB calls $2.75, BB folds, UTG calls $2.50, UTG+1 calls $2.50, MP2 calls $2.50, CO folds.

Flop: ($16) 9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 7[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 4[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] (5 players)
SB bets $10, UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, MP2 folds, Hero folds.

Final Pot: $26
Main Pot: $16, won by SB.
Pot 2: $10, overbet by SB.

Results in white below: 
No showdown. SB wins $26. 

Paradise Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (10 handed) converter

Hero ($42.25)
SB ($59.00)
BB ($16.50)
UTG ($46.00)
UTG+1 ($3.00)
UTG+2 ($25.00)
MP1 ($104.75)
MP2 ($18.50)
MP3 ($52.75)
CO ($22.00)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. SB posts a blind of $0.25.
UTG raises to $1, UTG+1 folds, UTG+2 folds, MP1 calls $1, MP2 folds, MP3 folds, CO folds, Hero raises to $3, SB (poster) folds, BB folds, UTG calls $2, MP1 calls $2.

Flop: ($9.75) 3[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], 7[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], T[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] (3 players)
UTG checks, MP1 checks, Hero bets $3, UTG calls $3, MP1 folds.

Turn: ($15.75) 3[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero checks.

River: ($15.75) 5[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] (2 players)
UTG bets $0.5, Hero raises to $5, UTG folds.

Final Pot: $21.25
Main Pot: $16.75, won by Hero.
Pot 2: $4.50, overbet by Hero.

Results in white below: 
Hero shows Kd Ac (one pair, threes).
Outcome: Hero wins $21.25.

ML4L · #2 04-05-2004, 01:07 AM

Hey jay,

Hand 1: I might bump my raise up a little (maybe to $4) because so many people have already limped, but $3 is still fine. Easy fold on the flop.

Hand 2: Good reraise preflop. Bet the pot on the flop. Your small bet screams weakness. Turn check is fine; a pot-sized bet would be OK too. Good raise on the river (note that you made that raise because he looked weak, the same way that you looked weak on the flop... [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]).

I don't see any huge problems with either hand. In general, a 6xBB raise with AKo is reasonable; maybe raise a little less if the game is playing tight and a little more if the game is playing loose. But I wouldn't lose sleep over it...

ML4L

tewall · #3 04-05-2004, 01:38 AM

I think you played the hands fine, with the same comment that ML made that you could raise pre-flop a little more, but your raise isn't bad, assuming that's your normal raise.

One caveat is to be careful of the river raise. There are players that will try to c/r raise you on the turn, and if that doesn't work will try to trick you into a raise by making a min-bet. As always, it pays to know your opponent.

C M Burns · #4 04-05-2004, 02:49 AM

the only thing i might add is about your riv rr in #2, the reason to do this would be to get a better hand to fold. generally if some one has like a small pair they would just check it down, and if they bet they have nothing, like a lower flush draw, so you could just call this. although b/c of your small flop bet and the fact that his bet is rediculously small, he may actually be betting a small pair for value. but in general u want to be carfeul w/ these type of reraises

Ben · #5 04-05-2004, 02:49 AM

Why is the turn check okay?

You've got a three-flush on the board, so you're giving a free card to a potential naked Ac.

You've been checked to twice, why not fire another barrel?

jdl22 · #6 04-05-2004, 02:56 AM

I think that the turn check would be fine because he is also on a draw. Bluffing again might not be bad either but checking when you're on a drawing hand isn't bad.

tdomeski · #7 04-05-2004, 10:21 AM

He has the naked A [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

Ben · #8 04-05-2004, 02:20 PM

Haha...teaches me to post at 3AM.

Zag · #9 04-05-2004, 04:43 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I play mostly NL25 and usually PFR $3 with AKo. Should I try for more? less? change it up?

[/ QUOTE ]

I vote for change it up a lot more. Your goal is to get a single opponent, and you should be doing whatever gives you the best chance of that.

My rule is more like this:

If I am first UTG or UTG+1, I will consider the aggressiveness of the players behind me. If there is someone who makes a lot of raises preflop (say, more than 1/4 of the hands) then I will limp-reraise, hoping to isolate him. If the table is pretty passive, I will make the standard table raise, or a little more, which is usually to 4BBs.

If I am first in with middle position (3 or 4 folds to me) I will be more likely to raise right away, and would have to have a real raise-o-matic behind me to limp-reraise.

If I am first in with late position, I will always raise, especially since I would raise a huge variety of hands here. This raise would almost always be 4BBs, unless the table standard has been higher.

If there are limpers before me, I will raise just less than a pot-sized raise, or just more if they are the type that think that limp-fold is not allowed. Therefore, the more limpers, the more the raise will be.

In your case for hand #1, there were not only several limpers, but someone who has posted and then just checked! You absolutely want to make a decent raise and get that dead money hand out of there. Since that hand is just before you, you have to worry that he will be getting 6-to-1 pots odds with no fear of a reraise behind, allowing him to call with almost anything. You have to charge him more, there. There was $3.25 in the pot, your call would have made it $3.75, so $4.25 would have been a pot-sized bet. You should have raised to $4.00 minimum; with so many callers already, and with that post-check hand, $4.50 looks better.

jaybird · #10 04-05-2004, 06:15 PM

Thanks for the excellent suggestions. Another common situation is when I make a fair size raise Pre Flop with AKo and then get re-raised all-in.

Without a read on the player, is it safe to call this everytime? Im guessing it would be ok since there are so many fish at NL25.