That Dratted AQ!!

[oaktoon]

OK, Doyle-- you're right. I should have listened. But did I play this hand that wrong??

Middle of Poker Stars Sunday Million yesterday. Blinds are 400-800 with a (50?) ante. I lead my table with 28K and am roughly 300th place out of 3500 or so-- in other words, way too early to get comfortable. Blinds escalate very fast in this tourney, as I discovered.

Middle position with AQ-- open up betting with 2400 to go.

Button (16000 chips) smooth calls. In retrospect, not properly judging this action was my downfall. He's putting 15% of his chips in play.

BB is short-stacked at 5300 and pushes.

I see pot that has 4800 + SB (400) plus antes (450) plus 5300-- that's 10950, and I can't imagine button won't call the $2900 too-- so that's a 2900 bet to win $13850.

Even if one of them as AK-- and I have to assume one does-- nearly 5 to 1 odds prices me in.

I call.

Button goes all-in.

Now I have pot of 27000 and it's about 10700 more for me to call. I'm still getting over 2.5 to 1.

If BB has AK, can button really have the one hand that dominates me-- AA? Aren't KK or QQ or even JJ more likely possibilities? If button has a smaller pair, isn't it just as likely, or more likely, that BB has AK as anything else? I'm in a race with JJ and I am not that far off from getting proper odds with the other two pairs plus AK. Plus It's "moving time" in this tournament.

But it's still a measly AQ and I just didn't listen to the Brunson warning voice.

I call. I beat BB with a Q on the flop-- yes, he did have AK.

Button had AA and takes down the entire pot. Why didn't I see it?? Why not cut my losses? But a win puts me at over 50K chips and gives me a huge leg up on a big payday.

I'm now down to 12K, get moved to a different table next hand, and make a move with J10 suited a couple of hands later and get beat. Yes, i was on tilt.

I risked most of my chips on AQ-- bad; but it was a snowballing hand where each decision I made-- except perhaps the last-- was quite defensible. Thoughts??

[TheBlueMonster]

People say never put a chip into the pot with AK after the thrid raise. So definitely don't call 2 all ins with just AQ. Caling the BB is fine, but the moment the button reraises after smooth calling you should know he has a hand. He knows that you have a hand to call the BB's all in. Knowing this, he still pushes. Hmmmmmm......aces anyone?

[oaktoon]

You are dead right

[SuperUberBob]

I could never pin the button on AA after he overcalled your raise.

Every decision but calling button's shove was correct in my humble opinion.

[CybrPunk]

[ QUOTE ]
OK, Doyle-- you're right. I should have listened. But did I play this hand that wrong??

[/ QUOTE ]

Everything looks fine until you call the buttons 3rd raise.

In the future please look in the stickied FAQ and use one of the hand converters. Most of the posters here, myself included, generally don't even bother replying to threads like this because reading and following the action the way you described it is just painful.