QQ early in MTT.

[Pondy]

This has happened to me a few times recently. Early in a MTT, no reads on anyone I get dealt QQ.
I put in a big raise, and get re-raised.

Question:
Push, Call or reraise.

I personally instapush, and thinking about it today cannot think of any time I would or even call QQ to a reraise this early in a tournament against 1 opponent, infact against 2 opponents I'm still pushing.
Against 3 I'm calling and pushing on a non Ace/King flop.


thoughts ?

[rockin]

Read dependent. Do you run poker tracker? Not good shoving against a rock. What are the stack sizes? Buyin?

[registrar]

I play it like the nuts. I don't vary my initial raise size and push over any one raise behind. Depending on the site, ie: on Crypto, I play it absolutely like the nuts, happy enough to get it whatever the action behind.

I suppose there are situations where I could let it go early in a tournament in a $50+ buyin but I think, lower down the food chain, people get so carried away with pocker pairs and big aces that there is always value in getting it in with QQ.

[kinheim]

i think i depends on the tournament , low buy in is easy push higher buy-in i whould play it slower.. depending on read and your ability to outplay your table..

[omaha]

After reading a few posts here berating me for folding qq pf, i tend to be much more aggro with it.

I think it has paid off, but its a bit like 'aa always gets cracked' syndrome.

ie you remember the times you come up against bigger monsters or ak that hits, and you forget about all the times you win with it.

I tend to now play it very much like sklansky talks about playing ak. ie if you have from 3-5 times the current pot, you just shove it ai.

This often takes the pot down now, or takes it hu with dead money versus ak.

It also stops the 'oh god, there is an A or a K on board, what do i do? syndrome'

It puts the pressure back on our opponents, and takes it off us. This in itself is a HUGE weight of my mind!

[registrar]

[ QUOTE ]
I think it has paid off, but its a bit like 'aa always gets cracked' syndrome.

ie you remember the times you come up against bigger monsters or ak that hits, and you forget about all the times you win with it.



[/ QUOTE ]

Do you have poker tracker? If so, you can check how much you win and lose with QQ. It's a big winner for me and I would suggest that it is for anyone over a reasonable sample who plays it very fast pre-flop in a shallow stack situation.

[Pondy]

buy in lately $4/180, although have had this in the $10/180 and $20/180. Early in tournament so stack sizes approx 1500. Blinds either 10/20 or 15/30. My initial raise 170.

[juniorpoker]

If you´re playing as low as 4$ it´s an instapush.

Btw, 170? Just make it 3 or 4 bb, thats enough. This raise size discourage action from weeker hands, especially in low buy-in tournies. Where the buy-in is higher some players might interpret the bet-size as weekness and try to run it over, which again makes it an instashove.

[Beachman42]

[ QUOTE ]
If you´re playing as low as 4$ it´s an instapush.

Btw, 170? Just make it 3 or 4 bb, thats enough. This raise size discourage action from weeker hands, especially in low buy-in tournies. Where the buy-in is higher some players might interpret the bet-size as weekness and try to run it over, which again makes it an instashove.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't mind a slightly larger raise, 4-5xBB, in the first 2 levels with a premium hand, but I tend to make the same raise with any hand I'm raising. In EP, sometimes a 3XBB raise will get 4-6 callers in a 4/180. Thus, the chances of an A or K hitting the flop are much higher. I'm usually coming in for 120 if the BB is 30 and pushing over a re-raise as others have mentioned. However, you can't just auto-pilot "3xBB" unless you are good at folding tough hands post flop.

[Pondy]

I've found in the $4 ones that 3xBB will get calls by just about anything suited and Ax early on, where as 5+ xBB only seems to attract pocket pairs (66+ !) and K10 through to AK. Which i'm happy about pre flop.