Multiway pots with Aces in lowstakes? A tricky spot for me.

[Rikachu]

Hello everyone :-)

This was the second hand of this lowlimit SNG and I've played about 200 of them so far, working on my game until I can play the higher levels. I hadn't played with any of the players previously, so I had no information so far.

I've seen this play a huge amount of times as an act of desperation, without any hand. And with something like toppair... But I've also seen people instantly go all-in if they flop something good at these levels.

Seat 1: CO (1500 in chips)
Seat 2: Button (1480 in chips)
Seat 3: [HERO] SB (1540 in chips)
Seat 4: BB (1480 in chips)
Seat 5: UTG (1500 in chips)
Seat 6: EP1 (1500 in chips)
Seat 7: EP2 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: MP1 (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: MP2 (1500 in chips)
[HERO]: posts small blind 10
BB: posts big blind 20


*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to [HERO] [Ad Ac]
UTG: calls 20
EP1: folds
EP2: calls 20
MP1: calls 20
MP2: folds
CO: folds
Button: folds
[HERO]: raises 100 to 120
BB: folds
UTG: calls 100
EP2: calls 100
MP1: folds
_ _ _ _ _
- My motivation for only raising 100 preflop was that if they're going to call a bet for a 100, these guys are probably going to call a bet of 150 aswell. And a hefty raise of 200 seems to create a little too big pot this early on (and even then you're not guaranteed a HU pot).
_ _ _ _ _

*** FLOP *** [7s 3c Kh]
[HERO]: bets 220
UTG: calls 220
EP2: calls 220

*** TURN *** [7s 3c Kh] [8h]
[HERO]: bets 220
UTG: calls 220
EP2: raises 940 to 1160 and is all-in
[HERO]: ???

I realize that against these kinds of players, isolate raising might very well be +ev stacksize (but with some swings), but it might be -ev tournament wise, since I'd practically get knocked out.

What are you guys' thoughts about this situation? Would be great if you could share your experience ;-).

[Rikachu]

no wise men out there? :-)

[Kibby]

convert your hand and I'll comment.

[MastermindT]

Why does hero bet only 220 into a ~1000 pot on the turn? It depends on the read you have on these preflop callers. Do they do that with a lot of hands? It could well be a set or it could be air because your turn bet might come off a bit weak.

I would have bet more on turn. As played I would probably call.

[ymu]

If they'll call more, raise more! If you could near guarantee that at least one of them will call a push, push. You are so far ahead with AA preflop, if they seem to like their hands and are calling loose, get the money in before they can decide if they like the flop enough to put any more in.

I make it 180ish here - 4x + 1 per limper + 1 or 2 more because half my blind isn't getting added to the raise size and I'm playing OOP. They're so loose, they will call so get as much in as possible - especially if you may get multiple callers because that reduces your chances post-flop quite significantly, so you must make as much as possible on the occasions your hand holds up to make up for those times it doesn't.

Bet full pot on the flop. Players at this level usually make their biggest errors by calling too often and for too high a price. So charge them!

On the turn, this could be anything, but at this level it's far more likely to be a worse hand than a better one. There's no made flush, no made straight, no sane 2 pair (but we don't assume sanity at this buy-in). There is now a flush draw, which players at this level usually get stupidly excited by even with only one card to come.

You have nothing much to worry about - you'll win far more than you lose by getting it all in this type of situation. Push, push and push again.

[Al P]

Seriously, at low stakes if you don't know how to play AA very well postflop then always shove it preflop. You will not lose much value because no one puts you on AA - they put you on AK so 88 insta-calls or they have AK and put you on 66 and insta-call. You'll either win a very small pot, win a monster pot or lose a monster pot. In the end it all evens out to nearly the same as if you had played some postflop poker because on those large pots your money is ALWAYS going in as a very significant favorite. When you play it postflop you can get the large majority of your money in when behind (probably like your OP).

[Xanthro]

First, you can't be afraid of being knocked out when you know you currently have the best hand. Your hand may not hold up, but you can't be afraid that it won't.

If you know they'll call $150 and you have AA preflop then bet $150. You have the best hand possible at the moment. While you don't want a large number of callers, don't be afraid to bet large simply because you might get knocked out.

On the flop, your bet was too small. You are almost certainly ahead here and you want them to pay to hit a card.

On the turn, your bet is WAY too small, and his push is still likely behind you.

At low stakes people play the craziest hands, so he may have K8, or even 88, but since you played your hand so weak you have to call, because at these stakes it could also be a flush draw, A8, or Air.

Please never be afraid to bet when you have the best possible hand. You will still lose 20% of the time, but the winning 80% of the time makes up for it.

Playing AA weak costs you so much money, because you end up winning small pots and losing big pots.

BTW, I don't hate your pre-flop raise, it's standard. I might bet a bit more because it OOP play, but your read is they would call more, so bet more. If you knew they would call a push here then push.

[Rikachu]

Thanks for all the quick responses, very much appreciated :-)

[IcemanDan]

I think raising a bit more preflop and betting a bit more on the flop makes it a much easier push or call on the turn to get all-in.

Your small bet on the turn looks like a probe bet-- you weren't really sure if your hand was best and wanted to find out how your opponents would react. I assume it wasn't a suck-in value bet, otherwise you would have happily called the push.

Against average opponents, with about 1/3 of the remaining stacks already in the pot, you should usually be looking to get all in with a flop like the one here.

If you bet something like 300 or even 350 or 400 on the flop, you end up with a pot that is bigger than your stack, which makes pushing or betting and calling a push a bit easier.

[Mench]

bet more on flop so its easier to get it in on the turn. standard line.