4/180 AA in the BB

Clover78 · #1 08-09-2007, 03:11 AM

Still learning the game and need to check whether a strategy I employed is reasonable given the circumstances. About 35 left, top 18 pay but I was playing to win so needed a stack.

I had approximately half the average chip stack so when I saw AA I guess I wanted to try and get maximum value. (and risk getting sucked out, double up put me back in contention, current stack had me push/folding) Villian has been very active and this is his standard opening raise. I probably appear to be weak due to some previous hands mentioned below.

Thoughts would be appreciated. (Completely wrong? Some merit?)

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t300 (7 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: 2+2 Forums)

MP2 (t2540)
CO (t6114)
Button (t5734)
Hero (t2665)
BB (t3008)
UTG (t9903)
MP1 (t9615)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img].
1 fold, MP1 raises to t755, 3 folds, Hero calls t605, 1 fold.

Flop: (t1510) T[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], 3[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], 9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] (2 players)
Hero checks

I had recently tried 2 steals and had to fold to an all-in reraise preflop and an all in raise post flop. I thought if MP1 had been watching he might take a shot at this pot given the BB call and I was willing to risk a free card.

Thoughts on this much appreciated. (Is it a common beginners mistake etc)

Sherman · #2 08-09-2007, 03:16 AM

This seems okay. If you know your opponent is decent, shoving PF is fine because he is going to be getting about 2:1 which he will figure is good against your range and call with almost ATC (he doesn't know you have AA).

Anyhow, your play is certainly reasonable and fine. I hope he bet the flop so you could get it all in.

Clover78 · #3 08-09-2007, 03:22 AM

Thanks heaps for the input Sherman, I am pretty new to player poker (properly I mean, an old hand at the drunken version where you give your money away) and was trying to work out if I gave up some +EV because of mu play reference tournament position.

I thought it was reasonable but just wanted confirmation from someone more experienced/skilled.

SuperUberBob · #4 08-09-2007, 04:31 AM

I'd probably shove here. Villain is priced in to calling your preflop shove with whatever he raised with.

The last thing you want to do is to see a flop and allow villain to outdraw you. You'd rather be sure to get your money in with the best of it and the best way to do that is to jam preflop with AA.

Yoshi63 · #5 08-09-2007, 04:56 AM

It's actually more productive to shove PF here, instead of shoving the flop. More often than not (2/3rd of the time), he will miss the flop and then be forced to fold.

As Sherman and Uber have pointed out, he's pretty much priced in with ATC here getting 2-1, especially since calling and losing won't his stack too much. Just remember - he doesn't know you have AA.

themobfather · #6 08-09-2007, 05:30 AM

i sometimes like playing AA real slow this like when on a shortstack. Its higher risk, but your also more likely to get it in there, where as sometimes he makes a mistake folding preflop getting good pot odds.

emb · #7 08-09-2007, 07:17 AM

The other factor to consider pre-flop is that the big blind is still in the hand at this point. Depending on your attitude this could be an argument for either push or call:

push - to isolate villain
call - give the BB good odds to come along for the ride (or better still - he may think this is a good spot for a squeeze).

Personally, in the heat of the moment I probably push here but kick myself if everyone folds.

emb

Bruut99 · #8 08-09-2007, 07:32 AM

Push

sapsuckah · #9 08-09-2007, 10:58 AM

I believe pushing preflop is you're best option for maximizing value here. Like Sherman said (and Sherman knows his stuff so listen to him), a good villian will realize he's priced in here and will have to call unless he was trying an absurd steal with complete rags. So your likelihood of getting his chips in pre-flop is very high.

Conversely, if you call and see a flop, he is likely to miss that flop and may or may not be willing to put any more chips into the pot. So I think the likelihood of getting his chips in on the flop is lower.

The wildcard here is the BB, as another poster said. If he seems aggressive and you think a squeeze is likely, then maybe calling is better (even though this is actually a bad squeeze spot for him since he has no FE on you because you've already committed a big chunk of your stack).

Overall though, I think a push is best. And if he folds, so be it -- you've added 1000+ chips to your stack.