Line check - Blind vs. Blind

[JohnFR]

Edit: $3 Rebuy

I don't have the HH, but I know everything because it is burned into my brain. Villain - 20k stack Me - 27k stack, tourney average around 18k.
So let me get the meta game out first, this table has been somewhat rockish recently, with the huge stack at the table ~55k getting his chips by winning set over set, winning a coinflip, and hitting a 2 outter on the river. He has turned weak-tight since these 3 hands. The table seems ripe with blinds especially because 300/600 is coming in about 1 minute. And then the bubble approaches soon after. I think the whole table thought I was very tight(because I played very tight through the 75/150, 100/200, 100/200a25) because I was card dead, and had ~25k chips so I had no reason to put money in with marginal cards. Once the blinds hit 200/400 though I started taking stabs at pots and this is when the villain moved to the table. I think I had taken down 3-4 pots since he had moved here 10 or 11 hands before, so I probably had a laggy table image to him. On to the hand

I am in the BB with A4o, and it folds around to him, he puts in a bet of 1200, I call the 800 getting ~2.5 to 1,
Flop comes AQ4r yipee I flopped 2 pair. He c-bets 2k, I feel like he hit this flop somehow, A anything, QJ, QK, or QT, maybe K4, or 45, so I minraise looking for him to come over the top with A rag, he flat calls. Pot is now ~11k, I have ~22k behind he has ~14.5k left behind.

Turn comes with a J, he again leads for 2k, this bet felt very odd, I don't know if the J helped AJ, QJ, KQ(straight draw), it also put a flush draw on the board(J4 were same suit) so now Arag suited of that suit has flush draw plus top pair. I really don't want to have to reevaulate the river and since he only had 12.5k left behind with a 15k pot(after I call the 2k and decide what to raise) I reraised him all in.

After pushing I feel like I am getting a call from AQ,AJ,QJ,Q4,J4 Arag, possibly KQ. I know I am discounting the set, but how quickly he was acting I felt confident he didn't have a set.

How many advocate raising the flop more? flat calling the turn? raising the turn less than all in? folding??

Cheers!
John

PS. A ~50k stack felt like a real dominating stack at this table, especially since the other big stack seemed somewhat weak-tight.

[fro_dude]

I'm not worried about having the worst hand here...the 1/5pot bet on the turn is a little odd. Looks to me that he can't be that strong, yet has an idea that he may have the best hand. Perhaps he is trying to gauge where you are really at...for example, to him, your min-raise on the flop could mean a number of things. When he bets small on the turn, he may be looking to go all-in on the river if you don't reaise him and if you show any weakness on the turn. He may have also picked up a draw, and is trying to make a scary looking bet that you may be more inclined to call rather than raise. Thus he can peel off a cheap river. Overall I like the raise on the turn...I think he may fold more often than not...but you will definitely be called by some hands weaker than yours...ie weaker 2 pair or TP+draw. You don't mind ending the hand now, and he's getting great odds to call even with a hand that may be beat.

[JohnFR]

Scary how much we think alike, I almost had that same exact feeling on the turn, like it was a weak bet to grab a river card, almost like that is how much he wanted to pay for it, but didn't want to check and see me bet more than that so he had to fold

[JohnFR]

I don't usually bump my posts, but I really want to know what you guys think about this, I am not totally convinced this is a standard hand.
I have lost so many tournies very similarly to this hand in Button-sb-bb battles, would like to here a few more replies about this particular hand.

Thanks!
John

[grafyx]

Unless he has been raising my blind every time, I would fold preflop, A4o sucks. I don't want to call with this hand at rockish table. If you are losing a lot of tourneys in these situations, pick better hands to defend with. You have 65BBs, you don't have to take a stand with this hand. Since the table is rockish, use your chips to steal more than your share of blinds from the rocks.

As played, I would reraise more on the flop. Like pot sized and try to take it down. Why did you checkraise the flop, and then check the turn to him?

[JohnFR]

I didn't checkraise the flop, I just reraised, and I didn't check raise the turn I just reraised all in, he was SB I was BB. I only defended because it was a blind vs. blind thing, I just don't think it is an auto fold with A4o when the SB raises my BB, I think I defend my BB with any A against the SB, especially if he just moved to the table and I haven't played in a blind vs blind battle with him before(the first time he was SB and I was BB somebody in LP raised).

[grafyx]

[ QUOTE ]
I didn't checkraise the flop, I just reraised, and I didn't check raise the turn I just reraised all in, he was SB I was BB.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm a moron, I thought he was on button for some reason.

[JohnFR]

LOL, well what do you think of it then? Also anybody else want to chime in, this hand was extremely interesting to me, maybe nobody else thinks so, lol.