1/2 NL, AA - good time to get cute?

DrMega · #1 10-22-2007, 02:57 PM

1/2 NL live. Table is friendly and chatty but a little tight for my taste. Original raiser (MP3) is a solid player but has been making plays at pots. Second raiser (CO) is pretty tight and very straightforward.

MP3 has $600-plus in front of him, CO has about $180. I have around $600.

Preflop:
A couple folds, MP3 makes it $15 to go. Folds to CO, who makes it $80 (leaving about $100 behind). I look down at A [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] A [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] in the SB.

Do I raise and isolate (and most likely get AI with CO) or smooth call, hoping MP3 with the bigger stack comes along?

(Now that I've typed this out it seems painfully standard, but if anyone has a thought either way I'd be interested.)

Ctrl.Dominate · #2 10-22-2007, 03:45 PM

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smooth call, hoping MP3 with the bigger stack comes along?

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This is not what you want.
Just shove. You and MP3 are too deep to fool around.

Javanewt · #3 10-22-2007, 04:04 PM

Whenever I get cute with AA, it bites me on the nose -- and sometimes takes my whole face off.

If I were going to try it, though, this would be a prime spot. I'd probably just push, though. It's already a huge pot for 1/2, and lots of flops could be pretty scary. If I did get cute, I'd push any flop.

five4suited · #4 10-22-2007, 04:05 PM

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Original raiser (MP3) is a solid player but has been making plays at pots.

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If he's actually solid, you don't want to be playing deep OOP with aces 3-way. If the flop is coordinated in any way, CO's dead money (he's getting his chips in pretty much always) give MP3 odds to call with all sorts of stuff. Also, if for some reason you don't put CO all-in with your flop bet, a smart MP3 will let CO raise him and squeeeeeze you nicely.

CalledDownLight · #5 10-22-2007, 04:22 PM

I would definitely just call here and try to get MP3's stack. That is obviously if you think he will fold to a 4bet. If he'll call a 4bet light then 4bet obviously. Also, if he might requeeze then its good to just call.

edit: this is assuming that he doesn't already have a really tight range for calling the 3bet which most live players won't.

nycplayer · #6 10-22-2007, 04:54 PM

What about raising to 180, and seeing if you can induce MP3 to shove if he has KK/AK or fold otherwise? Or is that just too FPS?

DrMega · #7 10-23-2007, 04:27 AM

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What about raising to 180, and seeing if you can induce MP3 to shove if he has KK/AK or fold otherwise? Or is that just too FPS?

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This is essentially what I did - I made it $170 to go, assuming MP3 would push with a top-three hand and fold otherwise (he seemed to be a pretty smart player who would not call a four-bet light), and CO and I would go heads-up for his stack.

Sadly, both folded, even CO who had half his stack in. The whole table groaned and grumbled how obvious it was that I had aces (and I didn't think I was playing particularly rockish). MP3 asked what I had behind but I think he was just being playful, since he mucked without too much thought. CO though for all of 15 seconds before mucking. [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] I made a mental note to play AK the same way but the opportunity didn't present itself.

Thanks for the responses all - I agree reraising and getting HU was the best option, but it so happened it had sub-optimal results.

effang · #8 10-23-2007, 04:40 AM

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What about raising to 180, and seeing if you can induce MP3 to shove if he has KK/AK or fold otherwise? Or is that just too FPS?

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i think that's the worst play of all. live players FEAR the 3/bet, and a 4/b, well, it just has to be aces.

I would shove here rather than 4/b, at least your hand says "AK"

DrMega · #9 10-23-2007, 05:05 AM

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i think that's the worst play of all. live players FEAR the 3/bet, and a 4/b, well, it just has to be aces.

I would shove here rather than 4/b, at least your hand says "AK"

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I hadn't thought of it that way; you're probably right. A shove looks a lot less like AA than a regular four-bet.

Does a shove become even better if I'm only $300 deep? Because as I was reading the replies I started to get the creeping feeling I had $300 and this was the first hand on the road to putting me at $600-plus, but my memory, as always, is foggy.