AA and KK UTG early in tourny????

[CptnObvius]

Just wondered how people went about this one. Raise or call? I generally go for the call and then play flop but this can lose and win you lots of chips. Other opinions please....

[lastchance]

Trust me on this one. RAISE IT!

[DevinLake]

Limping sucks.

Blinds are small and people don't raise enough. You are going to be playing in multiway pots a lot. Therefore, you'll be losing big pots a lot.

Raise it up. People call too much. Start building a big pot preflop. It's be easier to stack weaker hands this way.

When people limp AA/KK I take great enjoyment in watching them lose.

[ymu]

Why would you want to let a bunch of people see the flop for cheap/free? If any of them hit, you're not getting rid of them easily and it'll probably cost you your whole stack to find out that you're beat.

With AA, especially in a tournament, you want to get it HU as early as possible - and don't mess about giving draws good odds to see another card by betting weak on the flop. It's an excellent way to stack yourself.

[CptnObvius]

OK, I'll give that a try. Haven't actually lost my stack yet by calling with them early but came close when the BB hit two pair today. i got lucky and board paired.

However, I have gone all in twice in last 3 days with AA and been called by KK and lost. Gotta luv this game....

[EscapePlan9]

Raise to build a bigger pot and increase your chances of winning by isolation (fewer opponents).

[Michael C.]

Mix it up. Raise most of the time, but at an agressive table when people are raising a lot, sometimes slowplay it. Sure you could get screwed and lose a multi-way pot, but if you do get a raise that could be the best way to stack a guy pre-flop. And it makes people respect your limps more later.

[ymu]

[ QUOTE ]
Mix it up. Raise most of the time, but at an agressive table when people are raising a lot, sometimes slowplay it. Sure you could get screwed and lose a multi-way pot, but if you do get a raise that could be the best way to stack a guy pre-flop. And it makes people respect your limps more later.

[/ QUOTE ]
I'm not sure you get dealt them often enough in an STT for the image to matter much. Early on, I'm raising and reraising at every opportunity. Later on, I'll open push with >10BB, unless it's the right time to limp - eg in the SB, especially if BB is hyperaggressive, or maybe on the button if SB and/or BB are both aggressive and unobservant.

I can't think of a situation where I'd limp it UTG unless it's 3-way or HU - except maybe if there was a maniac who was going all in every hand, but this is more common early on in MTTs.

[Michael C.]

I think image matters in higher level SNGs, where you play against a lot of the same people over and over again, and they take detailed notes on you. So even if you don't get AA/KK dealt that often to you early, you might limp with other hands and they have to consider the possibility.

[KPL]

[ QUOTE ]
Mix it up. Raise most of the time, but at an agressive table when people are raising a lot, sometimes slowplay it. Sure you could get screwed and lose a multi-way pot, but if you do get a raise that could be the best way to stack a guy pre-flop. And it makes people respect your limps more later.

[/ QUOTE ]

No need to mix it up unless you play on a higher level where you will meet the same players many times