Stars 215 - Would you change this line?

[Wetdog]

OK, I know the flop bet was weak. It's early in the tourney and I didn't have a read on villain yet.

Would you put in around a quarter of your stack (650 or 700) to protect your Aces from a flush/straight draw? Would the usual tourney donk call?

I think I lost the minimum I would have lost, which was a third of my stack. I'm not too bothered by that. I just wonder if I should have played harder at it.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t30 (9 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: 2+2 Forums)

UTG+1 :#A500AF(UTG+1)/ (t1230)
MP1 :#A500AF(MP1)/ (t2675)
MP2 :#A500AF(MP2)/ (t3190)
MP3 :#A500AF(MP3)/ (t2355)
CO :#A500AF(CO)/ (t5295)
Button :#A500AF(Button)/ (t955)
SB :#A500AF(SB)/ (t1690)
Hero (t2680)
UTG :#A500AF(UTG Villain)/ (t2430)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img].
UTG :#A500AF(UTG Villain)/ calls t30, <font color="#666666">5 folds</font>, Button :#A500AF(Button)/ calls t30, SB :#A500AF(SB)/ completes, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to t150</font>, UTG :#A500AF(UTG Villain)/ calls t120, Button :#A500AF(Button)/ calls t120, SB :#A500AF(SB)/ folds.

Flop: (t480) J[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], T[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(3 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">Hero bets t240</font>, UTG Villain calls t240, Button folds.

Turn: (t960) 9[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
Hero checks, <font color="#CC3333">UTG Villain bets t450</font>, Hero calls t450.

River: (t1860) J[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
Hero checks, UTG Villain checks.

Final Pot: t1860

[beenben]

Pre-flop- I hope you're always raising to 5x at this level, otherwise you're advertising your aces.

flop- like you say, could've been a bigger bet. 3/4 pot or pot sized. You've got flush and straight draws, sets and two pairs to worry about.

turn - what do you put him on with the flop call? either really strong or chasing flush or OESD. I think you should fire again to charge for those draws and try to better define his hand.

river- I like your check. only someone who's beating you is calling.

[Axis]

i think i go into check call mode....with that flop and early stage your likely up against donkeys w KJ and KTs and KQ....too muc out there this early for you to lose 1/3 w just one pair.

[Wetdog]

[ QUOTE ]
Pre-flop- I hope you're always raising to 5x at this level, otherwise you're advertising your aces.

[/ QUOTE ]

I raised 3x + 1x per limper.

[ QUOTE ]
flop- like you say, could've been a bigger bet. 3/4 pot or pot sized. You've got flush and straight draws, sets and two pairs to worry about.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I thought the flop was about the worst ever for AA. I should have gone higher, and I'm now thinking maybe 2x pot to keep flush draws from calling correctly. Is that too much, considering my stack size?

[ QUOTE ]
turn - what do you put him on with the flop call? either really strong or chasing flush or OESD. I think you should fire again to charge for those draws and try to better define his hand.

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought the nine was probably the death card for me. Any Q, 78 was the nuts vs my pair. Villain's bet said he might still be drawing.

[ QUOTE ]
river- I like your check. only someone who's beating you is calling.

[/ QUOTE ]

The board pairing probably saved me from calling off more chips, villain maybe fearing a check-raise from a boat.

Honestly, I knew I was beat at the turn. I was thankful that I only lost a third of my stack, and that I could have lost more or busto'd.

How big should I have bet the flop? 2x the pot? Would a push be out of line?

[Wetdog]

[ QUOTE ]
i think i go into check call mode....with that flop and early stage your likely up against donkeys w KJ and KTs and KQ....too muc out there this early for you to lose 1/3 w just one pair.

[/ QUOTE ]

So should have check/folded the flop? [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

[SinPies]

[ QUOTE ]
I should have gone higher, and I'm now thinking maybe 2x pot to keep flush draws from calling correctly. Is that too much, considering my stack size?

[/ QUOTE ]

You don't have to bet 2x the pot to protect against the flush draw. You don't want a worse hand to fold--you want a worse hand to call incorrectly. Betting 2X the pot and only getting called by better hands is not a good play.

[Axis]

no, i think he would check behind you right here, i hate your position in this hand, thats why i would be so passive with it

[Wetdog]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I should have gone higher, and I'm now thinking maybe 2x pot to keep flush draws from calling correctly. Is that too much, considering my stack size?

[/ QUOTE ]

You don't have to bet 2x the pot to protect against the flush draw. You don't want a worse hand to fold--you want a worse hand to call incorrectly. Betting 2X the pot and only getting called by better hands is not a good play.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the reply.

See, that's where I'm conflicted. Check and you give free cards to a draw heavy board. Bet too little and you risk being drawn out on by opponents getting the proper odds to call. Bet too much and you pump the pot for better hands to kill your stack.

So, is 3/4 pot to pot sized the consensus choice?

[SinPies]

I'd bet 3/4 to full pot. It's a scary board and you did well not to lose more, but early in these tourneys you'll see some people turn over funky stuff--87d, naked Ad, 88, etc.--hoping to get lucky. You're definitely right to be cautious, I just don't like overbetting to fold that trash. If you're beat already, there's nothing you can do but try to lose the minimum.

[Moose747]

I actually like a bigger preflop raise. Early in a tournament, I like to raise strong hands more than the standard 3x, simply because bets enormous implied odds to loose callers. I'd probably raise to around 180-200 PF. This makes situations like this easier, since you can narrow your opponents' range.