Last night WPT hand:AK all-in flopped A, Turned K. Strategy Question.

[NYWalker]

Mandalay Bay WPT 10200 main event. 8:30pm 183 players left. Level 5 600/300 ante 75, 10 handed. Hero on the button 9550. MP (seat 5) a very loose aggressive player, stealing all the time. stack 30000. seat 7, another loose aggressive player, 30000.

All folded to MP (seat 5). Seat 5 raised to 2000. Fold, Seat 7 called. Fold. Hero A [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] K [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. Pot 1650+2000+2000.

Hero?

(Before the action hero put one of them on weak Ace and one on mid pair; if hero called 2000 and SB,BB fold preflop, the pot would be 7650. On the flop, given the history of their plays, on the flop, one of them would bet about 3000 before hero/ that will make the pot 11000 or so. If there is no Ace or King on the flop, hero had to flod and down to 7500 M=4.5, it would be very tough to play. If hero pushes and at least one of them with under pair called, hero had 45% chance to double up (with 1650 extra); if both of them folded, SB,BB folded behind, hero would win the pot right her; so pushing is definately the play here. )

Given this, hero pushed 9750. SB, BB folded. 7275 for each players to call.

MP thought for 2 minutes; he said "good bet", but still called. Seat 7 said "You called? I call". Pot 29950.

Flop A[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 10[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 9[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]
They both checked;
Turn K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]
They both checked;
River 7[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]
They both checked;

Hero flipped over AK (out of turn), MP (seat 5) flipped over a pocket 77 with smiles... seat 7 mucked.

Hero was out at 182. I was thinking - how could pocket 77 called when a 30000 called his raise preflop and another 10K all-in after that???? Was this real???? Someone tell me please.

Later, seat 7 told hero he had a pocket pair too. He couldn't bet on the flop.

Hero was thinking (I'm not trying to be result-oriented here, but...) if hero called 2000 pre-flop and push on the flop, hero might have won the pot.

(Hero's first two major tournaments - 2000 buy-in down to 25th, hero Ten-Jack full house beaten by Quard Jacks; WPT top monster top pairs sucked out by river set, are we playing poker? I am hitting by the 4% ... )

[NYWalker]

Anyone would play this hand differently?

[stevepa]

Anyone who would play this hand differently is no good at poker. This is very very very standard.

Steve

[NYWalker]

correction : hero Ace[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] King[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]

[NYWalker]

Steve:

Sorry, I'm still on the tilt... I was thinking over and over, push was a standard play. But against seat 5, who would play it standardly, should I switch gear??? (Call preflop and push on the flop - I know it's dummy question, but I'm on the tilt now)

The pocket 7 was a good call???

[Black Aces 518]

You have to push. There is no decision point. Two loose players are in. You have a premium hand, and the pot is almost 1/2 your stack already. WTF? JAM.

Calling and folding a non A or K flop is laughably bad. You want all 5 cards. The 5 cards that came out and the order they came is wholly and totally irrelevant. What if the board was gonna come K-7-2 and you push and lose, but 77 would have folded to a push? What if an earthquake hit and your hand got mucked/ Stop being results oriented and playing the what if game. When the action comes to you, you have 1 obvious choice, and some awful ones. You chose correctly, and your role in the hand was done, save sayign "Aces up" and then "Nice hand, good luck, yall."

I swear, I get moments of panic about the ME this year, and then I see some posts from 10K events and realize I'll be OK.

[Foucault]

[ QUOTE ]
The pocket 7 was a good call???

[/ QUOTE ]

No one said that. It depends on a lot of things. But there is no point in you worrying about it. You played the hand correctly, and there was nothing at all close about the decision.

Thinking about how just calling and pushing the flop could have won you the pot is the definition of results-oriented. The fact that 77 would fold that flop is one reason why you would NOT want to just call pre-flop.

Reviewing your play is a good thing, and I'm sure there are many other hands you played that were closer decisions and that you could have played differently or better. You should focus your energy on those, because this was an incredibly straight-forward situation where you played perfectly and got unlucky.

Nice job including your thought process in the post though.

[gobboboy]

If you call preflop and push any flop you're only getting called when you are behind. This hand was completely standard and you're being somewhat results oriented.

FWIW, if I am in 77's spot I reraise to isolate (get the pot headsup).

I hope you realize that the board and who won the pot is absolutely irrelevant information when deciding how to play the hand.

[Black Aces 518]

gobbo-

you mean initially you would reraise the 77 to isolate against the LAG yes? not after calling, then hero pushes, and villain 1 calls?

[NYWalker]

Black Aces,
I know I had a lot of nonsenses in the post about other than pushing. But when my tournament life on the line (especially this was the first 10K I played - I started to play poker on November 18, 2005) So, please don't laugh at me. I wanted to win and I believed I would win this event as the first finisher every single minute when I was in the game! Everything wasn't easy but worked out to me - I won the seat thru satellite, in the satellite I knocked out WPT 5 times final table player. I played 4 1060 satelites and all finished at last 3. I really wanted to SURVIVE, that's why so much [censored] thinkings beside standard play. When the Ace came on the flop and King on the turn, you know how I felt??? - I'm winning!!!!! But, when he flipped over 77, my eyes were dark!!!! I didn't know why I smiled and said "good hand" to him. (I did the same when someone flipped over pocket Jacks beat my Ten-Jack full in the 2000 tourney)

Here is to all of you, the pros - sometimes, standard play will kill you in the tournament especially when against loose, reckless players. Non-standard play wins the tournament - Packet 77 just took 30K pot by not playing it correctly.... he was rewarded and probably the top 10 chip leader for the first day. He continues to play today and I'm sure he will knock off other standard play players who play solid hands....

I'll be back!