2 all-in pre-flop situations that I was unsure about (reads)

jedi · #1 02-13-2007, 03:36 PM

These 2 hands happened at the local B&M last weekend. The game is 2/3 NL, $100/$300 min/max buy-ins. At the time, I felt like I made the right decision, but now I'm really debating whether or not I did so. Basically, if I were a friend of mine, would I have said "good play" or "what the hell are you doing?"

Edit: I'm coming from a more risk-averse position in poker. I'm looking for more +EV spots to gamble a bit and open up my game and basically stop being so afraid of losing money. I thought these were situations that tested my courage a bit.

Situation #1 - Friday night. The game is loose as usual, unusually passive post flop, except for villain in this hand. Pre-flop raises tend to be bigger than 3xBB. It's not uncommon to see pre-flop raises to $20. I've been here 3 hands already (this is the 4th), and haven't played a hand yet. Villain has shown a propensity to fire bluffs on multiple streets, including a 36o hand that caught nothing and made a decently big bet on the river to fold out some other weak tight player.

I've still got the $300 that I bought in for. Villain has $200, The MP caller has less than that (roughly $70)

I'm UTG and look down at AKo and raise up to $12. An MP player calls, then villain (in the small blind) pushes for his $200. My decision? He's known to be aggressive, and has tried to push others around. He talks trash at the table, and the body language and under-the-breath comments from other players indicate that he's been LAGgish for some time and has gotten lucky on a few occasions. Given this, I don't necessarily think he has AA or KK (plus, I have one of each). A smaller pocket pair is a possibility, since players here like to overplay these hands. With the money already in the pot, I think I'm at worst a coin flip to a hand like QQ. Plus, this player will possibly overplay a hand like AQ or KJ. I decide to call here. Thoughts?

Situation #2 - Late Sunday night/Early Monday morning. I've been sitting at another 2/3 NL game for about 15 minutes and have $301. EP villain sucks, he's got about $70 left. He's really loose, plays pretty bad and predictable. On occasion, he's looked at his cards, cursed the dealer, then called anyways. He'll frequently cold call raises with hands like K6o. MP villian has $900 in front of him. He's been pretty loose/agressive. Overplays hands like Ace/crap kicker, but seems to be able to push around the other weak-tights at this table. He also seems to know when to float on the flop, and when his TP/Crap kicker is good, putting in raises at the right times on the river to get called by people with 2nd pair who don't believe him. My image is probably tight. I folded Trips/no kicker (I was in the BB) once to a big bet vs. the predictable passive player and the cards accidentally turned face up, getting a few surprised comments.

Anyways, I don't remember exactly how the hand went, but Agressive MP villain had been pushing people around for a while. EP villain limps, MP villain raises to $20. I have TT and don't really want to play a flop here. I'm happy to take a pot down, or go heads up with the crappy EP villain who is liable to call with anything he thinks is decent with his stack, so I decided to push all-in here with a big overbet. I don't think MP villain will call without a AA/KK/QQ/AK. Thoughts?

Edit: I also think that MP villain has a wide range of hands that he'll originally raise with here, if only to isolate the crappy EP villain. That, plus my perceived image, made me think that 1) he doesn't necessarily have to have a great hand and 2) Even if he has a decent hand, he may fold it to my push.

raistlinx · #2 02-13-2007, 04:15 PM

Hand #1: Do you really think he is pushing you around with an all-in like that? Even if he does have a QQ-, do you want to put your money in on a coin flip like that? I'd fold it.

Hand #2: Most things villian finds decent will be a coin flip. If he overplays as you say then let him overplay into your set. No need to gamble pre-flop.

jedi · #3 02-13-2007, 04:19 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Hand #1: Do you really think he is pushing you around with an all-in like that? Even if he does have a QQ-, do you want to put your money in on a coin flip like that? I'd fold it.

[/ QUOTE ]

With the money already in the pot, if I KNOW he has QQ (or any other pocket pair), it's +EV for me to make this call, right? This isn't a tournament. If I lose, I just reload.

kurto · #4 02-13-2007, 04:28 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Hand #1: Do you really think he is pushing you around with an all-in like that? Even if he does have a QQ-, do you want to put your money in on a coin flip like that? I'd fold it.

[/ QUOTE ]

With the money already in the pot, if I KNOW he has QQ (or any other pocket pair), it's +EV for me to make this call, right? This isn't a tournament. If I lose, I just reload.

[/ QUOTE ]

That is correct. I think some people don't like to play this high a variance of a game. But you should call if he'd do this with a wide range of hands.

jedi · #5 02-13-2007, 09:44 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Hand #1: Do you really think he is pushing you around with an all-in like that? Even if he does have a QQ-, do you want to put your money in on a coin flip like that? I'd fold it.

[/ QUOTE ]

With the money already in the pot, if I KNOW he has QQ (or any other pocket pair), it's +EV for me to make this call, right? This isn't a tournament. If I lose, I just reload.

[/ QUOTE ]

That is correct. I think some people don't like to play this high a variance of a game. But you should call if he'd do this with a wide range of hands.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, that some one would be me. I don't like the variance either, but I'm working on overcoming that and making the best play possible. I think the fact that he could have been making such a move with AQ as well as pairs (plus his loose table image), led me to make that call.

Anyone else for hand #2? I think I might cross post this in the small stakes NL forum.

kurto · #6 02-14-2007, 12:38 AM

I don't like hand 2. (unless I'm misreading I don't know your stack sizes)

You say he won't call unless he has a monster... first, I don't agree. You already said he makes some loose calls. He's quite likely to call with JJ/QQ/KK/AA a strong ace.

Why make an overbet for a small pot where you're only called if you're squashed (for your whole stack).... aren't you likely winning little or losing it all?