9 replies to this topic

[pokerfan1080]

Sorry, don't have HH.....

My stack = about 8K
Villain's stack = about 10K
about half of the field remains of the approximate 800 starters, long way from the money.

I'm in middle position, villain is BB.
Blinds are 75/150
Folded around to me, I have KK and raise to 600 preflop, all fold to villain who pushes.

I've only been at this table for about 15 minutes, villian has been very "quiet".

Some questions......

1. Is my preflop raise high enough? If not what should I raise to?

2. Is KK a hand we want to gamble on for our tourney life?

3. Is it necessary to put our tourney on the line at this point? Meaning, this is a deepstack tourney, we really do have alot of time, is it necessary to take the risk of being eliminated? I know building a stack is necessary, but is it better to chip-up using "small ball" poker at this point?

[James D]

That is an absolutely ridiculous re-raise. What's he been doing prior to this? Would anyone do this with AA?

I call.

[copernicus]

1. You want action with KK. You cant be paranoid about the .5% AA headsup, accept that youre going to go broke with it. (Im not talking about situations of bet/raise/reraise to you...now the chance that there is an AA is more likely.) On the other hand you cant let Ax see a flop cheaply, because then youre always wondering if he has the A or not. Your raise is fine.

2. Call. His range is a lot wider than AA, DS might have tightened his range somewhat, but not to the point where hes not playing QQ, and AK for a push, and probably JJ is in there also. Someone who isnt thinking about it being a DS is even wider.

[shpaget]

1. the pf raise is fine...against some tables I'm betting 375...others 1000.

2. yes

3. depends...you would have to narrow his range to AA and AK to consider folding this (and even there it's +EV)...just add QQ to the mix and it's a no brainer...you double up almost 60% of the time against his range....ask yourself...if you just play small ball, how often do you think you'll get yourself to 16000 chips before busting out?



This is AK so often it's not funny....yes...there's a trend lately to overbet the nuts, to make it look like weakness and induce a call...but, simply put, you gotta need a REALLY strong read that he has AA here, and nothing else.

If there was another raise between you and the BB, I'd be more inclined to put him on aces...not here.

[rog]

This is an instacall IMO. AK does this pretty often. QQ, JJ, maybe as low as 99 does this hoping for fold equity against overcards.

1) Your raise is fine. I make it 500 in this situation.

2) Absolutely.

3) Not necessary, but +EV for sure. This is a great spot to make the call and look to double up. Small ball is fine, but you cant play too scared. Get 'em in, and move on to the next one if you bust.

[trystero]

In a cash game you could make a better argument for folding, like say you had $500 behind and raised to $6 at $1/$2. But in a tournament you need chips and don't have the luxury of waiting for better spots.

Besides this isn't even that deepstacked. The blinds are 75/150, not 10/20. True, your M is over 30 but that's not nearly high enough to pass on KK.

[pokerfan1080]

In a cash game you could make a better argument for folding, like say you had $500 behind and raised to $6 at $1/$2. But in a tournament you need chips and don't have the luxury of waiting for better spots.

Besides this isn't even that deepstacked. The blinds are 75/150, not 10/20. True, your M is over 30 but that's not nearly high enough to pass on KK.

"Deepstack" was in relation to the tourney structure; 5000 starting chips, 30 minute levels.

Thanks for the reply folks. I'll post results by tomorrow. Or PM me if you are interested before then.

[Mercury69]

1. Yes, 4 x BB is fine.

2. Preflop, no doubt about it.

3. You stand a very good chance at doubling here, which kicks "small ball" butt (although I'm a big fan).

[tskillz187]

Pokerfan I have read none of the other responses. I know you like the game a lot and have admitted to learning. But you know enough and are good enough at poker to know better than these questions.

You have KK and have been at a table for 15 mins. A player being quiet for 15 mins is not a real read. Some argue to never fold KK heads up, I think it's not a bad rule, but not one I will argue with people. But never, ever fold KK heads up without a great read on your opponent. There isn't enough time to small ball around in online tourneys. You have to happily/willingly get your chips in the middle everytime with KK and AA in big MTTs.

I would argue that your PF raise is a little too much, I want action when I have KK and I never raise 4xBB. I just always raise 3x or less.

[pokerfan1080]

Pokerfan I have read none of the other responses. I know you like the game a lot and have admitted to learning. But you know enough and are good enough at poker to know better than these questions.

You have KK and have been at a table for 15 mins. A player being quiet for 15 mins is not a real read. Some argue to never fold KK heads up, I think it's not a bad rule, but not one I will argue with people. But never, ever fold KK heads up without a great read on your opponent. There isn't enough time to small ball around in online tourneys. You have to happily/willingly get your chips in the middle everytime with KK and AA in big MTTs.

I would argue that your PF raise is a little too much, I want action when I have KK and I never raise 4xBB. I just always raise 3x or less.

Yeah, I like to think I'm a decent player, but plays like this have been trouble for me so much lately.

My confidence has been taken down a notch or two from some really bad beats over the last few weeks that I'm questioning plays I'm sure are correct (like this one). It's weird how 1, 2 and 3 outers seem to hit us with such regularity sometimes.

I was sure calling here was correct, but I just had that awful feeling that if I was ahead villain would draw out on me.

So, I'm glad to say that I called here. Villain had AQos??????? WTF??? I was ahead after the flop, although the flop did have a Q, third Q hit on the river..... gg, me. That's poker.

Two weeks in a row in the same tourney I'm eliminated with bad beats. Last week I lost with a set of T's after the flop, to pocket A's that hit a set on the turn, and this week this happens. Is this typical for bad beats? It's so freakin frustrating to play good poker and lose like this so often.

Sorry, I don't want to make this sound like I'm whining about these (well, maybe I'm whining a little, lol), I guess I just needed someone to verify I'm playing these hands properly. I know bad beats happen, I just have to remind myself that I'm playing better than these folks are and my time will come.

Thanks again everyone.