I'd like to get some opinions on this hand. It was the second hand in the tournament, so no reads on the players. Looking back, I'm thinking maybe I could have bet the flop, but since I hadn't been able to push anybody out pre-flop, I'd decided to gear down. I felt pretty strong after nobody bet the turn, but have read that it often doesn't make sense to bet the river because only hands that have you beat will call, so I check/called. (Check/raise there instead?)

Turned out to be a nice pot for me with relatively minimal risk, think I got 4-1 payoff, so maybe I played it correctly. Or maybe my opponents just played worse. A pot-sized bet representing queens on the turn would have likely scared me off the hand. Opinions? Was I aggressive enough?

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t15 (10 handed) converter

CO (t1000)
Button (t990)
DrTongue (t970)
BB (t1215)
UTG (t1000)
UTG+1 (t970)
UTG+2 (t970)
MP1 (t1000)
MP2 (t1000)
MP3 (t885)

Preflop: DrTongue is SB with [Kh], [Ad].
UTG calls t15, 2 folds, UTG calls t45, MP1 calls t45, MP2 calls t45, CO calls t45.

Flop: (t312.50) [Jc], [5h], [Qh] (5 players)
DrTongue checks, UTG checks, MP1 bets t45, MP2 calls t45, CO folds, DrTongue calls t45, UTG calls t45.

Turn: (t492.50) [Qs] (4 players)
DrTongue checks, UTG checks, MP1 checks, MP2 checks.

River: (t492.50) [Ac] (4 players)
DrTongue checks, UTG checks, MP1 bets t60, MP2 calls t60, DrTongue calls t60, UTG folds.

Final Pot: t672.50

Results in white below:
DrTongue has Kh Ad (two pair, aces and queens).
MP1 has Jd Tc (two pair, queens and jacks).
MP2 has As, Jh (two pairs, aces and queens).

Outcome: DrTongue wins t672.50.

Just a few thoughts from my own perspective and style... could be totally offbase here, as always.

1) Bet the flop cauz you bet preflop from EP, and by checking you may signal that you missed. The Flop isn't especially scary to you, although someone may have hit top two pair, more likely is the straight draw, to which you've got a piece of as well.

If you are playing against decent players, a bet here will indicate that either you have an overpair to the board and don't mind betting into them from EP, or you are a LAG who just likes to bet at anything, but it will be too early for them to make a read.

In fact, you make this bet primarily to gain info on where you stand. Generally speaking, you will see a lot of folks fold to you because the flop did not hit them perfect. If you are raised it generally indicates that someone's likely got TPTK (A-Q) or two pair. If you are called here you gotta think straight draw.

2) Check/call the turn from EP I think was A-OK. It's possible that at least one of these jokers has Qx, and since you are in EP, still don't have much of a made hand, and there are a few players still in it... you are fine.

3) Value bet the river knowin you probably got the best hand out there. If someone slowplayed their Q, shows ya K-10 for a straight, or somehow managed a FH they got ya. But I think you can be confident that you've got a solid hand.

Looks like you played it fine. Of course raise preflop with AK, bet the flop if checked to you or you are first to act.
The turn is a bit of a scare card since you were called on the flop, I wouldn't have bet there. No reason to bluff off alot of your chips early in a tourney. The river give you top pair and facing a weak bet, I'd just call too. I don't want to reraise then get faced with an all in with only a pair of aces with the board paired.
I like to play conservative in the first few rounds and not risk too many of my chips without a big hand.

Holy weak batman! Three of you scared to bet with decent holdings. I think if you bet strong on the flop, you dont need to catch a river ace to win. I cant believe AJ didn't raise in position when faced with that weak flop bet, or when checked to on the turn. You are lucky your opponents dont know what they're doing.

You're right he should have bet more on the flop, didn't really pay attention to the amount he bet.
But bet the turn in a 4 way pot when you could be drawing dead or very slim? I don't see that as being a correct play that early, I would have assumed someone had top pair on the flop with that many callers.
Deeper into a tourney I'd be more aggressive but not here.

Here's my argument against raising after the flop. The pot was 315 and I didn't want to commit 315 having basically missed the flop and with four players to go. Real good chance I'm going to get called by somebody who paired and I'm going to need a T,K or A.

I agree that mostly I was lucky that the others played poorly. They could have and should have pushed me out. I was behind both of them from the flop until the river A.

I think that you played it fine.

You're out of position, first to act after the flop. Typically, you'd want to lead the betting after the flop since you raised pre-flop but with four callers out there, I'd check too.

I think that the check call on the river is fine too with that board.

Since it's so early, there's no need to take unnecessary risks

Raise it up on the flop.
Clean up some outs against that horribly weak bet.
(You can usually take this down here, and if you don't you have 10 clean outs with 2 streets to come.)

Also, raise 1/2 the pot on the river.

But you played this hand like my 4 year old brother would if I had one.

You're the big brother I never wanted!

Can't agree. Not worth getting short stacked on a semi-bluff this early in a tournament.

Are your 10 outs really clean here? I'm assuming by 10 outs you mean the 3 remaining Aces, 3 remaining Kings, and the 4 Tens that give him a straight. The board was Jc 5h Qh. The Ah, Kh, and 10h could give someone else a flush. Any K or A could give someone a straight. Wouldnt that make the 10c, 10d, and 10s your only really clean outs?

Your raise on the flop wasn't big enough to scare people off, IMO. I don't necessarily think that makes it a bad raise, but what it did was build the pot nicely for what becomes a good drawing hand (unimproved AK is no good in NL in a 5-way pot). I'd say why throw chips in on the flop first to act when you're going to have to fold to a good-sized raise? I like the check-call on the flop and the check on the turn.

I think the weakness your opponents show on the turn and river indicate that your hand is good at the end. I'd check the river, and raise that weak bet. 1/2-pot like Absolute suggested sounds about right. If UTG or MP1 reraise you'll have to fold - it's very unlikely that they bluff here with any hand that you beat, given the board.

I don't think just calling the river is terrible - it's going to be tough for any hand that's worse than yours to call you with that board. But I think a raise on the end is still probably the better play, since I'm guessing your hand is good here at least 95% of the time.

Actually, I like what Absolute suggests on the flop - check it to see what happens, then when you see those weak bets, raise it by the pot, or even a little more than that. You're right, prince, his outs are not clean, the point of this bet (if it doesn't win the hand outright) would be to make sure they're clean (a naked flush draw should not call this bet (although one might) and neither should any straight draw, or hands like AJ, KJ, JT, or probably even QT or any weaker Q).

There's some risk, because you're a big underdog to QJ, a set, or Jhxh, and a slight underdog against any pair. But QJ or a set are unlikely given the betting. Jhxh has you crushed, and is certainly a possible holding for your opponents, but the only one-pair hands likely to stick around are AA, KK, AQ, and KQ, or - KQ is possible, but the rest are unlikely given the betting. Th9h is ahead of you, and AhTh is probably a coin flip. You're ahead of any other unpaired hand, I believe. If you do get reraised I think you have to fold. But I think your chances of winning the pot outright make Absolute's line correct.

Rethinking, that does make some sense. 45 was a pretty weak raise. Unfortunately, a pot bet would be about 500 or so at that point - most of my stack. But I could see pushing another 150 in.

Not crazy about facing this kind of situation on the second hand of a tournament. Playing the hand right isn't necessarily playing the tournament right.