Im in a big MTT (starts with 1500), I'm currently 8th out of about 300 with a stack of 13,000. Top 180 or so pay.

Blinds 200/400.

I am UTG+1 with AKo.

UTG is another big stack, about 12,300.

UTG min raises to 800, I reraise to 2000 to isolate. Folded around to UTG who pushes.

Whats your move?

Two trains of thought hit me:
1. AKo is probably just a coinflip at best here.
2. Almost any MTT win needs to win a couple of coinflips in order to finish high in the money.

I probably fold here.. I don't think there is any reason to get involved in an all-in pre-flop hand with the big stack at the table unless you have AA or KK.

You do have to win coinflips to win big tourneys but I would avoid taking them with the other big stacks. Look to play coin flips with the shorter stacks at the table.

I don't mind the re-raise pre-flop but I think a fold here is in order.

Fold.

You're reraise is fine...you do it for two reasons...to isolate, and to define his hand...when he pushes, you've got the definition.

AA or KK, making you in big trouble.

Perhaps QQ...making you a coin flip, but behind, and will be crippled if you lose.

If he's an absolute maniac he also has AK....your best case scenario.

He doesn't have anything you're leading.

If he had 4000-5000, sure...but not for 95% of your stack.

If this is a tight table a call here can be a very strong play against another big stack. His min raise defines his hand somewhat, and you probably arent playing anything unless an A or K flops. You have position on him, and a tight table is going to have a hard time calling the two big stacks.

Yeah, I'm also liking the call line here too. If an A or K flops, then you likely have the best hand. I would take a flop here, and if I hit nothing, I don't lose much of my stack, and I can get away from the hand easily. By letting him push here, you let him basically take control of the table, and establish dominance over you. Use your positional advantage after the flop and see how it plays out.

I agree with Copernicus and Zim here - with position and against another big stack, just call the min-raise.

In your situation, I would fold to the push (no reason to risk all your chips at this point).

the trouble w/ calling the bet is that you invite other players w/ a wide range of hands to enter the pot as well.

ak is a hand that plays best heads up, not multi-way.that's why i think raising here is still the best option. if hero just called, we could potentially see a flop w/ as many as 4-5 players. and if hero flops tptk, how sure is he that he has the best hand (especially out of position).

calling here is weak tight imo. hero doesnt have position v. the other players who may likely enter the hand. he does have a premium hand worth protecting, and i think raising will at least get us heads up.

thats why i specified a tight table. If they are paying attention, they see an UTG raise, presumably a very strong hand, and a call from another big stack. They have to read one of you for a pair and the other for at worst AK or AQ.

Folding preflop is the second best option IMO. Im staying away from the big stack rather than reraise and commit a lot of chips, unless I have a solid read on what his min-raise means.

but your table requirements seem so limited

the table has to have

#1 people who are completely paying attention to the game and not multitabling

#2 all players behind you must have unplayable hands. none of them can be holding a suited connector or small-mid pp. most players (regardless of tightness) will not fold these hands to a minraise. they are hoping to catch a big flop and doubling up against a big stack, their implied odds are good

#3 players to recognize his UTG min-raise as a big pair and your smooth call as a big ace (as opposed to a mid pp or a suited connector)

you're pretty much asking for the most ideal of situations, and i can say the average mtt table is FAR from ideal.


most players respect a UTG raise, but not a minraise. also, most players do not respect a call of a minraise, as you could be playing any two cards and hoping to catch a big flop yourself (since you're the bigstack)

if UTG had raised to say 4-5x bb, then yeah, i can see where calling would be ok. but this is not the case here.

to say that all 8 of the other players (including the blinds who have already invested money into the pot) will see one of you as holding a big pair and the other as either ak or aq is proposturous. and even if all 8 of them see this, they may be more inclined to call in order to hit the flop hard and double up against your monsters.


im sorry, but given the blinds and the stacks, i dont think a smoothcall is warranted under any situations unless all 8 of your opponents are sitting out (and even then, a reraise would be better)

Haven't read replies.

Without a read, this is an EASY chip position fold.

I do like the re-raise preflop though.

You reraise to get information on what his minraise means.

If you call here you are inviting callers behind you, especially mid-pocket pairs and suited connectors - and, depending who is behind you, you may be inviting a raise from the button with 6h7h, and then what do you do?

Regardless of that scenario, you are inviting yourself to be out of position for this hand. You need everyone to be paying attention and to respect a minraise from utg, AND to read your call as strength (many people will read a call to a minraise as a drawing hand, and they will raise, knowing if they get the first raiser out, they'll probably get you out too...and if they don't, they still have position on you, or they'll call a draw, figuring you're also a draw, but they have position)....beyond that, many will call with pocket pairs (even 22) to a minraise and a caller to see if they hit their set....even at a tight table.

If you call you still have no idea if his minraise is a trap, or what? Many will min-raise with AA in hopes of getting some action, but at the same time making the blinds pay to see the flop.

Because you called this minraise, you really have no idea what kind of shape you're in if an A or K hits....and, in fact, it's even possible that you are winning if a flop like T54 comes...but you won't know that either - if he bets, is it 'cause he has JJ, or is it just a continuation bet with KQ? If he checks, does he have AQs, or is he trapping with KK, or does he have 99 and trying to get a read from you?

In the long run, even at a tight table, the 1200 hero invested on the flop is cheaper than flopping K or A or both and finding out villain has trips then.

But, you can play this hand postflop against many callers. If an A or K flops and you have a lot of action, you can probably fold to the other big stack if he makes a huge raise. I just think that because AK is still a drawing hand, you can see a flop, and proceed if you hit. There is a g0od chance he has AK or QQ or JJ here, and we're letting him take control of this pot. If we play this hand HU against him in position, we have control from here on out because of our position. I think players are too quick to want to reraise with AK, when it does play relatively well against more than 1 player because so many people will pay you off with a pair of aces and a weaker kicker.

You don't want him to control the action...you want to control it.


Let's say he has AK and you have AK and you just called his raise...now the flop comes J76 - he leads a 3/4 pot size bet...do you still put him on AK and go for the chop, or do you put him on a high pair, Jacks or not, and fold...or do you raise NOW to define his hand? This could happen with AQs or KQs. And what happens if you got two people left to act behind you because you didn't reraise preflop?

By calling his raise you are giving control to him, even if you are in position, and you are risking giving up your position to up to 6 other players...the ideal situation is to be the aggressor, AND the button.

Calling gives him control, probably puts you out of position, and keeps you from knowing his holdings beyond upwards of a dozen possible hands.

Fold here.

But before that, I only call his preflop raise.

OK, so if he's an aggressive player, and he has AK as well, then let's see the possibilities. We call pf and miss, he bets, and we lose 800 chips. We reraise pf, he pushes, we fold, we lose 2000 chips. We call pf and hit the flop, and we likely chop. If he has AK, and I miss the flop, which means he misses too, then I don't mind giving him the chips. I just don't think we can win the pot without hitting an A or K. So I'd rather see the flop as cheaply as possible, and see if I can hit one of those 2.

you're UTG+1!!!!

YOUR COMPLETELY FORGETTING ABOUT THE OTHER PLAYERS. YOU NEED TO PROTECT YOUR HAND. YOU CANNOT ALLOW 3 OTHER PLAYERS TO CALL BEHIND YOU. YOU MUST RAISE OR JEAPORDIZE YOUR ENTIRE STACK IF YOU ALLOW SOMETHING LIKE 4-5 TO THE FLOP!!!

You're forgetting that at the 200/400 level... rarely will you get a 3 handed flop period unless someone seriously wakes up with a hand. Everyone is super tight right now especially to a raise, even a min raise. Only hand you might let in is the BB unless someone finds something they really like. But it doesn't happen very often.

imho

still too big of a risk to allow more players to enter

hero is big stack, but there could be other stacks w/ something like 7-8k chips who are willing to play suited connectors or mid pp's to double up against the chipleaders. but we'd need more info about other chips stacks to make this assessment

I think this is a standard call preflop against a big stack. All of the reasons were mentioned earlier, but there is no real reason to re-raise a big stack here. The pot is likely going to be HU if you smooth call anyway, unless someone wakes up with a big hand.

However, against smaller stacks, Im reraising preflop every single time.

To the OP, to answer your question based on the way the hand was played, Im folding every time in this spot.