PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t100 (9 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

Button (t4920)
SB (t3905)
BB (t990)
UTG (t5180)
UTG+1 (t3800)
MP1 (t1530)
Hero (t4585)
MP3 (t3815)
CO (t6955)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with A, A.
UTG calls t100, 2 folds, Hero calls t100, 2 folds, Button calls t100, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: (t500) 9, Q, 2 (5 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, Hero checks, Button bets t300, SB folds, BB folds, UTG folds, Hero raises to t600, Button raises to t1200, Hero calls t600.

Turn: (t2900) 4 (2 players)

Button bets t3400

Hero?

Lay-down?

1. Raise preflop.
2. I would c/r a lil more on the turn. say to 800-1000.
3. I would lead out on the turn with a pot sized bet, but if you don't bet turn, (like it looks like you didn't), then c/r all in. He's probably got AQ-QJ and you'll get paid off.


Because you only called preflop, the strength of your hand is well disguised. Remember, it's not what you are actually holding, but what your opponent thinks you are holding. And there's no way he can put you on AA here.


Definitely not a laydown, you got the button in a hammerlock.

I think you mean check raise a little more on the flop

Otherwise, yeah, I would agree. Unless you have a some sort of read that the player wouldn't make this move w/o a huge hand, you should call it. It is basically impossible that the 4 helped him, as it didn't hit any draws (not that the flop was really draw-laden in the first place). It seems like a relatively normal line of betting here for something like AQ or KQ (Postflop anyway; I don't know what I would put him on since he just limped preflop. Could he limp in with things like Q9?...)

Besides, it would be rather silly of him to continuously fire big shells here with something like top set or top two, especially when the turn was an abysmal blank.

I hate to be "that ****" but I hate the way you played every street. Preflop you should have raised, especially with UTG limping and 5 players to act behind. I see that you want to limp-raise but a lot of the time you get stuck in these kinds of multi-way pots, where you have no definition of anyone elses hands. I like checkraising the flop but not min raising, it doesnt tell you anything, and I feel like after his min re-raise its either jam or fold. He could have Q9, 99, or 22 but this looks like it could be a KQ or QJ type move. I agree with Beaver, since you limped preflop you have to take advantage of that disguised strength. I think the turn is an easy call.

I also hate the way you played every street. I know that's blunt, but honestly, you're playing backwards and taking it to an extreme. Especially early in a pokerstars $20 180, I would highly advise you to stick predominantly to betting/raising with your strong hands as the players in these will pay you off a very high percentage of the time.

You played the hand in a way that a) gives you next to no information about villain's holdings and leaves you with not one but several tough decisions. That's not the way I like to play AA.

At a full table with an UTG caller and an M around 30 is just about the worst situation for you to slow-play AA preflop. It's one thing if you're the first one in the pot and you're looking to limp-raise but with a OOP caller, you have to raise this. In addition, your stacks are short enough that UTG's not likely calling with trash and folding to a raise, but they're far from short enough for people to automatically commit themselves throughout. Raise 3 to 5 times the big blind every time in this situation. Every time.

I like 3.5xBB here myself, because it's large enough that it looks like you want people out of the hand, but it's small enough that people aren't going to fold after they've already committed chips. This hand plays about 100 times easier from the lead.

Also, the stupidest thing about routinely smooth-calling with AA is that you don't know what the flop will do to your opponents hand. You know it will make your hand worse since you currently have the nuts, but it doesn't have to improve your opponents' hands and if it does improve them, it could make them better than yours.

For instance, say UTG has a pocket pair. The only way his hand will improve is if he hits a set that will beat you. Therefore, the best time to get chips out of him is right now. If he has something like KK or QQ and is planning on a LRR, then this could be the difference between getting his whole stack and getting nothing when an ace flops.

Honestly, I don't even care about the rest of the hand, but the preflop action was downright terrible. If you'd raised there, you might be stacking UTG instead of (possibly) getting stacked by the button.

I think, maybe, I was scared of a set as opposed to putting him on one. He later told me he did have one, though.

Thanks for the feedback.

Is this post one of those joke hands that I just don't seem to get? Or, are you in fact one of the villains in this hand wondering what the guy with the aces was doing playing it like that? I'm baffled....

Wow. Some people on here are right arseholes sometimes.

Limping after an early limper must have a very specific set of conditions to work and be an effective (and profitable) play.

That is, you've got a big stack in late position or the blinds who has a tendency to play extremely aggressive to a table of limpers...that is, for example, the BB has pushed all-in the last three times he's had 4 or 5 limpers in the pot. Then you can do this and punish him when he does it again.

Otherwise, you're just giving your money away...when you call all you're doing is giving odds for the guy with 44 to call, then the guy with 89 has odds, then the guy in the button has odds to call his 53, and then the guy in the SB has odds to call with two Uno cards, and the BB plays for free. What a great situation for your pocket aces as now most flops hurt you more than they help you.

You need to KNOW you'll get raised.


On the flop you MUST bet here...with only one person to act behind you you are in real danger of giving a free card to four other players, and you still have no clue where you stand...anyone with a 2 or a Q or a 9 or a pocket pair, or TJ, T8, TK, JK, etc is in great shape because you're letting them play for free.

With 4 players, if you're not already behind, there's a good chance that half the cards in the deck put you behind at least one of the players - why would you let them do that for free?

And if by some form of ESP you know the button will bet here, check/raise bigger.

I also find his overbet on the turn very suspicious - however, if you had bet out, say 1500, you'd probably have a better idea that his raise meant something. At the same time, though there's no way he thinks you have AA, in fact, you haven't even give him reason to think you have a Queen, you have no idea if he has QK or Q9 or 22.

But, even if he is sure his QJ is good here, that's a pretty strange bet. I'm more inclined to think he's got something like 88 and wants to push a 9 or a weak queen off the pot. And it could very well be a set and he's happy to take the pot right now...and make TJ fold.

He certainly doesn't know you have AA, but some of his betting shows he doesn't care.

And the way you bet on every street has provided you with absolutely no information about what he has.

SirJobs,

you played horribly.

and do not call the turn.

that would be a sucker call. (and I thought this upon reading the first post, and no other posts on this thread..which I shall read now...)

why the hell do you play AA this way and then wonder if the turn is a call?

That's the whole reason I posted this, though. I didn't say I played it well, I didn't know. That's where you guys come in

yeah, I didn't mean to imply you thought you played it well.
I'm just straight forward.
It's easier than candy coating.

So, if you are unsure of whether you played it well, why get so upset and refer to some people as arseholes when they simply provide the answers you were looking for?

I am a right arsehole sometimes, and othertimes, I'm the nicest guy you will ever meet. I can also be a left arsehole as well, but only on Tuesdays...

Read this, play one, come back and reread it, repeat until you know raising preflop here is the right idea.