Basic Questions

hey guys i play low limit sngs and i feel like i have a pretty good grasp on the basics of poker but i still come across situations in which i dont know what to do. Two of these are:

1) Towards the end of a game (3 or 4 players left in a 9 player game), if I am the big sick and the short stack is sitting next to me, what hands do i push with? I feel like i shouldnt walk the short stack but i also dont want to push and have to call an all in if he pushes back.

2) How do i play hands like AK from early position? Since their is a good chance i will be called I dont want raise too much and then miss the flop. But if I dont raise enough I get more callers than I want.

Remeber that these are low level games so play can be pretty loose. Any feedback would be appreciated.

In question 1, we're talking about bubble play, right?

My suggestion would be to keep pressure on the whole table if you're the big stack. The small stack is probably your most dangerous opponent though - they know they're going out without making any money unless they chip up quick, so they're desperate. The other two stacks should be your targets for bullying / stealing blinds.

That said, the small blind won't have a hand every time, and they'll be afraid of calling without something good. I'd still make standard raises. If they push back, give them credit for the hand, and acknowledge that the times you have to fold to this pressure will probably be outweighed by the amount of times you just take the blinds down.

I'm assuming four players and that the small stack is on your immediate left, BTW - if they're on your right, you should have a much easier time as they'll have already acted and you can concentrate more on just punishing the medium stacks while the small stack is out of the hand. And if you're down to just three players (ie: bubble's burst, in the money now) you'll want to scale the bullying back a bit - people will push back a lot more readily now that they know they're taking something away for their troubles.

Your question about playing AK in EP. I would say the best thing you can do here is make a standard raise about 3-3.5 X bb. If you get only 1 or 2 callers you should make a c-bet on most flops. Bet about 3/4 of the pot. Your first to act if the blind don't call so this will work a lot of times. If you get call you will need to make a hand or try to check it down to a showdown. If you get raised and you misses just fold. If you get more than 2 callers don't c-bet unless you make a hand and even then be careful. If you get raised preflop you are oop so it is best to reraise or fold. You have to use your read on what you think they have. If you think it is a coin-flip and you feel like it is a weak table I would pick a better spot. If you feel like you have the best hand reraise. Most of the time you are in a coin-flip or your ahead so not too bad of a spot to get the money in. You just have to look at all the fact and try to make the best decision with the info you have.

Hello All and it is nice to meet you all i hope to become friends with all of you..
I want to know some thing if your in a tour and the blinds are 10 and 20 you cal with A K and u should after the flop you see a pair of kings and some one goes all in should you risk you chip stack on the very FIRST hand???

thanks for the advice guys.

and acehole, as to your question, it depends on what the other cards on the flop are. is there a straight or flush possibility one the board? if not you probably have the best hand with top pair, top kicker. its possible that someone has hit two pair or a set but you have to take a chance somtimes. Also, you have to consider why the person is going all in. If the pot is not that large and someone goes all in it probably means that their hand is weak and they do not want anyone to call. they may also be worried that if they make a small bet they will be reraised and have to fold. If they had a strong hand they would check or bet a smaller amount in the hopes that people will stay in the hand so they can extract more chips. an overbet indicates weakness in which case your kings are probably good. the one thing you have to take into consideration is that they might have a hand but be scared by the cards on the flop. this would occur if their are two suited cards or connectors. your opponent might be making a large bet to keep people from staying in the pot on a draw. still an all in bet is rather extreme. chances are they have a weak hand an are trying to steal an early pot by taking advantage of the fact that people dont want to risk all of their chips early in a tourny. i say call 9 times out of 10 in that situation. its always nice to start a tournament with a double up.

if anyone disagrees with my reasoning please respond.

I've just gotta get this straight... you've limped with AK on the first hand of a major tournament, flopped top pair and someone's moved in on you?

Call me a nit, but I'm folding. At the end of the day, all you've got is one pair, and there's two cards to come. Plenty of hands beat you, and there's just no reason to put your tournament at risk for the minimal amount that you've invested in the hand.

The real question is why you limped with AK in the first place.

You have to play all STT's differently than MTT's, or ring games. Once you are short handed (less than half the starting table size) you need to turn up the aggression.

AK early, get aggressive, steal that pot, or make it expensive for anyone else to get into that hand. At least a 3x raise. If you are the big stack, you can relax a little bit what hands you choose to start with.

Perhaps a way to think about it is that it is easier to get HU on a short table, and because of that you can bluff more, semi bluff almost every time, and steal a bit more often.

If you hit a flop, don't be tricky, especially since these are low stake games. Bet out on any hit if you are HU. Don't go crazy, but make it expensive to chase.