Pushing all in with AA early in low buy in MTT???

Hi all, hope you had a great time over the Christmas and New Year.

Been reading a few posts here and I would be interested to hear your thoughs.

Imagine, you are delt AA very first hand of a MTT ($5 or less buy in) - what do you do???

What about pushing all in, regardles of position?

The reason I say this is that I have done this the last 2 times I have hit this scenario and, suprise suprise, I got callers

One guy had QQ, so I can understand, but the other hand the guy had K10o.

I know technically it is the wrong thing to do, but if u say raise 5 times the BB u get a `schooling` scenario - everyone around the table calling and by the time you get to the last 2 it makes sense for them to call with most hands (Pot odds).

I think for me this is the only hand I would do this with - KK could see you against a rag ace. Having said that, if I was sitting with KK first hand and I was faced with an all in I would probably call.

Thoughts guys?

In low buy-in MTTs the fields are generally rather weak IMO.

As you said it is theoretically wrong to push all in ( you loose too much value).

Since most opponents (at least in the early stages) won't fold to a 4-5 BB raise anyhow you

could go for it, though.

I will naturally call all ins with AA every time but in early position (UTG,+1,+2) I prefer betting

standard (5xBB) - waiting to get reraised.

After being reraised I happily 3bet all in.

You will often encounter more than one opponent with a higher risk of

being sucked out on, but the reward if you take 2-3 opps down measures

that up, IMO.

Stu-Ungar can work on the details and odds - I have to go to work, now.

I usually push all in with AA, but many times we must think first.
If you are chip leadder problably the opponents will fold, but if you have a few chips, porblably someone call. Finnaly if you have middle chips you can raise.

great move, i like it. i would do it with KK and QQ also. i would say 50% of the time somebody is going to call you. if your in a tourny with fast blinds (like the ones on Cake Poker) its nice to get a double up early, and have chips to play with.

AA, get a caller and win whoot whooot, but don't be whinning if someone calls and catches two pair, trips, a s8, or a flush. You got your money in good preflop and lost any control of the hand from there on in. A long term winner if you get one caller. Multicallers and you are not going to like the results more than half the time. I'd say you'll get called 1/3 of the time at that buy-in. IMO

Hello I usually push hard with a large pair usually ,half of my stack sometimes Im reraised by another. its hard sometimes on waht to do usually some donk calls with any two cards and out draws you. smiling
I love when the better starting hand wins. I play different depending on the players at the table, But if it the first hand hard to know..... good luck

Tina

I have actually noticed more and more players making these kind of moves lately in these lower sitn´gos but also in tournaments.

Generally I dont like this way of playing bullets, but then again it´s obviously working as there is often someone with an ok hand that wants to call the "allin-donk" (whos holding the preflop-nuts)

I have played in almost every pokerroom on the net but I must say that I have not seen this at the site I play the most which is pokerstars. I have mostly seen this at the ongame network

I've gotten to where I will do this with either AA or KK in the first round or so, b/c many times there will already be someone tripping over themselves to shove before your turn to act, anyway! If I'm really ep I will usually put out a small raise first, hoping there might be a caller or two before the two or three inevitable shovers, then go all-in behind them. I did this last night with KK and ended up knocking out five players on the second hand of the tourney, b/c the two callers after me figured they'd shove, too, with that huge pot out there.

$5 and below it might not be a bad idea. But like someone said earlier, you lose all control of the hand after you do this. This can lead to some really bad suckouts. If you can handle that, then I'd say go for it as you are going to win a good percentage of the time.

I think I would push it at ANY level of buy-in. howzaboutthat.

If I'm in early position I will limp and almost always some1 will raise something allowing me to re-raise.If I'm in middle to late position I will simply go all-in as it might look funny to some people.Most callers will be suited connectors or something like that.

I ean the last 2 times this scenaro has happened, not saying it happened the last 2 hands.

Shoving with AA in low limits will get callers because of the "any two cards can win" mentality. It seems you are going to get players at low limits who will call at the beginning of a tourney because they have seen a lot of hands where cards you would never play win. Look at the BBV section and see some of those hands.

The thing is you have the best hand PF. So getting your chips allin PF is still +EV because of that. Take your scenario. You got 2 callers. One legit, one a total donk. But the donk is the one that overall will move you forward in any tourney. You want to take advantage of that in the beginning of any tourney.

So going allin PF, with the AA , is the right play.

i see this happen time and time again... ppl pushing all in in the low stakes w/ much worse off than AA... i think they just want a jump on all the rest... normally i would come in w/ a raise only to be reraised to all in... thats normally what i see happen when i have the bullets to start...

I actually think that if you want to play against one or two decent other hands or one crappy hand your best move is not to move all in.

For some reason people at low tournaments have this "All In" mentality... It's like they are playing a bounty tournament, they see an all in and they feel they have to call. If however they see a large preflop bet, say half your stack, they seem to be more intimidated, its a psychological thing. I know it affects me, I always have to fight this strange compulsion not to call all ins with any semi decent hand. I have no trouble folding to a 500 bet.

I also feel like the fish who's pushing with anything is still going to push, as are the qq, kk, ak that you expect to be facing. K10, and A9 off will probably fold.

I wouldn't, why? Bust out early in a tournament? there is still tons and tons of Poker to be played I don't see any big reason to rush.

It has been my experience at the lower levels, going all-in is like putting a steak in a pack of wolves. People will call you with anything hoping to get lucky. I think most of my A-A have been cracked. I had them cracked enough times to figure out this isn't the way to go. I usually make a stiff raise, I found that to be much more effective.

So, Vald & Lizzy. To clarify.

1) Vald -u r missing the point. I am saying that to thin the field so that u r heads up with AA, therefore at worst about 80% fav preflop, u push all in hoping some "any two cards can win" person calls. You raise 3 times bb and the whole field is in with u, so u r now down to about 30% to win.

2)Lizzy, your comments are why it is good to be an aggressive player early. Your aim is to win the MTT. So, if first hand I have AA I am happy to go out with it if someone 73o calls me - I made the correct decision.

BTW, it is a mathematical imposibility that `most of the time` your aces are cracked.

Thats poker. Alot of low stakes poker with this senario attracks people with any sort of hand as thechance to double up is too great... The fact you have AA KK doesn't seem to bother them as they have played so many play money games this seems the norm. Double up early then win the game.

Plus with the low stakes some think that if it goes wrong i can play another in a min or two for a few pence.

I lvoe getting AA in the early blinds in MTT's..This is were u can get the most money from the loose freeroll winners..There playing any kind of hand so i raise a little more then usual. 5X the BB and hope for 1 call 2 at the most.

PP aces are good anytime i think!

especially in a low buy in MTT, I'd push. AA is just one of those hands that is hard to let go, and there are more donks in a low buy-in MTT with maybe a lower pair that will call. also, if you slow pay, you may not have the discipline to fold it on a big raise, you'll most likely convince yourself the person only has top pair and you got him trapped, then you lose against a two pair. early game, my aim is simply not to lose with AA, meaning I'll just take the blinds with the chance someone will double me up calling me with a lower pair. late game, my aim is to win with them. blinds are high, people are playing looser, slow playing has better chances at this stage.

This actually works quite a bit in the $1 buy in. It surprising how many times you get a call. I do it especially when the entire table has limped in.

I made the mistake of calling someone down who shoved the first hand with AA....he was a notorious loose cannon player who shoved UTG and after tanking I decided he would do this with ATC so I called with AK. Ouch.

Depens on your opinion of the table. If u know a few risky players push all in , if u think its dangerous just creeping the blinds , do a fair raise some call and commit them to the hand

LMAO you got the one-two teddy!!!

It by teddy you mean the one-two "suuweeeeet" teddy then sir, you are correct.....nice smoking man btw

in a 5 dollar buyin first hand i am shoving aa against aggression all day

You'll definitely fish out the other big pairs with this approach and will start way ahead. It would be really had to lay down Kings to some fool going all in on the first hand, so it probably will work for you more often than not.

Thinking about it, what hands are gonna call??

I think, early in this kind of MTT,

Any pair 88+, A10+. This is not to mention te "any 2 cards can win" brigade who will see a pot with 3 allins as a big way of winning the MTT.

You have to remember alot of bad players try to double up very early on. If they do win it, it was worth while for them otherwise they go and start another one.

This happens alot in cheap sng's

I had QQ and raised 5 times the blind i had two raisers after me so i folded. The eventual winner held JT with two pair!! All in is a lotto and thats how some like to play.

Agree with this, but I have learned through this site that the outcome is irrelevant. U get all your chips in good and u have done your job.

This is why, to an extent, I am suggesting pusing early in a MTT with AA is a + move.

It's not the perfect play-the AA or KK will get cracked on occasion when you shove early like that- but really what better place is there to shove those hands in when you know you are probably going to get multiple callers with FAR inferior hands than you have?

I dont like mini bettin these.Im not tryin to get knocked out of the tourney this early by some fish with 810suited and hitting two plair on the flop.I would rather shove and hope one of them donks shove with A rag or AK somthing but that can bite you too.Depending on your bankroll i would shove but i dont really want 4 or 5 people calling either.That can be scary when u got two or three people with pockect mid pairs and others with draws,thats probably the worst case scenerio for me.Those few seconds watching them cards come though is what this game is all about.Gotta love that feeling when it goes you way.......

In the early stages of low buy ins I would call with pocket A's. It is almost inevitable that somebody will raise on the way round along with a few callers. In low buy ins people seem to play any cards in the early stages. When it comes back to you you have maximised the chips and most of them will now fold except 1 or 2 of course who cannot help themselves. This has worked for me more often than it hasn't which is what you would expect of course.

It's pretty common, actually. Pocket aces on the first hand is a popular early all in move by intelligent players. It looks like donkmania and will get callers, especially on the first hand, for no reason at all.

However, I would advise against it. While if you get a caller you can double up from the beginning of the tournament, you can also be knocked out and sit there wishing you hadn't just lost your buy in.

In almost all low buy in tournaments, I tend to sit out for the beginning regardless of hands. I think the less you go all in, the better you are as a player, and the less angry you get at the world. Bad beats are more remembered when they knock you out than when you lose 1/4 of your stack.

In the end, do what you think is right. I think it would be more valuable to just treat it well. Since it's the first hand, raise more than usual, maybe 7x the BB or something a little bizarre because people enjoy seeing the first hand. Make them pay for it and walk away with a large stack. This way, in the 20-30 percent of the time where they beat you, you won't be done and can fight your way back.

Last thought on the matter, there isn't a tremendous benefit to doubling up that early in the tournament. We all know it takes continuous good performance throughout the MTT to make it to the final table and take down the win. Patience is more valuable than a large starting stack.

"Pocket aces on the first hand is a popular early all in move by intelligent players. It looks like donkmania and will get callers, especially on the first hand, for no reason at all."

That comment sums it up weirdshot. I think it's a good move. If you're ever likely to get someone calling a straight shove with AA it's first hand, and you'd be surprised the sort of hands that call you, purely cause they just think you're being an idiot.