early in a tournament someone pushes all in and i have called.
...Why? Why would you risk your tournament life so early on? At these stages, its all about survival. You're risking your tournament on a chance at a double, but even then that wouldnt guarantee you'll place ITM.
i raise than am reraised ill push all in
...Im assuming this is still early in an MTT. Raise with this hand. Its a big hand, its a strong hand, so you should get money in the pot with a raise. However, facing a push, I suggest you lean towards folding. Remember: survival. The pots are just too small to risk it all for a mere double up. Which, at these levels, guarantee nothing.
In early stages of an MTT, I might fold this hand in EP just to conserve my stack. The pot is to small to go after with an EP raise and so many players behind you. If the pot is 30 after the SB and BB, a standard raise is about 4x the BB. So, 20 x 4 = 80. You risk 80 to win 30 chips. I definitely pop it up in LP if its limped/folded to me.
short stack pushes all in i am calling.
Just about any time I'm given AK I am ready to push it all the way.
When is the optimal time for playing this hand?
...Situations where you might push with this hand:
-The pot is big and you're nearing a short-stack in the mid to later stages of an MTT. You might be able to win the pot and increase your stack.
-Shove to isolate against an all in SS and pick up the dead money.
-If you're getting 2:1 odds against someone who you think is holding a pair under KK or a weaker Ace.
There are plenty, plenty more. Like I said: its all situational. A lot of things to take into consideration with AK. For me, I dont like putting my life on AK unless I absolutely have to.