$Freeroll NLHE MTT Turbo: Is this AKo shove correct?

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to posting hand histories to boards and I couldn't figure out how to get anything to show up in my post so I'll put a link for those who want pretty formatting and text for those who want to scroll down.

The hand in question is http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/view.php/id/7547541

Text version of the hand history...

WPN, 1,500/3,000 blinds, 300 ante No Limit Hold'em Tournament, 8 Players

MP1: 26,483 (8.8 bb)
MP2: 28,525 (9.5 bb)
MP3: 38,473 (12.8 bb)
CO: 27,161 (9.1 bb)
BTN: 74,104 (24.7 bb)
SB: 50,849 (16.9 bb)
Hero (BB): 46,985 (15.7 bb)
UTG+2: 67,082 (22.4 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Ks Ac
5 folds, BTN calls 3,000, SB folds, Hero raises to 46,685 and is all-in, BTN calls 43,685

Flop: (97,270) 9s 9c Jc (2 players, 1 is all-in)
Turn: (97,270) Ts (2 players, 1 is all-in)
River: (97,270) 4c (2 players, 1 is all-in)


So my main problem is that people in low buy in tournaments limp with almost anything especially if they have a significant chip advantage. With nearly a quarter of my stack in dead money already in the pot I would rather just shove and take a coin flip even though I can afford to check and see the flop.

If I check on the flop and he bets I could call trying to spike an A or a K, but the probability of that happening is only %12.77 and I would have to call 3,000 to win 15,900 on the turn which isn't even close to profitable. It is possible even if I put my whole stack in he would still call me down with the pair.

Is my shoving logic sound here or am I making a mistake by shoving instead of calling? Would this shove be a losing play in a higher buy-in tournament?

Foldemz said:

You didn't have anywhere close to a quarter of your stack in the pot.

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The total pot (blinds + antes + BTN call) is equl to ~21% of Hero's total stack.

OP, I like shoving here. With almost 10K in the pot already, taking it down preflop isn't a bad option. Heads-up, you're never too far behind with AK and should be looking to get your money in preflop when you're a short stack. Yes, I consider 15 BBs as being a short stack.

With AK:
-You're only way behind AA.
-Vs KK, you still have ~30% equity
-You do block some AA/KK combinations and there only 3 ways to make AA/KK
-You dominate all other AX/KX combinations
-You flip against pairs 22-QQ
-You're a slight favorite against non-paired hands like QJo or 67s

So, it's good to get your money in with AK here. Even if your opponent folds, increasing your stack by 21% is significant. Also, there is a chance that your opponent will call you with weaker AX/KX hands like AQ/KQs, which you dominate. And you you shouldn't be afraid to take flips or 60/40 situations when you're a short stack as your goal is to increase your stack size and this is a great opportunity to do so.

Finally, jamming a short stack with AK allows you to earn max value when called and your hand holds. Lets say you just call and the flop is A-J-3. How much value do you think you can get from 66 if you bet the flop or a blank turn?

philthy said:

The total pot (blinds + antes + BTN call) is equl to ~21% of Hero's total stack.

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Oh, I see. derr
I thought he meant he committed 25% of his stack already with his BB.

Thanks for the feedback!

I never thought about holding AK being a blocker to AA and KK that's a good point. I'm also glad that risking my stack for the dead money seams at least a reasonable rationale for this hand.

Foldemz said:

Oh, I see. derr
I thought he meant he committed 25% of his stack already with his BB.

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All of the popular hand converters don't work for ACR hand formats (at least the ones that I tried) sorry for the confusion. The one that finally worked for me left out the pot size before my raise, which might have made that sentence more clear.

I never considered raising 2x, followed by cbet then fold/shove. That would mean raising to 6,000 making the total pot preflop 14,400 followed by a cbet of like 7,000 leaving me with ~33,500? That seems very reasonable. I would still have over 10bb left to play with.

I am still very bad at postflop play in tournaments.

One of the things I forgot to mention was that I was 10/23 in this tournament at the time (with top 10 paying). I don't know if that makes the shove worse because of preservation reasons, but I think the hand is strong enough to justify it with nobody left behind to act.

The problem with just min raising and then cbet/folding is you're putting in over a 3rd of your stack in and giving it up. Doesn't make sense to risk 6 BBs, then fold with 10 BBs behind.

Just because you're 10/23 doesn't mean you'll be there after 13 other players get knocked out. Stacks fluctuate a lot as do positions as blinds increase/stacks get shallower and as players get knocked out/chips exchange.

Jamming was the best play.

Yes you want to jam all in here, you dont want to call or raise small here and then miss the flop and fold. Shoving all in with AK here is great, AA might not want to shove all in here( i would shove AA) because you can try and trap a weaker hand.

In this spot i would jam all in with a wide range here 22+ 10 9s+ j10 off+. When you have around 25bb you want to start looking for all in spots. If your Utg its ok to open jam AK and maybe 99+ but you can also min raise. the reason why jamming all in is ok is because it will be profitable and it can be hard to play AK if you miss and then c bet and then fold you will lose a good chunk of your stack and same with 99 its hard to play out of position, but you can also min raise or 3x it just depends how you feel playing out of position and how the table is reacting.. if its a passive table i would open jam if its an aggresive table you can raise and hope to be re-raised. in late position i would be more likely to 2x or 3x instead of open jamming.

when your near 15bb its even more important to just jam. because if you raise fold it hurts your stack even more. 20bb AK is nuts.

the more lower you get from 20bb the more you should start to shove. if someone raises and you have 20bb, that is the standard reshoving stack size. and 0-15bb is the standard open shoving range but you still can open shove with 20-25bb( just near the top of your range) but you might have better options then shoving at this stack size but its still ok and maybe the best play given your hand and table.


This shove would not be losing play in a higher buy in, this shove is standard all the pros would shove here.

I think you played right, that shove AKo all-in pre-flop, but vs chip leader, i think that at flop you could outplay him, for example, 3bet post-flop, i dont think he want to continue to play.

To be honest in the late game I'm always weary of the BB special, it may just be a personal thing, I really wouldn't shove pre-flop unless I had High PP if I had enough BBs to see two rounds. It's only because I know I can get my money back, pushing with position and increasing my stack.

Philthy nailed it.

Easy shove here off 15bbs and am definitely shoving much wider than AKo.

Yeah I would shove also even with A10s+.

is verry interesting this shove , why ?? why with K A ?? K A is not a verry good for all in preflop !!

andreii955 said:

is verry interesting this shove , why ?? why with K A ?? K A is not a verry good for all in preflop !!

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In this situation, you could not be more wrong.

Tell me, if AK isn't in your range, what hands are you shoving with ~16 BBs here?

anyway easy shoove 15 BB OOP 100 % flip vs BTN i think if he limps pre

its an easy shove, dont be influenced by the results!