Trouble hands part 1 of many

[Plavocat]

Hi fellow players,
Need some reccomendations on a few trouble hands in 9 player $10 sngs.

#1) AK suited and o/s. Seems I am losing tons of chips with AK in short handed sit and go play. I have lost tons of chips re-raising, but am also down when I make a standard raise. I think I may overvalue this hand with all my re-raising, and at that point with the high blinds I don't mind pushing. Running into about 70% racing, 20% lower aces or 2 unders and 10% AA, KK or AK.

#2) JJ. I am down a ton with Jacks in shorthanded play. Mostly Raising first in with either a standard raise or all in If I have less than 10 BB. Most of the time I raise get called by someone with position. Overcard comes and I either check or make a continuation bet. Is pushing all in with over 10 BB a decent play? Calling just seems like I am setting myself up for difficult flop decisions.

Thanks for your time,
Paul

 

[Bentheman87]

Haha, those aren't trouble hands those are premium hands that you should play very aggressively preflop. Here's a few tips I hope I can help. With AK, it's such a strong hand because only 3 other hands in hold'em dominate it, AA KK or QQ. Against every other hand you're way a head, or just a small underdog in a coinflip. Some players undervalue AK and some overvalue it, but most overvalue it. If someone raises from early or middle position and you have AK, and it's early in the tournament and the blinds are small, then just call. If someone raises from late position then go ahead and put in a big reraise, like 3-5x what the first raiser bet. And if the blinds are high don't be afraid to push all in preflop with AK. Some players really do overvalue AK though, they play it like AA or KK and they are willing to go all in preflop with it early in a tournament, which I think is a bad idea. JJ is another premium hand, only 3 hands dominate it, the three higher pairs. So I like to think of JJ as equal in strength as AK. When you raise with JJ and get one or two callers, and one overcard flops, then go ahead and bet like 1/2 to 3/4 the pot. You probably have the best hand, especially if you're only against 1 caller. And this isn't a continuation bet, a continuation bet is a bluff when you miss your hand. You're making a value bet not a bluff, so bet with confidence. For example, if you have JJ and raise and get one caller, and the flop comes Q 7 2, you shouldn't be thinking "*sigh* I can never get a good flop, I'll check and maybe call", you should be thinking "ok I can beat a TON of hands he might hold, and that is actually a good flop, I'll make a value bet here". Of course if the flop comes A K 9 or K Q 7 that is not a good flop and you should usually check fold.

 

[Plavocat]

Thanks for the reply.... Solid advice on the Jacks. I think that is a big problem of mine when the overcard hits.. Im going to give it a shot with some 1/2 and 2/3 pot bet's. At least I can narrow down the opponents hand based on their reaction, rather than react to their bet.