OK guys there's anything better than discussing a hand to help with the pain when you bust out near the bubble.
So I'm playing a live tournament and the last 6 get paid, there's 12 players left and I'm in position 6 handed last to act. Blinds are 3000 and 6000 with button ante 6000. Utg +3 raises to 12000, I have AK so In my head knowing AK is a good starting hand but AK and AQ are the most common hands to bust out with near the bubble. So I don't want to go all in I re raise to 60000, pretty big bet and I think I will recommend evaluate the hand after flop or hopefully take the pot ( 87000). I know I went all in a few hands before with QQ and my opponent folded A10. I feel reasonably comfortable, so my opponent thinks for a bit, very hesitant and I see him about to fold then he calls reluctantly. I figure I'm in a good position here and felt comfortable. Flop comes and it's 589, he is first to act and he checks, I'm thinking his range is weak maybe he has Aj or QK or something lower. Then I think OK if he has A8 hes unlikely to call my all in, I shove all in the pots now (150000) I have 150000 so I'm betting the pot. Of course I want him to fold but to my surprise he calls with 89 he hit two pair and I bust out. I evaluate the hand and I think 89 suited is probably worth a call from 12000 to 60000 but I personally wouldn't have called it or would I. The thing is I did something wrong here and I paid for it painfully. I definitely didn't raise enough pre flop and I think the correct move would have Been 75-80k raise pre flop then if he calls check the flop. If you go all in pre flop with AK you only have ace high and many times you will bust out. I don't think he can call if with that hand to a bigger raise. He was in position with only me to act so his raise to 12k is justified. I hope this thread is helpful for any tournament players.

Losing with Ace-King sucks, but obviously can happen. Some players are really good at concealing their holdings, but it is situations like these where great hand-reading is invaluable. The chance of them flopping two pair here is really low. With 7-8 suited, they only had roughly 2% chance of flopping a two pair (naturally, the chance of flopping two pair is higher if they have a pocket pair as their hole cards).

It is a good habit to get into where you question past hands for improvement, but it is worthy to note that your opponent just got very lucky with the flop. The fact that this was near the bubble adds salt to the wound, but that is just how variance is in poker sometimes.

First of all, we all know that AK is not a made hand, in most cases, even hitting the flop might not be enough. Considering that you were close to bubble time, I personally would've called his raise and reevaluate after the flop. You also didn't say anything about your opponent tendencies. An all in preflop could've been a better move if he was an aggressive frequent raiser. And indeed he wouldn't have called with 89 off. But these are only thoughts I came up with reading your post, I can't count the mistakes I've made myself in similar situations. Playing poker is a life time learning process, I hope we can improve our game at CC by continuing to share hands and ideas. Good luck all.

I think you did the right thing

You played it well...his call with 8,9 suited is very questionable. It was a matter of his poor play, and your bad luck.

Originally Posted by najisami

First of all, we all know that AK is not a made hand, in most cases, even hitting the flop might not be enough. Considering that you were close to bubble time, I personally would've called his raise and reevaluate after the flop. You also didn't say anything about your opponent tendencies. An all in preflop could've been a better move if he was an aggressive frequent raiser. And indeed he wouldn't have called with 89 off. But these are only thoughts I came up with reading your post, I can't count the mistakes I've made myself in similar situations. Playing poker is a life time learning process, I hope we can improve our game at CC by continuing to share hands and ideas. Good luck all.

Yeah I had no info on the guy tbh, If I played this hand today I would have raised a little more pre flop and check teh flop and folded to a raise. I didnt think preoperly about the rangers in this hand.

That happens to all of us man, especially against unknown players. But every hand is an opportunity to learn no matter what the outcome is.

The play was fine, you can't get upset cause you lost essentially a coin flip. Not much you can do.

Maybe, but I think with AK you should risk even on the money