A10s Under the Gun

[Marklar]

I bought in for Full Tilts $35K Guarantee tournament and first place prize was around $10,600. Buy-in $163 after fee.

I thought FT saved hand histories on hard drive but i cant find them. So I'll have to go from memory.

I have around 3500 in chips and am dealt ace 10 of spades and im under the gun, I decide to just call and everyone limps down to the big blind who raises it to 750 (blinds are 100/200).

I give it some thought and decide to fold then the guy to my left goes all in which would have put me all in or real close to it then the guy who raised to 750 calls. Both are all in and both had pretty decent chip stacks

Guy who went all in has pocket threes and the guy who called has pocket
fours. I dont remember the whole board but the flop was ATA, I would have flopped a full house.

Now obviously I cant risk my chip stack on Ace 10, not even Ace King for that matter. But should I have raised preflop even under the gun? I felt if I did that then we wouldn't of had those two jokers flipping a $10,600 coin.

For their sake I hope those two got in through a $10 satellite or something.

I eventually lose anyway ending up 125th of the original 275 players. I had Ace Jack and opponent had Ace Queen.

 

[ChuckTs]

First off, forget what the flop brought. That'll only give you results-oriented thoughts of "maybe I should have raised".

I dump AT utg 90% of the time; unless my table is super-passive, I just dump it. Once in a while I'll try to limp and see a flop, but I like being aggressive and having good fold equity, and limping from EP doesn't really do that for me. In your position (decent stack, EP) I dump it. Simple as that.

 

[Jack Daniels]

I give it some thought and decide to fold...

Correct.

then the guy who raised to 750 calls. Both are all in and both had pretty decent chip stacks

And this is why you do that ^^^^^. You were in a squeeze play and followed accoringly.

I would have flopped a full house.

Super results oriented.

Now obviously I cant risk my chip stack on Ace 10

Correct.

not even Ace King for that matter.

Maybe, maybe not. Very situational. In this case probably not.

But should I have raised preflop even under the gun?

Definitely not.

Sorry for all of he segmentation, I just felt like it, really. No better reason than that. I could have just answered as follows...

...dump AT utg 90% of the time...In your position (decent stack, EP) I dump it. Simple as that.

^^^This^^^

But what fun would that have been. Besides, God loves the multi-quote.

 

[Stefanicov]

A 10 utg is weak as you hardly ever get to the flop with raises and reraises from the table save the blind and dump it

 

[Marklar]

yeah your results oriented comment made me realize why I questioned my play. I guess I was too much in shock that the players raised and were all in with fours and threes

Sorry for all of he segmentation, I just felt like it, really. No better reason than that.

No problem, I like segmentation comments.

A 10 utg is weak as you hardly ever get to the flop with raises and reraises from the table save the blind and dump it

True. But that was my "preflop gamble" I suppose. I was hoping that no one would raise, sometimes it goes around unraised (rare though, almost as rare as flopping a full house? ) and it was looking good until it got to the big blind.

 

[Egon Towst]

I`d have binned it like Chuck says.

Having said that, I don`t think it`s a terrible play to limp in and try to see a cheap flop. ATs is the kind of hand that will win big if it hits, and you have just about enough of a stack left to afford a little fishing trip.

The only time I would raise EP with this is if you`ve got less than 10 BBs left and it`s time for a make-or-break move. Then you go in big (maybe allin), ideally hoping to get only one caller and double up (or go out in a blaze of glory ).

 

[bubbasbestbabe]

How long were you playing at that table? Did you have any reads on those players? And I find that usually during mid level of tourney you will see a lot of big raises with nothing but what those two players had. A lot of them play like it's the last hand for them.
Personally,for that little of a raise, I would have called to see the flop. Unless you have some real sharks at your table they were giving away what they had.

 

[beardyian]

A-10 utg is usually a mucked hand unless your trying to steal the pot but even saying that, it would have to be on a passive table.

Risky raising that early, who knows what else is out there?

 

[Bombjack]

You should have called because you would have made a full house, which would have meant their small pocket pairs would be drawing dead. Don't raise pre-flop because you might force people out of the pot. If you're going to make a full house on the flop you want as many people in as possible.

 

[Hattori Hanzo]

When I first started playing poker, many moons ago....the game we played was PL 5 card stud/split deck......so therefore the deck was 7 to Ace.....however the ace would count as a 6 in a str8 ie. A78910.....so one of the best starting hands you could have was A10 as it straightened both ways......however....

It took me a fair few months and advice before I realised that A10 in NLH was a bane of a hand....and now I just consider it 1 away from Ace rag.....so good pass IMO......and what the flop brought was irrelevant, you made the right play at the right time.....

 

[Bombjack]

Funny fact: this hand is the same as Sam Farha's first hand in the 2005 wsop. He had AT against some other guy's TT. He raised an called a re-raise. Flop was AAT, same as here. What you do with your AT depends on your style... but we're not all Sam Farhas I suppose.

Edit: video here

 

[Egon Towst]

You should have called because you would have made a full house, which would have meant their small pocket pairs would be drawing dead. Don't raise pre-flop because you might force people out of the pot. If you're going to make a full house on the flop you want as many people in as possible.

Good thinking, BJ. And do you recommend the crystal ball or the tea leaves as the best player aid ?

 

[Bombjack]

I prefer the close inspection of lamb entrails.

 

[Marklar]

How long were you playing at that table? Did you have any reads on those players? And I find that usually during mid level of tourney you will see a lot of big raises with nothing but what those two players had. A lot of them play like it's the last hand for them.
Personally,for that little of a raise, I would have called to see the flop. Unless you have some real sharks at your table they were giving away what they had.

This was actually one of my first hands at this table. I had pocket aces on a table before. In the best spot to have aces before the flop, on the big blind. So a guy who's getting short stacked goes all in with tens and I of course had to call. (actually reraised all in because of a raise from the guy on the left of him) I won that pot then got moved to this new table and not too long after being seated here I look down at Ace 10 of spades. If it were unsuited I would likley have folded it right there but I wanted to see a flop with a suited ace. I saw it and in my mind I was thinking "I like this hand but I hate my position" and finally decided to limp hoping not to get raised. His raise was 750 which would have put me down to less than 3000 chips if I were to call and lose the hand. So I had to fold. When the guy on my left shoved all in I immediately put him on a pocket pair, something like Jacks or something but never would have thought threes.