AQ 5 handed 9 player SnG

[NineLions]

Can't get the converters to work for some reason.

Table has been pretty tight, Villian is ~21/12/2. For some reason lately I've been getting almost no hands to play early on so when the blinds get up I start pushing to stay alive. Villian recently sucked out raising, calling a push, and beating AJs with KJ hitting a straight.



full tilt poker Game #3570449849: $2 + $0.25 Sit & Go (27259996), Table 1 - 80/160 - No Limit Hold'em - 13:02:54 ET - 2007/09/15
Seat 2: disneychic10 (4,144)
Seat 3: Leonard85 (5,022)
Seat 6: dolphinswim (1,108)
Seat 8: SFTMJ (1,562)
Seat 9: NineLions (1,664)
NineLions posts the small blind of 80
disneychic10 posts the big blind of 160
The button is in seat #8
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to NineLions [Qs Ah]
Leonard85 raises to 320
dolphinswim folds
SFTMJ folds
NineLions ??



Pretty standard?

 

[joeeagles]

Absolutely NL, I'm shoving this every time. If he has AK, well, good for him, but this being close to the bubble, 5-handed table, and him being the big stack all make his range very wide. I would say K9+, A7+ and if he's aggressive it could even be lower than that. A very good chance you're ahead or even dominating him if he calls.

The fact he called a shove before is almost irrelevant because in virtue of that pot his stack is now the biggest on the table, so unless he has a really good hand, and I mean one better than AQ, he should fold this, because with a big stack his strategy should change.

When I shove in situations like this, even with AQ I'm hoping for a fold, because my biggest fear is being up against a small pair or 2 live cards and end up losing. I'm usually happy to take the 580 in the pot, its still a good result. But regardless of the fear of him calling and you losing a race or getting sucked out, you just have to shove here.

 

[thebigeasy59]

While AQ 5 handed is very strong, the min raise scares me. Not knowing what type of player this guy is, I would say that I usually move in here aswell, but depending on prior hands that he has played I lean towards folding too. It is very likely that you are in a race, but AA, KK, QQ and AK are not out of the question. Secondly, IMO you cannot flat call here with less than 10 BB out of position, it is either push or fold. With 2 stacks smaller than yours, and the blinds getting high, you don't want to play a big pot with a marginal hand vs. a big stack. Your goal in this sng (win vs. make the money) should determine your play here. If I want to win it, I move in and hope to race off my chips, If I want to simply cash first, and then try to win once I reach the cash, I probably fold. My personal SNG strategy is to make the final 3, so I think I fold here and look for a better spot to risk my stack or wait until the money. Here's why: If you move in, you (10ish bb) risk everything for a small pot vs. someone who will call mostly anything with 2 high cards but will probably fold a weak ace (unless he doesnt give you credit for a real hand, which is unlikely because you wouldn't push 3rd stack with nothing). Best case scenario, you're up against KQ, AJ, AT, maybe A9 or A8. The more likely scenario is that you're racing/ 60-40-ing your third place stack against a big stack and therefore doubling you up won't hurt him all that much. It's a very disciplined fold, and you may be throwing away the best hand, but I'm scared to death of min raises, and therefore it could be profitable. I feel that in this spot you are going to either win a small one or lose a big one.

 

[Dorkus Malorkus]

Arguments for folding: None

Arguments for calling: None

Arguments for shoving: We have fold equity, the only action before us is a UTG minraise from the bigstack that could mean anything (the fact he's raising UTG into another big stack's BB is a little worrisome, but not worrisome enough to consider anything other than a shove here), we have a good hand.

Yeah, routine shove.

 

[blankoblanco]

i agree with the shove for all aforementioned reasons. i think it gets pretty interesting if you change our hand to AJ or ATs though

 

[Chase_0101]

I disagree with the shove. What do I know though, my old bankroll is gone and my new one has a few hundred pennies in it.

I would smooth call here for a few reasons:
1. It disguises our hand. He will have no idea what we have until our bet after the flop... and we act first (rare case where OOP is beneficial).
2. Smooth calling always raises flags. He may put us on Aces or Kings.
3. Its the perfect set up for a bluff if the flop is low, suited or connected.
4. We can get away from this hand if he shoves post-flop.

A year ago I shove here, so I can't disagree with it completely. But sometimes the "correct" play isn't always the best. If we shove here and he folds, great - but if he calls we can't change our mind.

 

[NineLions]

Thanks all. Just being a little results oriented I think.

I shoved, he called with the same hand that he had last time against the other player; KJ. I flopped a Q, but he rivered a K. In theory, if I had called, I maybe win this hand by pushing on the flop. Bad push calls on his part both times with his KJs, I think, but if it weren't for luck, bad players wouldn't play and the rest of us would have a hard time making money.


Chase, I think the only situation I play this more conservatively is if we were on the bubble; ie. there's only 4 left and one very short stack. Knowing that the villian makes loose calls I'd be willing to call to see the flop. If I miss, I'm folding the hand and hoping the short stack would get knocked out and I can outlast him into the money.