$Freeroll NLHE MTT: Playing AKs around the bubble (freeoll)

[blazer1027]

Hello. For a freeroll that is around the bubble and you have an above average stack how do you play AKs?

So I was in this position and I was in early position and raised 3x the BB and another big stack re-raised a pretty good size from the button and I shoved (I had them covered, but not by much). They ended up having QQ. Should I have been this aggressive? I figured since it's a freeroll the villian makes that play with a fairly wide range.

 

[300HPGOD]

First thing I can say is raising to 3x during the bubble is not necessary. Raising 2-2.5x is much better because if you need to raise fold you lose less chips and the smaller raise sizing does the job of deterring the opponents to get in the hand with you. As far as what to do after that in this situation would be villain dependent but my thinking would be that I dont like my AK too much (yes that is tight but if you know me you get it) because players near the bubble usually tighten up and if they are willing to 3 bet all in they will normally have a pocket pair or AK themselves. Knowing that it is likely they have a pocket pair and I am flipping to the bad (56 vs 44 ish) I would just fold here unless my stack before the hand was less than 25 BB. If my stack was less than 25 BB, I would go with it and hope for the best.

 

[fundiver199]

The most important thing in any tournament hand is stack sizes, and when you dont post an entire hand history we are lacking this crucial information. Assuming that stacks were the usual 30BB or less, which would be typical for a tournament bubble, then 4-bet jamming AK against a single opponent is certainly standard and fine.

However when you get 3-bet after raising from EP, then just calling the 3-bet and seeing a flop can sometimes be a reasonable option. I might do that occationally against a tight 3-better, which is an information, I get from my HUD.

Finally I will say, that in general the bubble tend to not matter very much in a freeroll, unless its a special high value one. In most large field freerolls the min-cash is a very small amount of money, which most people dont care about, so the bubble tend to not change ranges or play all that much.

 

[thehangdude]

There is close to a 50% chance that someone at a 9 player table has a pocket pair. There is a closer to a 15% chance with your blockers that someone has AQ or AK.

Chances are with the 3bet, you are facing a coin flip (pocket pair). Is this the point in the tournament you want to risk your stack? Is another big stack the player you want to go up against?

Sometimes we need to flip a coin to win a freeroll, often more than once per tournament. The objective is to limit these flips when we can. Without knowing stack sizes and how loose the villain is, I can't tell you what you should have done. More than likely, this villain was also aware of the bubble coming up and felt confident in their cards. Normally this is a painful fold.

 

[1player2]

Hello. For a freeroll that is around the bubble and you have an above average stack how do you play AKs?

So I was in this position and I was in early position and raised 3x the BB and another big stack re-raised a pretty good size from the button and I shoved (I had them covered, but not by much). They ended up having QQ. Should I have been this aggressive? I figured since it's a freeroll the villian makes that play with a fairly wide range.

Hello,

I'm shoving all in immediately. People are usually reserved on the bubble and AK is the top of the range. Put it in there and watch your stack grow.

 

[eetenor]

Hello. For a freeroll that is around the bubble and you have an above average stack how do you play AKs?

So I was in this position and I was in early position and raised 3x the BB and another big stack re-raised a pretty good size from the button and I shoved (I had them covered, but not by much). They ended up having QQ. Should I have been this aggressive? I figured since it's a freeroll the villian makes that play with a fairly wide range.

Thank U 4 Posting

This is a great hand to gather data and redefine what our player pool is doing most often in a spot like this.

You estimated a wide range-other members stated they thought narrow range and even recommended folding AKs.

Non of the respondents suggested a wide range here. So that is very indicative of multiple players having had the experience of seeing narrow ranges there,

As we saw in this hand our V had QQ and made a large bet. What should we learn from that sizing near the bubble with this player pool? Of course we cannot weight anything 100% but if we observe our V- if we play them multiple times or if the freeroll in question is the member free roll for CC we can assume a very high frequency of strong hands big betting for protection and pot building vs EP raises on the bubble not steals. As per the member input. We can often use other players experiences to clarify ranges early on at any new stake we play.

We have to adjust our player pool reads based on that. Which means only if we know the V is loose agg with AX in this spot are we sure we are in a dominating position.

The hand itself self matters little as it was a flip hand for less than 50 BB so AKS is seldom a mistake all-in but gathering data and applying it quickly will help your results immediately so that is where your focus should be. Have the correct data to make the correct range adjustments.

The other members mentioned some other data points which you should add to your freeroll player pool note diary as well.

Hope this helps

 

[levidoff]

This is an ordinary flip. The two of you played correctly.