Options with AK

[The Shrog]

This is the very first hand of a $5.50 SNG. Dealt AKo in the SB, I know there are options here. I don't know if I'm supposed to reraise and then fire the flop no matter what? I just hate doing that at such an early stage...I feel like I'd rather flat the raise and play post flop.

pokerstars Game #21265726826: Tournament #114721615, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2008/10/17 10:24:16 ET
Table '114721615 1' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: Jari-Jari 7 (1500 in chips)
Seat 2: The Shrog (1500 in chips)
Seat 3: Monners22 (1500 in chips)
Seat 4: fonzy68 (1500 in chips)
Seat 5: corvus.c (1500 in chips)
Seat 6: JOchen343 (1500 in chips)
Seat 7: PandaWitch (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: Pavlo565 (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: karpiczek (1500 in chips)
The Shrog: posts small blind 10
Monners22: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to The Shrog [As Kh]
fonzy68: calls 20
corvus.c: folds
JOchen343: raises 60 to 80
PandaWitch: folds
Pavlo565: folds
karpiczek: folds
Jari-Jari 7: folds
The Shrog...

 

[Steveg1976]

I used to reraise this and shove an A or K, it can work and it can back fire. In Sit & go strategy by Moshman(?) he advocates playing AK small in the early stages to reduce variance. I have started leaning towards that way of thinking. there are a lot things that can wrong for you if you start building big pots with AKo in the first round. Either way is a legitimate way of playing and it just depends on what you are comfortable doing.

 

[dougle14]

I am by no means a professional but in my experience with AK early in a SNG, its good to call and see a flop with out of position. If you have better position I could understand a re-raise, but in your case a call is good. If you miss the flop, atleast you didn't have more than $80 invested if you re-raise in that situation.

 

[t1riel]

Since you have no reads on anyobdy, normally reraise is the best option. Since it's a proabibily it's only going to be you and JOchen, I think a call is better. You are trying to get some reads/table images when a tournament begins.

 

[The Shrog]

I just hate reraising and then missing the flop 2/3 of the time. We're not deepstacked, so what do we do when it's a complete brick...check and give it away? c-bet and now have like 60% of our starting stack from a bluff?

 

[joemac696969]

I dont like Big slick it always seems to get me in trouble, if you dont hit the flop muck it because any pair has you.

 

[The Shrog]

... x2.

Not to take away from my original thread, but.....wat?

 

[CfPoker]

... x3

I'd flat this. We're out of position so want to keep the pot small. We're also disguising the strength of our hand, which can be very useful deepstacked.

 

[The Shrog]

I'd flat this. We're out of position so want to keep the pot small. We're also disguising the strength of our hand, which can be very useful deepstacked.

I'm leaning toward agreeing with your first part...just wanted to make sure this wasn't too nitty. Secondly, do you consider 75 BB's deepstacked?

 

[nevadanick]

Call and see cards. Early, no reads, plenty of time for bolder moves.

 

[i desire love]

I find AK the second best hand..
first is AA
then AK
then KK
in my opinion...
anyone agrees?

...
.....
.......
nways, in this spot probably depends how u wanna play. I hate getting all in preflop so id probably just call here and bet the flop no matter what comes out.

 

[mrjohnson911]

i couldnt agree more with your statement about the perspectives of reraising and then firing no matter what and being in danger og being left with 60 % of your stack after one hand...

for me this is a instinct choice.... sometimes i will raise it and other times just call... from my personal experience you get a lot of folds to reraises early in sit n gos cause people dont wanna throw away their chips on marginal hands like KQ, AT... most people i believe would also give up small pocket pairs...

 

[califantasy]

You are out of position. Better to find out where you stand preflop, than be caught checking and calling the rest of the way. Put in a smallish reraise, and see if he bites back.

 

[CfPoker]

I'm leaning toward agreeing with your first part...just wanted to make sure this wasn't too nitty. Secondly, do you consider 75 BB's deepstacked?

As far as a STT is concerned, yes.

 

[Mortis]

First hand of the tournament, and everyone else folded... I would just call this and see what comes out on the flop.

 

[pitter22]

I find AK the second best hand..
first is AA
then AK
then KK
in my opinion...
anyone agrees?

......... x4

anyways.. just call PF here... later on we can re-raise but no point wasting chips if we miss here out of position.

interesting post.. nice to hear everyone kind of agrees with me.

 

[S93]

I am by no means a professional but in my experience with AK early in a SNG, its good to call and see a flop with out of position. If you have better position I could understand a re-raise, but in your case a call is good. If you miss the flop, atleast you didn't have more than $80 invested if you re-raise in that situation.

Maby im the only one but my thinking is exactly the other way around.
I rather re-raise OOP to try to take the pot down prf.
in postion i be much more likly to just smooth call since its alot easyer to play the hand post flop.

As for this hand both raising and calling are valid plays imo but im gonna conterdict my above statment and just smooth call since its the first hand.
1-2 orbits in im raising this almost every time thou.

 

[CfPoker]

Maby im the only one but my thinking is exactly the other way around.
I rather re-raise OOP to try to take the pot down prf.
in postion i be much more likly to just smooth call since its alot easyer to play the hand post flop.

But given that it's the first level a reraise may very well get called, meaning you're now playing an even bigger pot out of position, whereas if you flat it then you're playing a smaller pot out of position.

 

[witl69]

i ix up mu ply with it but that early and noone expecting muh from the small blind id probably limp and see a flop n hope to get lucky

 

[chrismonk123]

in my eyes shoulda been a call! hes obv got a hand aswell but as your out of position seeing the flop could be a good idear and make ur decision from thre!

 

[josh_dei8]

Such a strong hand, but yet such a hand that can cause me to lose chips. I always hate getting a strong hand the first hand of a sng cause I have no read on the rest of the table. I believe I just flat call here, and see what the flop brings. I am going to be out of position the rest of this hand, so I dont think I want to come over the top with a reraise.

 

[bobphilallo]

I think you should go all-in and press your luck. Or if you dont feel like it just raise it to 300-400 chips and keep playing big if you wanna win the pot.

 

[jyow]

just call, see a flop and if you hit, jam it. if you don't and he c-bets, let it go. no point gambling your 5.50 away in the first hand. you dont win tournaments by winning all you opponents chips heads up in the first hand. better to wait and get a read on a table

 

[FatBasset]

I don't like AK out of position enough to invest a re-raise with no read on the original raiser. My question regarding the re-raise is what are you going to do if the original comes over the top? Most of the time you are in a coin flip or dominated. I think it would be rare for someone to push a re-raise with a worse ace.

Another thing I would take into consideration is the UTG limper. Most of the time he's going to fold, but it is not uncommon for UTG limpers to have big cards waiting to be raised.

Long story short I'm only calling and hoping to see the flop.