AK in early tournament stage

[vassiriki]

at the early stages of the tournaments, i'd rather play cautiously. ak is much more a stronger hand at the late stages of the tournaments because it's simply an aggression hand. at the late stages of the tournaments you can reraise, go all in in a much more dominant style than most of the any other stage of the tournaments

 

[demibar]

too early to shove ,it was too risky , AK is great hand i would see the flop for 3bet call but i would folded for all-in at that stages that raise could be AA'S KK'S

 

[skaterick]

cant believe one guy said he is folding aces in that spot !

 

[Pokerencyclopedia]

I was playing a microstake tournament 9-handed and found my self holding AKo. In these tournaments players often show up with AQo or other dominated hands when they open shove from early position.

OK so heres the hand that got me confused preflop with AKo

All stacks are roughly equal (1000)
No antes, BB - 20, SB-10

UTG: Raises huge amount to around 11x the BB
UTG+1: Calls
Hero: ?

I felt like at these stakes getting it in with AK often has me ahead as people are shoving with dominated hands but I wasn't sure what to do in this spot. I decided to shove because flatting seemed to invite more players into the pot which I didn't want with so many people behind me, and folding felt too nitty given the ranges of the other players. Shoving felt like the only decent option because of the fold equity of the two other players and the likelihood I am ahead.

The hand went on and both players called and the UTG showed up with KQo, and UTG+1 had two fives. The board came off and KQo took the hand down with a queen on the flop.

What is the correct play in this spot with AKo in the early tournament stages

AKo is a gamblin hand there since the raiser and caller will never fold to a raise or AI. We are 50BB and i could consider a shove depending on:
1. tournament average
2. my position in the tournament (i will fold if slightly over average and shove if among chip leader or under average).
So there is no correct play the bad play will be calling.
#havefunontables

 

[LumeBStackin]

Very informative discussion, definitely seems like a fold is the correct move.

 

[marinaki85]

its an easy call ..when you are at early stage of a tour you have to wait..except you have monster card like AA KKor you have over 90 to 100 percentence to win the pot..

 

[CreAtiveN]

For me it depends on the position.. and my mood

 

[Fr0Man]

AK early

As for me, I do not like going all in early with AK. And if i do feel like I have an advantage over an overly aggressive player I make sure I am singling him out. I would not have shoved with a call already ahead of me because most likely playing against a pair. Any pair, even dueces, has a slight advantage over AK. So if you are up against a pair and anything else that can pair and beat you, thats a losing position to be in. And that is exactly what happened. Yes, you had a decent chance to triple up, but if you believe you can play better poker than the rest of the field why would you risk it in early stages?

 

[BogdanStark]

I repeat, if you want win nice cash prizes in MTT you play, just fold.
Hey, everybody, am I right?
No one PRO player did not say you: yes, it is kind of success put AK pre all in, furthermore call UNKNOWN player at the tournament beginning....
Just be smart.

 

[dejan85]

i always over bet AK,WHEN i HAVE CHANSE...

 

[BogdanStark]

i always over bet AK,WHEN i HAVE CHANSE...

So how did you get when you have a chance ? *_*

 

[Robert Krawczak]

Two months ago i have similar situation as yours, i had AK in first hand of tournament my opponent have pair 10... Ye it was big mistake to all-in pre flop, but that day i had problems whoole day. I think it's good hand in late game or FT or even if u read your opponent but at beggin, it's also good hand but not to all in before flop

 

[BulldogHOF]

If i have an average to above average stack, i do NOT want to risk my bankroll with AK.

 

[BulldogHOF]

If i have a below average stack, i would probably risk my tournament life with AK - if the situation warranted it.

 

[ph_il]

If i have an average to above average stack, i do NOT want to risk my bankroll with AK.

Why is your bankroll at risk in a single MTT?

 

[toots babos]

Why is your bankroll at risk in a single MTT?

Probably because most people are lucky to even have 1 buy in.......

 

[MEJ]

1. It's microstakes, so it's almost a free roll
2. The range for these shoves is so wide you could easily be ahead with your A high
3. It's early and you can rebuy
4. AK is the best drawing hand in poker

Given all that, a shove isn't a bad play. So you lost...put in another 50 cents and see if you take it down next time.

 

[MEJ]

If i have an average to above average stack, i do NOT want to risk my bankroll with AK.

It's micro-stakes.

 

[ph_il]

Probably because most people are lucky to even have 1 buy in.......

It's micro-stakes.

Players could deposit so they have a larger BR to play the micro stakes without having their entire BR at risk. If they can't deposit, there are freerolls. If they cash in a freeroll and then play a game for their entire BR and lose, they can play more freerolls. Or the can just play freerolls until they have a decent starting BR and go from there.

With the exception of a friend sending them money or the site giving them free money, there had to be a way for that player to get their current BR. It's very likely they can repeat what they did before to get to that position.

With that said, we don't know what stakes BulldogHOF is playing or how they got their BR . For all we know, he might be depositing $50 and playing $50 MTTs, putting their BR at risks.

 

[BulldogHOF]

Thanks for your comments on my posts everyone; i am just saying that - regardless of the buy in - if i am early in a tournament and i have above average tournament stack size (ie: i have 4500 tournament chips in front of me, and the average stack is 3200 chips) i would not feel comfortable going all in preflop with AK against a larger stack.

Of course there are exceptions... for example if my opponent is loose / going all in every other hand, etc.

Now... if i am short stacked early in a tournament (ie: i have 900 tournament chips in front of me, and the average stack size is 3200 chips) then i am most likely pushing all in without hesitation. Again, there are exceptions.

 

[wc2hell]

rarely someone will pay an all in with something smaller.

 

[fortopyan]

postflop- check-raise and overbet

 

[ribaric]

I think in early stage ak must be folded especially if there are 3 players or more in the pot

 

[Poker Orifice]

For me easy fold.It's early phase, be patient and wait for other good hands and better position.

I find that difficult to believe coming from a guy who plays for 3hrs., gets to the bubble.. then in a BvB situation when the ONLY time I play back at you (& with the goods) you snap it off with J7o LOL
What was the 'thinking'?
Why wouldn't you just shove allin pre instead? I mean at least having some fold equity in a bubble situation could work a lot of the time.. but min-raise/Call a shove with that sh1t? Pretty much the worst way you could've played it I think. Hence I doubt you can fold pretty much anything.

 

[Zloigenii]

very difficult to know where you stand with AK because even if you do hit an Ace or King on the flop, you might be thinking you have a good hand, but you can’t be too sure. This is why your position at the table has to be a key consideration when playing Big Slick. Having position on your opponents certainly make this hand easier to play, but still far from straightforward.

The next time you are see a flop and you’re holding AK, take a moment to acknowledge what other hands might be lurking around the table.