Conflicting opinions on AA hand (GJP Main Event)

Scotty #

Ok, people had different opinions on how this should be played.

I started off day two with 19,900 and drew a tough table inc. Ollie Boyce, HJ, and Andy Black. I managed to get up to 42,000 when the following hand occurred.

I can't remember exactly, but I'm either on the button or the CO. Player A, a well known bordsie who's played very few hands raises to 3,500 from EP. Player B, next to act and a well known English Tribeca player I believe, re-raises to 11,500. Next player folds and I look down at AA.

Now, no matter what I do here they know I've a huge hand. Options are....

Call
Min Raise to 22,000
Move All In 42,000

Both just about have me covered.

Your move and why????

BigCityBanker

If they want to dog you make them pay for the pleasure - get them all across the line. If they both fold you have increased your stack by 25% and that dont sound too bad imo.

BigDragon

Oscar winning dwell up....then push. I know you are capable of both

dvdfan

I'd re-raise all in, theres 15,000 in the pot for winning now (what are there stack sizes) they'll put you on a big big hand like you said, player A is likely to fold unless he has KK as Player B is yet to act and he has only 3,500 invested, unless he has KK he wont want to be in a 3 way pot certainly wont be pushing with AK here. I think youd rather be heads up here with one of them. Depending on stack sizes if Player B is already overcommitted hes going to be calling anyway

Ste05

Without knowing the table dynamics and what their opinion of you is, there's only really 2 options. (Just because I hate the min-raise - and never recommend it)

1) Flat call and disguise the strength of your hand, hoping that the EP raiser will try some sort of a squeeze play with AK or QQ or the like or else you'll pick up some continuation bet on the flop (assuming you haven't been outflopped). It's the riskier play, but depending on the table and how I would be viewed would make my mind up.

2) Push - the re-raiser has shown great strength and might come with us. The only problem with this is we've basically said we have a monster, and they will be easily able to drop AK, QQ-, and possibly even KK (although highly unlikely - but if someone has KK, the chips are going in anyway so it doesn't really matter what we do usually). This way has very little risk and the pot is a nice size already to take down.

How would they have viewed you, I'd say both actions will indicate a monster, either flat calling a re-raise or re-re-raising shows HUGE strength, so I'd just do whatever fits into my image as either being the most donkish or weaker. Had you been re-raising light previously, had you been calling raises and then folding on the flop... etc. etc.

mewso

Wouldnt be thinking about this for long tbh. A raise and a re-raise probably means a push will get a taker which is exactly what I want so I push. A flat call of such a large raise smells of AA just as much if not more than a push.

Hawk Eye

Just stick it in theres probably 17k+ in the middle if theres antes.
That equates to 40% of your stack.
If you flat call and ep calls then theres 36k in the pot and you have 30.5k.
The pot has grown to more than you have left behind which is never a good thing.The flat call screams you have a huge hand and so does the shove but with the former your oppenants get to see if they can improve their hand against you.
Once you flat call it will more likely be checked to you and you have to bet the rest anyway.
Your never getting away from your hand postflop with the pot so big.

fuzzbox

Who are the well known players, and how much do they have and how many players are left to act behind you?

There are merits to all three of your options here.

Rb

BigCityBanker wrote:

If they want to dog you make them pay for the pleasure - get them all across the line. If they both fold you have increased your stack by 25% and that dont sound too bad imo.

.

Scotty #

I think it was the 2nd hand I played.. 3 way all in with KK was the 1st, which I won.

I pushed. Player 1 folded immediately and player 2, after considering for a long time showed QQ and folded. I was happy enough to take the money there but I had been playing so few hands I thought I could have made a lot more from this one with a call but I'd seen so many AAs cracked the day before. Against a lesser player I may have got a call but this table was without doubt the highest standard I've ever sat at. I think I would do the same thing, in this situation, every time.

Tar.Aldarion

All-in, it's better to reduce it to heads up if you can.
If it goes to a flop, AA loses too much.

Scotty #

fuzzbox wrote:

Who are the well known players, and how much do they have and how many players are left to act behind you?

There are merits to all three of your options here.

Initial raiser was HecterJelly with slightly more chips than me at the time I think. Re-raiser was "The Claimer", a well known Tribeca player I believe. He had me well covered and had only come to the table. Next to act after me were the big stacks, Andy Black and Ollieboy.

fuzzbox

Scotty # wrote:

Initial raiser was HecterJelly with slightly more chips than me at the time I think. Re-raiser was "The Claimer", a well known Tribeca player I believe. He had me well covered and had only come to the table. Next to act after me were the big stacks, Andy Black and Ollieboy.

Well calling is no good given that there are two big stacks behind you and given that HJ might then call with good value + implied odds.

Min-raise and shove are both reasoanble options, although they will usually be interpretted in precisely the same way "AA".

Since neither of your opponents is a muppet (Apart from HJ), I like a shove.

Hectorjelly

No matter what you did Scotty, you were signalling that you had a big hand. I think a min raise is by far the worst option, that to me would be the clearest indication that you had aces. I dont think there is much difference between a call and a push. If you call and then push the flop I think its a little harder for QQ to get away if the flop is low, but there is the risk that I will call the reraise as well and you may well get outflopped.

The real issue in this hand is the fact that your image doesnt allow you to get paid off, I hadnt seen you play a hand before this and would of folded QQ there as well. I think pushing with AK there with your image actually would of been excellent play.

valor

Hectorjelly wrote:

No matter what you did Scotty, you were signalling that you had a big hand. I think a min raise is by far the worst option, that to me would be the clearest indication that you had aces. I dont think there is much difference between a call and a push. If you call and then push the flop I think its a little harder for QQ to get away if the flop is low, but there is the risk that I will call the reraise as well and you may well get outflopped.

The real issue in this hand is the fact that your image doesnt allow you to get paid off, I hadnt seen you play a hand before this and would of folded QQ there as well. I think pushing with AK there with your image actually would of been excellent play.

Do you think a min raise bluff here with rags would be a good play, given how tight he is perceived?

Scotty #

Hectorjelly wrote:

The real issue in this hand is the fact that your image doesnt allow you to get paid off, I hadnt seen you play a hand before this and would of folded QQ there as well. I think pushing with AK there with your image actually would of been excellent play.

Yea, although this player hadn't been at the table long. Pushing here with AK would have been extremely brave - as the 11K raise was quiet likely to be AA or KK. You'd have to be fairly sure it wasn't them to push, plus you had raised from EP and you'd a fairly rock tight image yourself.

The only other hand I'd played at that table was my calling an all in after I had re-raised when I had KK and trebled up. Black put me and the raiser on KK and JJ, correctly (other guy had 64s ??). The night before I was correctly put on KK also. I asked Black how he knew it was KK and not AA?? He said "its like flavours... you can have a hundred different flavours but you know which one is the best. Yours was good.....but it wasn't the best" He'd earlier called a 28K all in on the turn with 44 and 4 over cards on the board which I thought was crazy but I suppose thats what separates me from them.