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LIMPING UTG WITH ACES....IS IT A GOOD OR BAD PLAY??
I PLAYED THE OPEN LAST NIGHT AND HAD A RELATIVE STACK OF ABOUT 14K AT THE HOUR POINT... I GOT DEALT ACES UTG AND ON MY TABLE THERE WAS ONLY ONE STACK BIGGER THAN ME... WHO WAS IN THE BB..THE REST I HAD COVERED AND ENOUGH TO FALL BACK ON.THE BLINDS I THINK WERE 400/800 I DECIDED TO LIMP IN... MY THINKING BEHIND THIS WAS AT THIS STAGE OF THE TOURNEY I WAS GONNA GET RAISED ALL IN WHICH IS WHAT I WANTED, AS IF I PUT A RAISE IN MYSELF I MAY OF SCARED OFF ANY ACTION... ANYWAY EVERYONE FOLDED TO THE CUT OFF WHO WAS NUTTER 5932 WHO SHOVED HIS LAST 7K IN( PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE) WITH 55.. THE SB FOLDED THE BB FOLDED AND I WAS LEFT WITH THE ACTION I WANTED AN ALL IN... OF COURSE I CALLED ... AND HE FLIPPED 55 AND I THOUGHT HAPPY DAYS... THEN THE DREADED RIVER SPIKED A 5 TO MAKE HIS SET... AND I WAS STILL ALIVE BUT SLIGHTYLY DEFLATED... WE HAD A BIT OF BANTER AND HE SAID HE DIDNT PUT ME ON AA WHICH WAS GOOD, BUT FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES AFTER I WAS GOING THROUGH THE HAND IN MY HEAD THINIKNG SHOULD I OF RAISED 3-4 BBS OR SHOVED?? AND JUST TAKEN THE BLINDS THERE AND THEN...OR INDUCED ACTION? ANY THOUGHTS OF HOW TO PLAY AA UTG AT MID TO LATE LEVEL OF THE OPEN?
Comments
However, what I will say is you got exactly what you wanted in this situation, which is a raise/all-in. It goes without saying that because we've got AA we're crushing any hand we're up against so there's no question about getting our money in bad. In this situation you played the hand perfect, got a customer, and just got unlucky. Try not to let the result of the hand convince you that it was a bad play, because you got your money in at something like a 3-1 favourite, which makes it a great play as we can be certain that Nutter isn't calling off his stack with 55 there.
There often is no right or wrong to any poker situation.
I have found that first position limps often set off a warning siren in people's minds that screams out 'aces or kings'. It does in mine, so I don't usually raise first position limpers unless my hand can stand a re-raise.
I like this play, Doyle Brunson claims in his book that he does this all the time but i wont do this in torneys only in cash.
Personally, I need to be sure of a few things first
like.....
How big are the stacks at the table?
What is the likihood I will be re-raised?
Is the BB loose or tight? (will he defend his BB?)
Is the table loose or tight?
Dont forget when you limp the gun, its like inviting everyone to come in after you for a fair price. so be sure its worth making this move because even though you have the "nuts" preflop, you are racing against several random hands!
I did this with AA in a live game recently at a 9 handed table and got 5 callers?????? i was gettin ready to throw em away but the flop come A K J rainbow, I made a big pot sized bet to define my trip aces and got called by two players. I decided that if the turn was a T or a Q i had no choice but to let the hand go!!
Luckily for me i turned a Jack and made a value bet of about half the pot, the next player pushed and player 3 snap called! No one was puttin me on AA, KK or JJ here!
I called and player 2 shows KJ for a lower full and player 3 shows QT for a flopped straight (idiot)
but it goes to show that if you dont get raised preflop, giving you chance to 3bet, then you'll find yourself almost always in a tough spot on the flop!
If you limp at a stage with high blind levels it scream of a monster (unless you're a complete donk who just has to see a flop with JT no matter what position you find yourself in.)
And if the blind levels are low, if you limp and then get yourself a raiser, if you flat call you are giving value to other who may have limped to stay in the pot, and if you raised then it reeks of aces.
its that 1 in 4 time when the AA gets cracked, but Unlucky.
Cheers
but if my table is conservative then i probably make a min raise and if somebody comes over the top then you know he has a hand which you can re raise all in and he/she will probably call.
but honestly i dont think there is a right way or wrong way of playing AA UTG all you can do is experiment and try different plays and then which ever way you feel comfortable and are getting paid more then maybe try that way for a while... but also i think it is important to remember on a cash table you need to be varying your play so that it makes your play harder to read whereas in a MTT then you are always changing tables and playing with different people so whatever way your playing if its working then stick to it if you get a bad beat im afraid thats just poker its hard to take sometimes but its part of the game that we love and poker wouldnt be the same without them it would be a boring game if the favourite won everytime so just bare this in mind and very good luck at the tables
thanks Buster69
The thing about Poker is that there are no right or wrongs in how to play a hand , we all develop our own style as we learn the game over time.
Ultimately we learn by what might appear to be a mistake but you were an odds/on fav to win as the cards were dealt and the betting happened the way it did. What IF you had min-raised, would he still have shoved or would he call to see a flop for 1600, ?? Possible but probably he either goes Allin or passes.
It's not worth beating yourself up over these things, there is no right or wrong but "Bet Your hands don't slow play or trap in this fast structure"..!!!
.Right that my two Bob's worth, time for a cuppa Tea .. glk benndip2
If the worst case scenario happens and you get 4/5 limpers, which imo is unlikey at this stage of the tournie, you can get away. If your up against the bb only, you are vul to get outdrawn. So i dont mind this play one bit. It has worked for me before although i will only use it sparingly and in what i consider to be the right situation
i like to play them just like another hand cause that way when they get busted i cant blame myself for slowplaying!
All depends on your table
Your table image and wheather you have a L.A.G (loose aggresive player) on your table raising with a wide range. You just throw out your line and hook them and reel in the chips.
Cash:
situation is to play fast with a big raise or utg (under the gun) limp for someone else to raise and you just re-raise and there pocket 9's shirk lol.
Above all remember:
IT'S JUST ONE PAIR !!!!!!!! And the idiot with 7-2 off will hit two pair on you but you want to play these players as they WILL pay you off. Please but please don't educate the player at the table just say
NICE HAND (nh) lol
Aces will win you small pots but will lose you big pots if you can't lay down
You state that limped in with the Aces to get action and YOU GOT EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANTED.
Regardless of the result, as long as you dont whinge about any subsequent outdraws, i dont see the problem.
Are you saying that because of the outcome, you are considering changing the way you always play Aces.
IMO Thats is just plain stupid, as the correct answer is that there is NO definate way the play Aces UTG, it depends on the situation.
Not the best answer, but an honest one.
I sometimes limp in with, but i will mostly put in some sort of raise(sometimes allin), but i NEVER moan when i dont get any action.
col
I don't mind the play there, but by the sounds of things the pocket 5s would have called a raise from UTG anyway.
End of the day you went in ahead and in the long run thats what you want to be doing
Stacks size, blind size, position, table aggro, VPP ratio and your image are the vitals.
Being results orientated is a trap that most of us fall into - just try to put it out of your mind. Easier said than done i know, but hey that's poker! GL on the baize ;-)