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LIMPING UTG WITH ACES....IS IT A GOOD OR BAD PLAY??

edited June 2009 in Poker Chat

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

  • edited June 2009
    nah jim i would ov done the same thing as u well no im a cxxt 4 limpin wiv the rockets, i did the same thing in yesterdays 3 oclock i limped flop came down 47 qn  i thought purfect but then delta the donkey bet out 600 so i rammed all my stack in thinkin hes got a raggy qn the joker turns over 47 and that was then end of me, at the end of the day u want 2 b against 55 or similar just ul for him 2 hit 5 on the river, remember every1 excpects 2 win as soon as they got aces they look nice n hot but there only 1 pr at the end of the day, dont get me wrong i love the rockets but i had had them the last 7x ive had them i lost the 1st 5 only winnin the last 2, yes i was gutted but onwards n upwards, send me kk next time c wat i can do wiv them, like u say tho if u push u was not gonna get any callers n wen u get aces supposedly every 220 hands u want maximum value so nowt wrong wiv the play it was just an unlucky river card, and then u get every1 sayin u always get done on the river but remember there is 5 cards not 4 u cant win a hand on the turn,
  • edited June 2009
    This is a play I personally don't like to make unless there's an absolute loon who's shipping it in on every hand, just because I don't like to rely on someone else to do the betting for me when I have no information suggesting that they will. I want to win the biggest pot possible with AA, and I'd prefer to get it Heads-Up, both of which are very difficult to achieve when you limp UTG with them. But that's just my style of play.

    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.
  • edited June 2009

    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.

  • edited June 2009

    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!

  • edited June 2009
    I don't like it.

    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.
  • edited June 2009
    personally on 6 seater or 10 seater you always need to raise..i like the min raise utg then hope for a re raise .. but like all discussions all depends on other players on table and chip stack..
  • edited June 2009
    I must admit, I never limp in with a big pair, In that situation I think even if you had raised you probably would have been called anyway, funnily enough the same thing happened to me today, the two differences were I was called all in with the 55, but the AA held up

    its that 1 in 4 time when the AA gets cracked, but Unlucky.

    Cheers
  • edited June 2009
    I personally think this is a good play if your table is loose and aggresive but only if that is so because you dont want several people in the hand you ideally want to be heads up

    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
  • edited June 2009
    All i would say is that i would make my normal raise. If you always raise 3 or 4 times the blind how can they know what u have? You could have 67 or AA. The raise should thin the field plus it helps to build the pot a little. If anyone comes over the top then re-shove. The AA vs 55 is fine, that's as good as you can hope for!
  • edited June 2009
    In Response to 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?
    Posted by jimbo31
    It doesn't matter AA AK KK QQ you have to raise in this structure tournament.. and your where  approaching the "Twilight Zone" when players start to lose the plot, and start thinking "Allin" any playable hand .. The thing about AA is it's a monster   .. 'heads up' pre flop, your  a 2/7 fav .. what you don't want is 3 or 4 players in the hand.......I've posted on here somewhere about the modern game, where players want to get ALL their chips in  at any stage of a tournament, without seeing a flop, and this is a good example of how  a player with 55 just shoved ALL-IN from the S/B...You cant in many ways blame him for that but as others have said, "a flat call UTG is like a red flag to a bull"
    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
  • edited June 2009
    much appreciated for the comments everyone... i think ill know what to do in the future.... and that will be to pass the feking things!!!! good luck and im sure ill see you about ;-)
  • edited June 2009
    Unless it's 4 handed and I'm the short stack, I'm never limping with aces.  Rather define my hand in some way early on rather that, as Mick did, jam the money in on the flop when I could easily have been outflopped.
  • edited June 2009
    I think limping with AA in this circumstance is a perfectly good play, especially with an agressive player in position who is gonna try to pick up the dead money pre flop by raising.

    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







  • edited June 2009
    it was a good move cause you ended up 80% fave but got unlucky.
    i like to play them just like another hand cause that way when they get busted i cant blame myself for slowplaying!
  • edited June 2009

    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

  • edited June 2009
    one more thing

    Aces will win you small pots but will lose you big pots if you can't lay down
  • edited June 2009
    Hi,
    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
  • edited June 2009

    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

  • edited June 2009
    Table dynamics,  FTW

    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 ;-)

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