a question with a much needed answer

[The_Empire 0]

So...Tonight I was in a cash game style poker game with six friends. The max buy-in was $10.00 and the blinds were idle at .10/.20. I went up to $22.50 (the big stack at the table), when I got involved in "the pot of the evening." I was on the button when I picked up A -K . First position made it $1.00 to go, second position called, third position called, and fourth position folded over to me. I looked down at my hand, and said..."I guess I'm all-in."Third position folded out of turn, and the SB and BB followed. First position folded reluctantly, which put it on second position to call. He's my roommate who I play with frequently, and who I know to be a real solid player. He looked down at his hand, and said..."The question is, do I want to gamble?"After a long time, he said, "Alright, I call."I turned over big slick, and he turned over J -9 . I was really surprised that he called with a hand like that, but I had a feeling he was going to outdraw me. Flop comes...J -7 -2 I needed a spade for my flush, but it never came. And no Aces or Kings came either :cry: .He had $21.00 in chips, so I was only left with $1.50.My question is...Knowing that if he called my all-in and I lost (leaving me with practially nothing), was it a correct move to put all of my money in the middle? Should I have just called the raise instead of moving in? Did I just get outdrawn? Or is it a little bit of all three?

[Smasharoo 0]

Well, it's a little silly, but nothing terrible in a home game.You should have definately raised, but all in is a little much here, particulary those times you're betting into someone with AA or KK.

[ajmoneybaggs 0]

People are going to play bad hands in small games. J9s is not a premium hand that would warrant an allin call, he is only a 60-40 dog, and its only 20 bucks, if it were 500$, a "good player" obviously couldn't call. At low limits bad players are gonna get lucky, and over time u will take their money if u are ahead in the hands u play against them.

[TomEnny 0]

I used to push a lot with big slick, but as good as a hand as it is, it's still a drawing hand. I would have raised it a couple of bucks and took the flop.

[justblaze 0]

In poker, one should have a goal in mind with every action made at the table. You should be aiming to accomplish a particular thing every time you check, bet or raise. Your action should be proportional to this goal. If you act without purpose, you have lost before you've begun. With that in mind, what would be the purpose of raising all in here? As far as i can tell, there is a little over 3$ in the pot right now. reraising 20$ is a ludicrous overbet. This bet can have several effects which are not desirable and clearly not intended, one of which did in fact occur. Firstly, this bet looks very suspicious. You dont seem to want a call. This suggests (correctly i might add) that youre cards arent THAT strong. AK is a good draw, but it is still a draw. So someone with something like J9 , say, might be more inclined to call you, thinking its likely a race (which it was). The other problem with this bet is that once someone calls you, they cant get away from it. As well, any hand that has any business calling this bet is going to be a slight to huge favourite. You will rarely get a call from any sort of underdog. the J9 was a terrible play, but ended up being in much better shape than could be expected. as mentioned, only a 3:2 dog. A better line would have been to make a pot sized raise of 3$, and then bet out 6$ again into that scary flop. He might be inclined to lay down his top pair weak kicker in that spot if he is as solid as you claim (although i doubt it considering he called off his stack with J9). You probably have to give up on it after the flop if you dont improve. Your preflop raise could only reasonably hurt you. there were two outcomes: you win 3$ (not so hot...), or you get called by what will usually be a cointoss and race for all the chips you have spent all night building (also not so hot). make a pot sized reraise and then try to outplay the guy on the flop. my $.02.

[Wilderness 0]

Well, it was certainly a horrible call by him, but there's also no reason to make such a monster raise either. Raising it up another few bucks would have been good, you could have seen the flop, and played appropriately after that. Unless you had a good reason to think that someone will call your huge bet with a lousy hand (which did happen), there isn't much of a reason to go all-in.As for your friend, its not much of a gamble if you have JJ-AA, then he's a huge dog rather than the 60/40 that he was in this hand.

[Eclypse 0]

It seemed pretty obvious before the flop that you had the best hand. If you KNOW you’re opponents will call your all-in bet with worse hands in a cash game, DO IT!Isn’t this why you play poker—to get someone with a worse hand to commit all their chips?Now, in a tournament, you might want to hold back a little if it would severely cripple you if you got outdrawn.

[JohnnyFourthSt 0]

Isn’t this why you play poker—to get someone with a worse hand to commit all their chips?

Well, doesn't it depend somewhat on how much worse a hand it is? Especially if you are playing for all your chips also? Depending on the situation, I only want to play for all my chips if I'm a big favorite or desperate for some reason (short stacked in a tourey for instance). In this case yes, the caller had a worse hand, but it was more of a race situation. I wouldn't have been too thrilled about getting called.

[ErikM 0]

I think pushing all in with AK is a little too agressive. I would raise maybe two or three times what he raised you and see what happens.

[scottrude 0]

Sounds like a soft game that doesn't call for irrational raising. Your play here is to get them post flop, and outplay them. Weak players hands get tied when you move in on them with an unmade hand. Sounds like you got a bit impatient which is something we all combat. Just know that you had the best hand when your chips went in, and hopefully they will remember it that way too. I would have made it three bucks to go and played it out from there. Probably have to dump post flop after he hit what he surely thought were the stone cold nuts lol.....

[brando 0]

People I've played with have seemed to say this same thing over and over again with hands such as AK vs. QJ and such. I just don't classify 60-40 as a race. Obviously the all in raise was a little ridiculous, but he put his money in with the best hand can't fault him for that.

[Vegas King 0]

Why risk it all for $4.00? It is not a good bet. I see this is the WSOP all the time. There is $500 in the pot and someone goes all in for $10,000 pre flop. It is just not a good play.Raise the usual raise for $3-$4 and outplay them after the flop.

[timwakefield 68]

Why risk it all for $4.00? It is not a good bet. I see this is the WSOP all the time. There is $500 in the pot and someone goes all in for $10,000 pre flop. It is just not a good play.Raise the usual raise for $3-$4 and outplay them after the flop.

ORLY

[savagerebel 0]

I went up to $22.50 (the big stack at the table), when I got involved in "the pot of the evening." "I guess I'm all-in."After a long time, he said, "Alright, I call."He had $21.00 in chips, so I was only left with $1.50.

If you went all in with $22.50 and was down to $1.50 after the hand how does he only have $21?Wouldn't that mean he called all-in for $21 and won the pot giving him $42?EDIT: Oh you timwakefield. You got me.

[riddeld 0]

If you went all in with $22.50 and was down to $1.50 after the hand how does he only have $21?Wouldn't that mean he called all-in for $21 and won the pot giving him $42?EDIT: Oh you timwakefield. You got me.

He HAD 21.00

[Veener Schnitz 0]

you're probably going to shove all your money in on the flop anyway, so you're going broke regardless. reload and play on.

[I_fold08 1]

how can you accept all in with out seeing the flop?

[phlegm 6]

how can you accept all in with out seeing the floop fyp

[Mercury69 3]

how can you accept all in with out to see teh floop?

FYFP