20 bb enough?

[JJACKSON123 0]

50 left in a tournament, top 27 pay, I have 25k, blinds are 500-1000 with a 100 chip ante. I get dealt AK suited in the SB.UTG limps, folded around.I know AK is not a hand you want to get into it with out of position but I felt that I could win the pot right there. I raise to 3500, BB folds, UTG calls. Flop is A-7-8 I bet out 2500, opponent goes all in. I take a long time and eventually fold because I was doing very well at winning small pots and slowly moving up and I felt like I still had enough chips (20 BB) where I could wait for a better spot. I know that my flop bet was very week and a friend of mine said I could have checked and seen what he did which now seems to me like the right play. I guess this is why you shouldent play AK out of position in NL ournaments. Thoughts on the handthanks, jack

[copernicus 0]

How good a player is UTG and what size is his stack?What hands can you put him on for a limp and call of a substantial raise that gives him less than 2/1 pot odds?I would cut off pairs at 7s, and add AK, AQ, a long shot of AJs?so there are 3 3 way pairs (K, 7,8 ) 1 one way pair (A) and 4 6 way pairs,total 34 pairs, plus 6 AK, 8 AQ and 4 AJs 52 hands total. I dont think 78, A7, or A8 are feasible hands unless he's got a huge stack.Of the 52 hands only 7 beat you giving you better than 6/1 odds that your TPTK is good. Youre a huge favorite and youre getting odds to call...I cant see laying it down.Your probe bet of 2500 into a 8900 pot may have implied more weakness then there really was which gave UTG license to try and steal. If you made a continuation bet of 4500-5000 you might have avoided having a decision to make.Did being OOP have much to do with the way this played out? Say you have position on him. If he checks arent you going to bet and be right back where you were in this hand? Would you bet more than the 1/2 pot?If he leads, say with an all-in, are you going to fold TPTK? If so why play AK in the first place? Yes you might prefer to see the K flop than the A, it isnt that much stronger, and that flop is as close to ideal as youre going to get, unless its not rainbow, so why are you playing AK at all? Very weak laydown, imo.

[JJACKSON123 0]

Thank you for the replyYes he had a very large stack, around 50k. I didnt put him on AK, AQ, or AJ because he limped in, no preflop raise. So A-8, A-7, and 7-8 were very distinct possibilties. I just am asking, is leaving myself with 20 BB enough to wait for a better spot or should I get in there and gamble. Even if he has no pair and a hand like 9-10 its still not an automatic call for me because in tournaments you can win lots of small pots and cruise through the tournament never putting your chips at risk. This is a very easy fold to make if I hd more chips, I dont know however if I should have gotten in there rather than leave myself with 20 BB

[copernicus 0]

Thank you for the replyYes he had a very large stack, around 50k. I didnt put him on AK, AQ, or AJ because he limped in, no preflop raise. So A-8, A-7, and 7-8 were very distinct possibilties. I just am asking, is leaving myself with 20 BB enough to wait for a better spot or should I get in there and gamble. Even if he has no pair and a hand like 9-10 its still not an automatic call for me because in tournaments you can win lots of small pots and cruise through the tournament never putting your chips at risk. This is a very easy fold to make if I hd more chips, I dont know however if I should have gotten in there rather than leave myself with 20 BB

He may limp with A8, A7 or 78, but not call a reraise that gives him less than 2/1 odds if he's a good player. Having the 50k stack may make them somewhat more likely, but lets say you add them at a discount of 50%. Thats effectively 13 more hands, all winners, so thats 65 hands total, of which 20 beat you. You are still a 2/1 favorite. Even if you add them at their full 25 hand value and take away the AJs, there are 73 total hands of which 32 beat you...youre still a favorite getting odds to call.Is 20 BB enough to play with or should you get in and gamble? What better gamble are you going to get than being a favorite and receiving instead of laying odds?Since Harrington on Holdem Vol 2, most people talk about these decisions in terms of M...your stack divided by the intial pot...rather than ratio to BBs. If its 9 handed then the initial pot is 2400 and your M is 20000/24o0or 8.33. Thats "Orange Zone" where you are probably should be thinking about going all in with first in vigorish and moderate holdings. What more can you expect from those unknown hands than being all in with TPTK and no possible overcards drawing to you?Nothing! Calling here is mandatory.

[Swift_Psycho 1]

I don't like how small your flop bet was and I don't like the fold.

[zimmer4141 0]

This late into the tourney, no chance I fold this with only 20BB left. Also, bet more on the flop. Rarely will there arise a situation where you should fold TPTK this late into a tourney.

[Drwnded 0]

Agree with most of the above. I'm assuming he read your preflop raise as a steal attempt since no one had shown any strength, and the small bet on the flop as a weak probe, so he decided to take down the pot, figuring you wouldn't risk your tourney life. He was right on the last point only. Given your chip position, I would've bet 1/2 -1Xthe pot on the flop and been ready to call an all in.