Two Aq Hands From Wsop Circuit Event

[blakheart 3]

So I went to Tahoe and played a $300 buy in WSOP circuit event today. The event started with 380 players, 1500 in chips. Top 32 get paid. Both of these hands happen with between 100 and 150 players left. We are plaing 10 handed.First hand:Blinds $100 $200Hero has $5000 in chips, Villian has $3000 in chips.Hero Dealt A Q folds to Hero in Cutoff, Hero raises to $600, Button folds, Villian in SB raises to $1500, BB folds, Hero folds.Second Hand:Blinds $100 $200 plus $25 anteHero has $4500, Villian has $9000Hero has A Q Folds to villian in MP who raises $600, Hero calls all fold. Flop comes K 9 4 Villian bets $700, Hero folds.Reads- First hand villian is somewhat Laggy, He has made some bizarre calls that have worked out for him, hard to put him on a hand. I am sure that if i go over the top he will call.Second hand, New player at my table, no real reads.

[mmmikeySong 0]

for hand #1 - I'd put him all in if he's laggy. He probably has pp, and there's the chance he thinks you're just trying to steal his blinds. AQ's a good hand against LAG players

[Rocketwadster 0]

Hand 1 - In events where there are (supposed to be) better players (as opposed to the low buy-in SNG's), I would be leery of any opponent who willingly re-raised half his stack there pre-flop. Hand 2 - even though you have position, Im not sure I would have just called that raise there (meaning I may have re-raised him pre-flop). Depends though...

[blakheart 3]

Yeah- Hand 2 I am thinking I should have raised preflop. But any raise is at least half my stack- so do i jam? The 2nd hand is the one that bothers me the most.

[gregdon8 0]

these responses might differ from most, but is way I would play hand....hand 1 - he is comitting half stack out of position, so he is strong but wants to take control of the hand. we can assume regardless of flop he is prob pushing his remaining 1500 in if we call. With the 300 from the blinds, 600 from the raise, and the 1500 from the sb. there is 2400 in the pot. it only costs us 900 more to call, which is almost 3 to 1. we will hit flop approx that often with overs, so factoring that in with the dead money and fact that he is prob pushing chips in after flop, I would call. If you dont flop pair or big draw, I think we can fold flop and have 3500, which is still ok with blind levels and given longer levels of live play can make this uphand 2- fold or raise, and with AQo with no read I am leaning towards folding...JMO....I am sure some will disagree, but these are tough situations that can be played in a variety of ways

[Shizzmoney 0]

Hand#1: I think you have to play this hand here. You are in position, and you have a very nice hand. See a flop and see what happens. I was thinking the same thing as this:

If you dont flop pair or big draw, I think we can fold flop and have 3500, which is still ok with blind levels and given longer levels of live play can make this up

You can also re-raise all-in preflop too (as Harrington suggests) and maybe get 10's to fold to you (but I doubt it since he's committed half his stack), but the only disadvantage of that is running into AK, AA, or KK (or running into a player willing to race for all his chips).Calling is the play because your M is @ 16 and you are not in desperation mode yet. ALSO if he has AK and misses (and makes the mistake of not jamming the flop no matter hwat comes out), you could be able to outplay him and steal the pot.Hand #2:

I am thinking I should have raised preflop. But any raise is at least half my stack- so do i jam? The 2nd hand is the one that bothers me the most.

I would have definitely jammed here. Makes your decision easier. You get folding equity, your opponent is LAG, and he's raising from a relatively decent steal position. Jamming prevents him from a hand like KJ outflopping you without paying a price. Again, the only downside of jamming is someone willing to race.Granted, calling is the good poker player in you saying that you shouldn't overplay AQ right here, but you don't have enough chips to outplay anybody. IMO, with a hand like AQ, it's either all-in or fold. Calling can make you more money because if you hit your flop, he'll probably fire out a continuation bet at you which you'll snag, but AQ is most likely the best hand at the table. But you are not looking to make the most money...you need to survive because you M is now at 8. You are looking to find a hand, get in, get out, and slowly build a stack back up until you get that monster.

[blakheart 3]

In the light of day- I like my fold (based on reads) in the first hand. I was not prepared to race for that many chips, and I am positive they were going in on the flop no matter what. 2nd hand- I should have jammed. The blinds and antes were about to double- and I need chips for the next level.

[Shizzmoney 0]

In the light of day- I like my fold (based on reads) in the first hand. I was not prepared to race for that many chips, and I am positive they were going in on the flop no matter what.

Well if you get a read, then trust that first instinct. But say he has his cards face up, and you KNEW that he had JJ or lower.....would you still have flat called and saw a flop?That's what I try to think when I am put to a tough decision like that, although it could certainly also be KK (because he doesn't wanna see an Ace).