Hand Advice (qq Early Position)

[making a move 0]

Since I don't have many people around me that I can discuss poker hands with, I thought I'd post here for the first time and maybe get some insight on this hand and future ones...I'm playing at the 24+2, 7k guaranteed on Full-Tilt.Blinds were 40/80 and I had a little over average stack with 4.1k. I pick up QQ under the gun +1 and the player before me limps. Now this table has been pretty crazy, lots of aggressive players; raising 4 times the blind, pot-sized flop bets and so on and I'm pretty sure I was working a very conservative image. Giving up pots and what not and only coming over the top only once, and I'm pretty sure the only hand I showed down was a flopped flush that I doubled up with. And a good portion of the hands were getting raised so I decided to limp with this hand pre-flop pretty confident that someone would raise behind me.So I do and everyone folds to the the player one to the right of the button with a stack of 3.1k (one of the aggressive ones) who raises it up to 280. Everybody folds except for the player who previously limps. So I decide to raise here substantially with an all-in. I'm not sure why, maybe to send a message to the table, make a stand, slow things down, let me see some future flops for cheap but first and foremost to take the pot down right there. Well it doesn't work and the original raiser calls my all-in while the other player folds. He had A-Q offsuit and I'm thinking he put me on JJ or any pair below that but anyways, a mighty Ace comes on the flop my stack shrunk down to 1.2k. Enough to work with but I was out a few rounds later.Anyways given the situation and the hands should I have played this situation any differently? The only other options I see is opening with a bet instead of flat-calling but the way I see it is anything under 4x the BB would've gotten a call from A-Q anyways. Or do you think the reraise was too big before the flop? would my hand look more like AA-KK if I made it 1.2k - 1.4k? right now i'm just telling myself i got my money in at a good spot and it just wasnt my tournament, but let me know what you think.

[kkot 0]

right now i'm just telling myself i got my money in at a good spot

Yup. I would've reraised less to give him a chance to 4bet bluff. But if you have a reason to think he's the type of player to make calls like this you might as well commit the chips preflop. Getting your money in this good isn't going to be a mistake.

[making a move 0]

thanks for the advice. after you second it and now that i think it over, re-raising less seemed like the better play. getting my money in good would imply that i put him on AQ but i honestly didn't. he could've easily have turned over AA, KK or AK and i really think he would've folded to a smaller reraise rather than an all-in.plus i checked the odds with QQ vs. AQ and i was only about 7-3 to win so i think it was too early in the tournament and the blinds were too small to make a move like that.

[outsider13 0]

I'm not one to get too cute and fancy with raising, especially in the early levels. QQ is good, and you got your money in good, but you left yourself with no exit strategy. Had you kept it standard (raise to 320), most cases you would have got a call and then at least you could have figured out where you are on that flop.

[Sheiky 0]

Getting your whole stack in as a 75% favourite is almost always the most EV play.

[outsider13 0]

Getting your whole stack in as a 75% favourite is almost always the most EV play.

Definitely agree with you, and great that the money got in. But limping QQ UTG is not a good idea. I don't care how active the table is. If the BB has A2o, how bad would that be? I think it's a bad play to assume that you are going to get raised with a big hand this early. Play your big hands big and don't rely on others for the action.

[Sheiky 0]

He limped??My eyes must be goin funny cause i completely missed that, yeh i agree then that raising is better.

[jmbreslin 0]

plus i checked the odds with QQ vs. AQ and i was only about 7-3 to win so i think it was too early in the tournament and the blinds were too small to make a move like that.

No offense but this statement is hilarious. There is no such thing as a bad spot to get your money in when you have your opponent dominated. And I gree that raising PF is better here. It's a perfect spot to isolate an early limper with a strong hand.

[Poker Addict 0]

I didn't read the situation. And as you can see some people mis read them. Please convert your hands. To see the hand history, click on the previous hand button. Copy all the text and go to a converter to paste. There are instructions stickied in the main thread. As paragraphs it is just too hard to read.http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/poker-foru...showtopic=87906

[LJB723 0]

I'm too lazy to read it all.

FYP

[copernicus 0]

Stacks are way too deep for this move, imo, but then again you got the call you wanted and got unlucky. I would make a standard raise (4x bb with the limper). Now when the A flops you have exit possibilities.

[Poker Addict 0]

FYP

QFT!!!! But in my mind my advice is very valuable and therefore I can't be burdened with something like reading - sure it might only be valuable in my mind.

[Poker Addict 0]

1. Don't limp monster hands like QQ, KK, AA. You can play your hand pretty transparent in these type of buy in tournys. I raise 4xBB here.2. My thoughts to the all in - WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, we just got called by AQ. We have him dominated. He is basically drawing to three outs unless he gets some crazy straight or a flush. WOOOHOOOOO! YES!!! crushed when the Ace came but we got in good.3. If you would have raised pre the recommended amount, maybe you discourage the late raiser from trying to squeeze and the original limper flat calls you. Then on when that mighty A hits the flop and he shoves, you can get away from the hand.4. So instead of losing the majority of your stack you only lose 320ish in that scenario. Sure he might shove on your pre flop raise without accepting to see the flop, and then again I go WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO! We just got it in and have him dominated. I will take this even if he has AK.(I just wanted to prove that I in fact could read)

[making a move 0]

thanks for all the input. ill make sure to use the generator next post.also thought i'd update, a similar situation came last night, late into a multi table SnG (although the table wasnt as aggressive). I picked up KK in early position and made a raise of 3.5 times the BB and luckily a medium stack who had me slightly covered, reraised all in with AK off, possibly thinking he'd be in a coin-flip or have me dominated. luckily my kings held up and i doubled up.point being i learned from my mistake by playing this hand more straight forward, 'transparent,' and not too fancy. im pretty sure because of this hand alone i was able to scoop a lot of pots with pre-flop raises and continuation bets for a while. i dont think i had to show another hand until my eventual all in with 6 players left.

[Poker Addict 0]

thanks for all the input. ill make sure to use the generator next post.also thought i'd update, a similar situation came last night, late into a multi table SnG (although the table wasnt as aggressive). I picked up KK in early position and made a raise of 3.5 times the BB and luckily a medium stack who had me slightly covered, reraised all in with AK off, possibly thinking he'd be in a coin-flip or have me dominated. luckily my kings held up and i doubled up.point being i learned from my mistake by playing this hand more straight forward, 'transparent,' and not too fancy. im pretty sure because of this hand alone i was able to scoop a lot of pots with pre-flop raises and continuation bets for a while. i dont think i had to show another hand until my eventual all in with 6 players left.

That is part of it too. In a tourny it's just important what you take from that one isolated pot but what you are able to do going forward.

[Berwatchey 0]

i think raising a standard 3 or 4x raise would have been fine. you said the table was aggressive, so it's unlikely that anyone with a big ace or a medium or even a small pair will be folding. you did commit with the best hand ang got unlucky, but you really didnt need to risk all the chips this early in the tourney. like the others said you wanna give yourself an exit strategy.the exception i would say to not raising with a big pocket pair like queens in early position would be to try to induce a later position short stack to push with a more marginal hand. the more money is in the more likely the shorty will make a stand to get better odds for their money. and then you can flip over queens and laugh. well dont laugh cause it's rude. but you can laugh inside.

[Berwatchey 0]

one last thing you said " So I decide to raise here substantially with an all-in. I'm not sure why," you did list some reasons, but i just wanted to say, any time your gonna risk all your chips(or most of them) make sure you know why. ask if you need to be all in here? is a different play better? especially in a tourney.sorry i didnt mean to double post i thought i hit edit

[throwemaway 0]

Since I don't have many people around me that I can discuss poker hands with, I thought I'd post here for the first time and maybe get some insight on this hand and future ones...I'm playing at the 24+2, 7k guaranteed on Full-Tilt.Blinds were 40/80 and I had a little over average stack with 4.1k. I pick up QQ under the gun +1 and the player before me limps. Now this table has been pretty crazy, lots of aggressive players; raising 4 times the blind, pot-sized flop bets and so on and I'm pretty sure I was working a very conservative image. Giving up pots and what not and only coming over the top only once, and I'm pretty sure the only hand I showed down was a flopped flush that I doubled up with. And a good portion of the hands were getting raised so I decided to limp with this hand pre-flop pretty confident that someone would raise behind me.So I do and everyone folds to the the player one to the right of the button with a stack of 3.1k (one of the aggressive ones) who raises it up to 280. Everybody folds except for the player who previously limps. So I decide to raise here substantially with an all-in. I'm not sure why, maybe to send a message to the table, make a stand, slow things down, let me see some future flops for cheap but first and foremost to take the pot down right there. Well it doesn't work and the original raiser calls my all-in while the other player folds. He had A-Q offsuit and I'm thinking he put me on JJ or any pair below that but anyways, a mighty Ace comes on the flop my stack shrunk down to 1.2k. Enough to work with but I was out a few rounds later.Anyways given the situation and the hands should I have played this situation any differently? The only other options I see is opening with a bet instead of flat-calling but the way I see it is anything under 4x the BB would've gotten a call from A-Q anyways. Or do you think the reraise was too big before the flop? would my hand look more like AA-KK if I made it 1.2k - 1.4k? right now i'm just telling myself i got my money in at a good spot and it just wasnt my tournament, but let me know what you think.

I stop reading posts once I read the bolded parts