Blow-up

[timwakefield 68]

$5 mtt on Stars, about 50 left of 1000+Blinds 1500/3000, ante somethingI have about 55K chips, table average is maybe 45K. Hand #1, I am on bb, folded around to sb (35K chips) who min-raises to 6k. I raise all-in with AK suited, he folds.Very next hand: Folded to MP (with 50K chips) who raises to 10K. Folded to me in sb with AK suited again. All-in again. Read on MP was that he had been playing/raising a pretty large amount of pots. Don't remember if he has shown any hands, but basic read is that he has been doing some stealing. Do I suck?

[krup24 0]

Do I suck?

No but why not call unless you are sure he is on a steal. You just took a small pot no need to blow up. Did he insta call with AA or KK?

[timwakefield 68]

No but why not call unless you are sure he is on a steal. You just took a small pot no need to blow up.

Yeah that's why I called this topic blow-up, cuz I blew up. But here was my thinking: he has been stealing, I have fold equity, and it's unlikely he has me dominated. More importantly, I am just above average at this table. Payouts are extremely mediocre up until about 4th place, so anything less than 4th is ehhhh. I had been playing very tight, and decided it was time to make some moves. If I call I am out of position and am check/folding if I don't hit the flop.

Did he insta call with AA or KK?

No, he thought for a long time and called with 55.And I'm not just whining because I lost a big coinflip. I'm wondering whether it was a good time to take one.

[krup24 0]

Wow 55 eh. Thats a tough call to make.But since he had 55 any face hits that flop he is checking and your are raking a pot. For him its better to push pf if he thinks I know what you mean about the payouts being low. You have to play to win and every pot counts unfortunately you didn't catch.I wouldn't consider this play a blowup.

[Swift_Psycho 1]

Definitely not a blow-up IMO. NH, sorry things didn't work out.

[Rocketwadster 0]

not to nitpick, but rather than tell us what the table average stack is, why not tell us what the tournament average stack is. IMO table average in an online MTT is irrelevant, especially after making it to the money (we are in the money, right?)...I don't see anything wrong with it (the push), except that you just did that the hand previous, which leads me to believe that your opponent became a little more willing to risk his tourney life on a lowly pair of fives. Had you not went all-in the previous hand, I highly doubt he would have called there with the fives. Also, pushing all-in with Ace King is far better than calling all-in with Ace King...

[shpaget 0]

I rarely rebuke someone for pushing with AK (but then, I'll rarely rebuke someone for pushing with 23 if they think they can steal).My only point here would be you just did it and people get suspicious, ESPECIALLY online, when you do it in such quick succession....especially when they don't see what you pushed with in hand one.IMHO, this is a perfect time to push with AA, because you are more likely to get someone who wants to keep you honest.I'd be less inclined to push with AK a second time and, being the SB, call the raise and then push on any flop.

[timwakefield 68]

Thanks for the replies guys. A few things:

not to nitpick, but rather than tell us what the table average stack is, why not tell us what the tournament average stack is. IMO table average in an online MTT is irrelevant, especially after making it to the money (we are in the money, right?)...

Good point. Yes there are only 50 players left and like 250 cashed. I guess I put table average because I needed to build a big stack, and this is the table I was at, so these opponents with X chips are who I can build it off of. I think our table was a little above average.

Also, pushing all-in with Ace King is far better than calling all-in with Ace King...

Yes, I didn't WANT a coinflip, but if he called I figured I'd get one.

I'd be less inclined to push with AK a second time and, being the SB, call the raise and then push on any flop.

Definitely the problem was that I pushed twice in a row. But I don't think I can call and push any flop. If the flop come QJ2 I'm not pushing AK.

[Rocketwadster 0]

Definitely the problem was that I pushed twice in a row. But I don't think I can call and push any flop. If the flop come QJ2 I'm not pushing AK.

That's the peril of the stop-and-go, in that you MUST push regardless of what flops if you intend to perform a stop-and-go. If you lose your nerve in those instances, then pushing pre-flop is clearly the better play for YOU. Also, I think I read somewhere recently where a stop-and-go is actually better when you have hands like medium pocket pairs, as opposed to ace-king, which I tend to agree with (I think it was another post that someone liked a Raymer 2+2 thread on)...

[timwakefield 68]

That's the peril of the stop-and-go, in that you MUST push regardless of what flops if you intend to perform a stop-and-go. If you lose your nerve in those instances, then pushing pre-flop is clearly the better play for YOU. Also, I think I read somewhere recently where a stop-and-go is actually better when you have hands like medium pocket pairs, as opposed to ace-king, which I tend to agree with (I think it was another post that someone liked a Raymer 2+2 thread on)...

Yes, I was saying that this is a bad time for a stop and go, especially since if I just call the bet we both have 40K in front of us and the pot is only 25K. My alternative was calling and just playing the flop. I wasn't gonna stop and go.

[copernicus 0]

Its hard to fault a push with AK out of position unless you are near the bubble. However, you should know that you are almost certainly an underdog here AND you are almost certainly getting called.There are three differences between this hand and the prior one:The raise is coming from MP, with several players behind him, including you who has just demonstrated a willingness to play for a lot of chips.It is not a minraise, its 20% of his stack, demonstrating some real value. He is getting something like 1.8:1 odds to call. That gives him a call with any pair 4s and up, if he puts you on any pair, AK and AQ.Your chip position is better if you call and fold this hand than it would have been in the prior one, and your chip position is worse if you push and lose this hand than the prior one.