Critique My AQo Play

[hydroseeds]

PokerStars Game #2171620406: Tournament #10424234, Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2005/07/23 - 21:19:56 (ET)
Table '10424234 1' Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: goldengreek1 (980 in chips)
Seat 3: compmanben (1585 in chips)
Seat 4: SweetNSasy (2020 in chips)
Seat 5: Rainman2004 (1720 in chips)
Seat 6: RealBarone (1900 in chips)
Seat 7: Hydroseeds (1365 in chips)
Seat 8: ClicClicBoom (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: 48johnson (1180 in chips)
goldengreek1: posts small blind 10
compmanben: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hydroseeds [Qs Ad]
SweetNSasy: folds
Rainman2004: calls 20
RealBarone: folds
Hydroseeds: raises 60 to 80
ClicClicBoom: calls 80
48johnson: calls 80
goldengreek1: calls 70
compmanben: folds
Rainman2004: folds
*** FLOP *** [3d 9c Ah]
goldengreek1: checks
Hydroseeds: bets 225
ClicClicBoom: folds
48johnson: raises 225 to 450
goldengreek1: folds
Hydroseeds: raises 835 to 1285 and is all-in
48johnson: calls 650 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [3d 9c Ah] [Th]
*** RIVER *** [3d 9c Ah Th] [Qd]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Hydroseeds: shows [Qs Ad] (two pair, Aces and Queens)
48johnson: shows [3c 3s] (three of a kind, Threes)
48johnson collected 2560 from pot

Do I have any way of knowing he hit his set? I suppose he could have been reraising if he had AK, but I was willing to take the chance that I had the best kicker. Maybe he had 99 too. I don't know, I just played the hand wrong I think - was practicing being aggressive and guess I got too caught up.

Anyways, critique away

[drmcboy]

buy in level? low stakes I see so much crack addled play I can't fault you much. 20+ no one re-raises the flop with less than AK.

I find 5x much better at the low blind levels to open, with a limp 5x would be the minimum I'd toss in.

[Rondavu]

Believe it or not, this was a fairly easy laydown. You made a pot sized bet on this board...

[3d 9c Ah]

There is absolutely no coordination. Another ace just calls your bet unless it's AK. That hand and two pair or better raises. The only other possibility is another AQ. You would still only split. It's not worth it to get involved. You gotta start believing raises. If someone raises a pot sized bet, then there is cause for concern all day long.

Have you ever heard of reverse implied odds? It's the amount of chips you'll have to spend with a seemingly trapped hand to see showdown. The better players will fold this instantly, because on certain boards, the only reason someone would raise is if they have a better hand.

The favorite hands of top money players are suited connectors and low packet pairs. That's because they're easy to let go of. Top pros don't like big hands as much because they win small pots, and lose big ones. In the scenrio above holding AQ when you flop a Q, you should expect to get a round of folds, or maybe one call of your pot bet. When someone raises, then you should seriously consider a divorce. Know that commitment with one pair is tedious. Ask yourself what kind of hands you will lose your shirt on. The answer will usually be "Big hands I couldn't let go of".

You have to practice asking yourself "Why is this person raising me". If the answer is "Because there's a good chance I'm behind", then it's best not to get involved. Learn to fold big hands that catch one pair when someone gets heavy with you.

Make no mistake about it. The secret to winning poker is laying down at the right times.

[ZenOffsuit]

I would have limped in w/ A/Q at this stage. (playing weak/tight w/ small blinds). I probably would have check-raised the flop. If no one bet on the flop, I would bet the turn and then assess the situation based on opponents play. Tough hand not to lose chips on since the Q hit on the river but, playing it this way gives you a chance to get away from the hand or at least have some chips in front of you when it is over.

[Alibi]

On the contrary, I'd recommend raising more than 80; at 10/20 blinds I'd go for 120-160. Isolate, isolate, isolate.

I wouldn't have raised PF with that hand from mid position. nor would I have bet the pot in that position with just top pair. limp in, and if you get raised throw it away. even though it was a rainbow flop, don't overvalue your pair of aces. Any two pair or set beats you, and you'll end up throwing away alot more money than you need to if you get too confident with those aces.

[CFANG]

If you're going to play the AQ here at this low blinds a larger raise is a must given how loose these tables often are in the early blind levels. Any low PP is happy to hop into a pot with this size raise as they know half the table will probably call and they'll break any TPTK or two pair hand when then hit. AQo in these things early when you'll probably be out of position to a couple of people usually isn't worth the trouble. If it were suited i would probably call and play it as a drawing hand.

[hydroseeds]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I appreciate them.
A few days before this hand, I'd recently decided that I would begin playing Tight/Aggressive..sticking bets to people and such. As I said, I guess I just got caught up and married to my Aces...in retrospect, if I were to critique someone else playing this I think I would say the same thing: pre-flop bet is too small, and the raise after the pot-bet on the flop is telling me I'm beat.

You have to practice asking yourself "Why is this person raising me". If the answer is "Because there's a good chance I'm behind", then it's best not to get involved. Learn to fold big hands that catch one pair when someone gets heavy with you.

I like that idea, I'll use it from now on and hopefully it'll keep me out of situations like this.


Thanks all

[ihategnomes]

I like the raise preflop. Everyone who posts to the SnG forum. Please dont send the results until after people have made remarks. Its amazing how the opinions will change when they cant see the results to make a judgement against.