AKs missed flop, what would you have done?

[sarevok999]

Hi here a hand which costed me my place ITM i think.
To explain why I played like this, is that the previous hands I had: KK ( raise UTG +1 3xbb => fold ), KJ ( raise UTG 3xbb =>fold ), QQ ( raise 3xbb from BB , one caller who folded after c-bet )
may have looked like a maniac for them because i've played 1-2 hands so far.

I didn't c-bet the flop because I thought of the advice I've read here:
Never C-bet OOP against several callers.

Weak play on turn? i think so

River I had to call because the odds were so great or should've raised here to bluff a monster?


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t150 (6 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FCP)

Hero (t2050)
BB (t1395)
UTG (t4535)
MP (t1609)
CO (t1448)
Button (t2463)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A , K .
2 folds, CO calls t150, Button calls t150, Hero raises to t400, 1 fold, CO calls t250, Button calls t250.

Flop: (t1350) 9 , J , Q (3 players)
Hero checks, CO checks, Button checks.

Turn: (t1350) 6 (3 players)
Hero checks, CO checks, Button checks.

River: (t1350) 7 (3 players)
Hero checks, CO bets t150, Button folds, Hero calls t150.

Final Pot: t1650

At the end he flopped K9 and took the pot

[Zee Devee]

After it checks around bet the turn.

[taipan168]

I shove it preflop rather than standard raising.

[sarevok999]

hmm .. but my M is high enough to play a couple of rounds and the next blind level is 100/200 so it's not a great difference... was a quiet tight table so they probably would have folded....

[taipan168]

hmm .. but my M is high enough to play a couple of rounds and the next blind level is 100/200 so it's not a great difference... was a quiet tight table so they probably would have folded....

It's got nothing to do with your M. The problem is if you want to c-bet the flop (which you should) you will be very short if you get called. Whenever your stack is such that raising preflop and c-betting a missed flop would leave you very short, then just shove it preflop.

Another way of looking at this is that if the chips in the pot preflop are more than 15% of your stack, then just shove preflop with hands like AK or JJ which are strong hands but with which you wouldn't mind taking it down preflop.

[sarevok999]

Hmm ok the pot was 300 and my stack 2000 so its quiet on the edge...

I was sure about having the best hand preflop and a shove would only give me 300 chips...

Also you mentioned to c-bet even such flop. In my earlier games i really always c-bet ( if there weren't more than two opponets ) and if c-bet was around 40% of my stack i just shoved all in..

So if i miss and there are 2 "Other" face cards still c-bet?

[taipan168]

Hmm ok the pot was 300 and my stack 2000 so its quiet on the edge...

You're forgetting the blinds. There are actually 525 chips in the pot so the pot preflop is 25% of your stack.

I was sure about having the best hand preflop and a shove would only give me 300 chips...

525 chips, 25% addition to your stack. Nothing wrong with taking it down preflop, and if any of them are limping with pocket pairs and call you, you need to see all 5 cards to get full value from your AK.

Also you mentioned to c-bet even such flop. In my earlier games i really always c-bet ( if there weren't more than two opponets ) and if c-bet was around 40% of my stack i just shoved all in..

So if i miss and there are 2 "Other" face cards still c-bet?

If you were deeper stacked I would definitely take a stab, although I'm not delighted to do it against 2 opps when I'm OOP. Also, don't forget that you likely have 10 outs on the turn if you're called.

[Zee Devee]

Woops, I didn't really look at stack sizes here or preflop (I'm at work, had to glance).

Your pf raise needs to be higher to account for the limpers because you ideally want to get this HU. So with the limpers you would need to raise to about 600-700. And if that doesn't take down the pot you would need to push the flop for your c-bet, because otherwise you wouldn't have any chips left to play with after a 1/2 pot bet.

So since you are planning on getting all of your chips in no matter what, push preflop to give you the max FE and biggest chance to take down the pot now.

[topsoyale]

You also seem to think that winning just the blinds with ak isn't good enough and that you want a larger pot. This is definately not the correct way to think about it as ak isn't a dominant favourite over most hands and a bad flop comes fairly often.

In this situation I'd be very happy to get it all in pre-flop and steal blinds or get a loose caller.

[sarevok999]

Yes you are right, seemed a bit frustrating as everyone folded to KK and I so I wanted some action.. next time I'll put it all in and be happy with winning the blinds

[baron_greenback]

I wouldn't have called the river bet. Is this a leak?

[drmcboy]

yes, folding the river for that price is bad. This is a bluff enough that you have to call, especially since it's been checked to here. Call at least 300, maybe 400 if you have seen opp take stabs in similar spots before.

[dstir2]

raise more preflop like zee said, or just push as suggested by tai. a push might induce a loose call considering the previous hands you mentioned. the call on the river is a leak b/c it's highly unlikely you have the best hand.