hi call

by casinowoman on October 5, 2007 (login to reply)

One of the biggest mistakes in tournament play is to call an all-in from a bigger stack when one does not yet have a hand. AK, suited or not, is NOT YET a hand. Do not put your tournament life at risk by relying on a hope. Wait until you have a hand and let other players base their calls on hope.
This is not to say that you should not go all-in yourself with AKs when it is folded or limped around to you. Depending upon the players, stack size, etc. That could very well be the best play. But calling an all-in from a bigger stack with this hand is too risky in my opinion.

by nanook on October 5, 2007 (login to reply)

the operative phrase here is `wait until you have a hand`:getting a hand better than AKs is unlikely, and it is the hand to draw to.

by azary on October 5, 2007 (login to reply)

I agree that AKs is a great drawing hand but the circumstances need to be more favourable than the case presented here.
To quote from poker author John Vorhaus "It's well known that draws are death in no limit." And tournament death is what you are courting when that is all you have and you call an all-in from a bigger stack. You may miss a big win if the flop hits or if the bet is a bluff, but you will live to see a better opportunity.

by nanook on October 5, 2007 (login to reply)

The real issue is what you put big stack on. Most of these quizzes are more about reads than cards, without enough information in the text to make them. In this case, we do know big stack has been muscling the table, but that says nothing except he knows how to handle a chip advantage. Things we don't know from the question but would at the table drive the choice here, as usual.
If we assume big stack is a solid, aggressive player with some sophistication, his all-in is probably preemptive to isolate the small stack. If he's tight, I'd fold to be safe. If he's loose to neutral and good, he's likely got two big cards in the A-10 to A-K range and I've got him dominated. I want in. If he's got 10-10 or better, and he knows what he's doing, he's going to call with the primary objective of felting the short stack. Then he either looks to check it down or moves in if he catches, knowing anyone playing is pot committed at that point. I don't see a call from his side with a low pair, but that's dependent on several other factors. Sometimes large stacks are all-in junkies who get lucky. There's also the question of how the short stack plays. He's in the red zone, but certainly can afford to wait a while longer. If he just lost a big hand, then he could be tilting. If he's been waiting for a while, and is generally tight, he may have a monster.
What little stack has doesn't matter, since my stack is $14,000 if I beat big stack but not the little one. What does matter is how big stack reads the little one. If big stack thinks his low pair is good right now, that's another case where the all-in play makes sense and I don't want in. Alternatively I don't really want to play if big stack has two live cards even without the pair. If I can put him on A plus something or K plus something, then I'm calling. If I put him on anything else, I'm probably not.

by Mahakala on October 6, 2007 (login to reply)