I really think you have to play this hand, and the only feasible move is to go all in.

You have an M of 2.2, and since the table is shorthanded, your effective M is only 1.5. In another words... you don't have a much time left to make a move, and you once the next set of blinds wipes out almost half your stack, who cares even if you should succeed at getting a hand better than AJ? Doubling up then would just put you back to where you are now.

Thus, you really have to play these cards, and given the blinds and your M, neither limping nor minimum raising makes any sense. Even a minimum raise puts 60% (4,800/8,000) of your chips in the middle of the table. How could you get away from that pot regardless of what cards fell? As a result, I think you have to push.

Finally, I don't think the fact that you're "on the bubble" of the next payout bump would change my view. 1/2 of a BI isn't a lot of money (I'm assuming we're talking about some low-stakes online tournament and not a $10,000 WPT event), and so I wouldn't adjust my analysis just to ensure survival for a few more hands.

This is Limit


LIMIT

Originally Posted by mxp2004

I really think you have to play this hand, and the only feasible move is to go all in.

You have an M of 2.2, and since the table is shorthanded, your effective M is only 1.5. In another words... you don't have a much time left to make a move, and you once the next set of blinds wipes out almost half your stack, who cares even if you should succeed at getting a hand better than AJ? Doubling up then would just put you back to where you are now.

Thus, you really have to play these cards, and given the blinds and your M, neither limping nor minimum raising makes any sense. Even a minimum raise puts 60% (4,800/8,000) of your chips in the middle of the table. How could you get away from that pot regardless of what cards fell? As a result, I think you have to push.

Finally, I don't think the fact that you're "on the bubble" of the next payout bump would change my view. 1/2 of a BI isn't a lot of money (I'm assuming we're talking about some low-stakes online tournament and not a $10,000 WPT event), and so I wouldn't adjust my analysis just to ensure survival for a few more hands.

This would definitely be my play in NL.

Beav,

I am not a limit player, but as you always say to me....if you arent going to play this hand, what are you going to play?

You are in a low M situation. In no limit I am pushing.....With a limit game I am raising. If re-raised I am raising until its capped and hoping to get heads up. No matter what the flop I am pushing it all the way.

But then again I do not play limit.

Sorry about the mix-up... I was focusing on your description of the problem, and I missed what you said in the title.

I still think I would raise here and be prepared to go all the way with the hand.

I don't like limping because (1) it's still almost 25% of your stack, thus leaving you with only 5,600 (out of which you'll have to post 3,600 in blinds within 3 hands); (2) even if everyone folds through the button, why give the blinds a cheap chance to hit a pair on you?; and (3) there's a reasonably good chance that AJ is the best hand at a short table.

If you get re-raised, "so what" is my reaction? At that point the pot will be laying you at least 6.5:1 to call (and that assumes that everyone else has folded except you and the raiser). With AJ, it's not possible for you to be that big an underdog.

So, I'd still go ahead and play this hand and play it aggressively. You don't have enough chips to play it passively or to wait on much stronger cards.

Didn't really know these guys, new to the table. The tourney had been tight with fits of maniacs play every now and them.

I think this is a very easy raise even when you are new to the table and with no one having any info on youthe gap effect will be a little larger so your fold equity increases.

If you are reraised you might as well push the rest in and see all 5 cards.