With a short stack, ATo is a fold or raise preflop. When playing a short stack you want to limit the field and have initiative because your going to be near pot committed on any flop you hit. In this case, with two limps in front, just fold ATo unless the table is timid enough that you expect a raise to fold everybody out. If the table is passive, I could excuse limping in behind with ATs in fairly good position, but fold to the raise. Hand isn't strong enough to play here.
On flop, the action is messed up, villain has to go first here. If villain bet into hero, then hero has to shove or fold. Calling to shove turn doesn't work here because hero isn't going to have enough money left to get any FE. Villain is only going to fold his total air. Notice that a decent villain isn't bluffing here with a larger then pot bet. That puts hero to a shove/fold decision where hero is likely committed with any part of board. Hero happens to be near bottom of possible range and can fold but any better AX and any hand with a good club means hero is going in.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Hickok
How should hero have played this? I think it's a raise pre. After villain raises, I suppose call must be correct.
This is backwards, you need a stronger hand to call a raise then make a raise in the first place. Raising preflop is OK, but ATo is one of the hands that is Ok to make a raise but terrible to call a raise with. The logic is simple, villain is on some range of hands to raise with, and over time will average the mid point of that range. This means you want a hand stronger then the mid point of villain's opening range to call. Assuming any sort of sensible ranges, the mid point of villain's range is going to be stronger then the bottom end of your own opening range and higher then ATo. Also note this logic breaks down when stacks are deep and you are playing more for implied odds rather then direct odds. At 50BB your playing close to straight value, you can only go for implied odds in certain limited situations.
