I played in the GCBPT £100 side event at Teesside a few nights ago and early on in the torney the following hand came up. I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts about how I played it.

We were at level 2 blinds 50/100 i was still around my starting stack of 7500 and my opponent had me covered but only by 1000 or so. I got dealt AKo in the big blind my opponent in mid position raises to 300 folded to me, I had him as reasonably tight but able to pull some moves when needed. I decide to call knowing I can get away cheaply if the flop is unfavorable. The flop comes 5 4 4 cant remeber suits I bet out 500 into 650 pot he calls quite quickly so I feel he has an over pair. Turn comes another 5 I feel a good bet might get him to lay down a mid pair as he may think its possible my hand contains a 4 or 5. He thinks for a while then calls. River is a 10 and i instantly check. A bit of banter follows and eventually he checks and shows 6 4. Any comments about this would be helpful.

Thanks

kgr00

reraise preflop? As played, check/fold i guess.

I mean, your leads are bad: your opponent is never folding a pair on the flop or the turn.

Reraise preflop. I would usually check call the flop. Leading out is essentially turning your hand into a bluff because all the hands he folds will be worse than AK. Check the turn as you won't convince him you led out with a 4 and the odds are against you having a 5. His check behind on the river is horrible.

Normally I would re-raise pre flop but with him being a tight player I thought his hand was good enough to call any raise (How wrong I was!) and I wanted to keep the pot small with it only being ace high. Check fold after the flop I feel is a bit passive the with what I had him on the flop wasn't likely to hit him so I thought a bet may take it down. I agree maybe firing the 2nd barrel might not be a good idea if he calls the flop he calls the turn so maybe check fold to any bet would have been better.

kgr00

I said check call the flop, not check fold. You're correct that a bet will take it down a reasonable amount, but when it does, its because AK is crushing him, i.e. he has KJ or something. Taking the pot down isn't an important goal if your opponent has three outs.

If you think he'll call any reraise preflop, reraise and bet the flop and expect to take it down a lot. There's a weird dichotomy between your belief that you don't want to reraise AK preflop and your simultaneous belief that a bet will let you take it down on a flop as harmless as 544.

I dont mind that call from time to time but im reraising most times that early in a tournament. I play ABC poker early and save the tricks for later.

I also think you overbet the flop as well, half pot would be enough for me.

Reraise pre-flop.

As played usually check/fold the flop. If he c-bets a lot and won't make life too difficult on future streets maybes check/call. I could also see check/raising the flop from time to time against some villains.