Just got knocked out after 2.5 hours of a $5 large MTT. I want to walk through my thought process here on the hand I went out on and get opinions on if I'm just using terrible reasoning or if it was just bad circumstance.

I have 18BB, villain has about 40BB.

Villain min-raises from middle position and I have KQo in the cutoff. I flat the raise.

Flop comes A-J-3 rainbow.

Villain bets 2BB. Pot is about 9BB now w/ blinds and antes included.

I am thinking in this position. I might actually have the best hand. Most people won't lead with aces in this situation, so if I'm behind to a jack or mid pocket pair, I've got some outs with my KQ that are over a J and broadway draw. I decide based on that reasoning and my position, that I should call and re-evaluate on the turn.

Turn comes another A.

Villain bets 5BB.

I put myself in his shoes. I am thinking, "If I have an Ace here, do I bet?" Nah, probably not because I let the person in position hang themselves. He's got to be thinking, I called his flop bet, looking to steal later. I decide, I'm going to flat one more time and see if I can either outdraw him, or check-check and win with my king high.

River comes K.

He shoves for my remaining stack of about 9BB.

I think about it for a minute and decide... I think I'm good here even though he is triple barrelling.

Villain flips over A-10 and I am knocked out of the tourney.

Is this terrible reasoning on my behalf that led me to elimination? I see why someone would also just keep betting their Ace for value. But, I probably wouldn't have taken the same line. I am thinking I probably really don't need to be calling that turn and needed to take that 5BB bet more seriously.

if you're willing to hang up the cleats with KQo and 18bb then you should never be calling

don't bust on a bluff catcher, jamming pre is too wide that deep but if you're seeing a flop with KQo with 18bb then you're folding or jamming that flop, never calling

as played i'm always folding turn but mostly folding pre

that's just me though, i'm sure you'll get far better and more current online micro mtt players to chime in with better input

I haven't played online tournaments in over 15 years, I play live only now.

Anybody who raises preflop will cbet HU with AJx with our without an A. Even with AA I would cbet to not give a free card to gutters.

I don't mind the flop call for 2bb's though I wouldn't mind folding with just 16 bb's left. I would assume that Villain has a lot of Ax in his range. And hitting a T is like 10% so we would have to be able to average winning 20bb's to break even. So to make it worth it Villain would have to be willing to either go all in or call an all in which I think is reasonable here.

Turn is a fold for me. Its about 35% of the effective stack size which would be pot committing with K high (not something I'm a fan of). Also even if we hit our straight villain can have a boat.

This thread should probably be moved to NL Tournaments forum.

AJx is actually a board that the oop player should be checking a lot and betting large with a more polar range. A lot of the ip flatting range (should be) is middling Axs hands.

In practice in a $5 MTT, most people are probably shoving with a lot of stronger calling hands and folding the weaker calling hands. I didnt know cold calling a raise off 20bb ip was a thing until I started studying pf more.

Your hand as played I like calling the small flop bet and folding to the double barrel. If he checks turn you will probably be able to take it down with a bet.

OP, your reasoning is bad.

Preflop: you can actually 3 bet shove with KQo and 18BB vs MP raise (depending on the villain). Flatting is fine.

Flop: It's fine to peel the flop and re-evaluate the turn some % of the time (even though I fold this flop greater than 50% of the time). You are floating and maybe you hit your T. But on the turn, it should be a fold.

You aren't deep enough for fancy plays like this. When the villain bets the turn, what do you think your hand looks like to them? and A? a J? you have pretty much the bottom of your range here (K high). Even if the villain has a hand like 88, they are still beating you. So after you call the turn bet, you are no going to be forced to shove any river if they check to you.

Conclusion, this is bad play.

Hopefully your second week of poker turns out better than your first.

I don't know that I'd assume the preflop raiser won't bet the flop if he has an A. There are probably a lot of people who just C-bet all the time heads up.

I would assume he does have an A until he gives me reason to think otherwise. If he bets and then checks the turn, then maybe you've got something and can take it away. But if he keeps betting, you're probably just dead. Just fold.

"Villain min-raises from middle position and I have KQo in the cutoff. I flat the raise." [Sure -- don't have to raise KQo here, esp. if you think villain is not opening too wide from middle position]

"Flop comes A-J-3 rainbow. Villain bets 2BB. Pot is about 9BB now w/ blinds and antes included. I am thinking in this position. I might actually have the best hand. Most people won't lead with aces in this situation" [WRONG: Most people will bet here. OR will c-bet with most of his range and especially with an ace will c-bet to build the pot figuring he's likely good. All hands he's behind would have 3-bet pre except 33. (AK, AQ, AJ, JJ)]

"Turn comes another A. Villain bets 5BB. I put myself in his shoes. I am thinking, "If I have an Ace here, do I bet?" Nah, probably not because I let the person in position hang themselves."[WRONG: since you called the flop bet, villain figures you have a hand that's willing to keep betting. Your range doesn't include anything he's behind except 33, and there are a few bad rivers that will either give you the straight or kill any river action. Now is the time to build the pot. You are in for 4 BB from your 18BB starting stack. a 5BB bet will make the pot 19 and leave you with 9 BB left behind, making you nearly pot committed and making it much more likely that you'll call his river shove. If he lets you see a free turn and then bets 10BB on the river, you can fold and retain 14BB. He must bet the turn with the best hand. If you have exactly 33 then he's going to lose.]

"He's got to be thinking, I called his flop bet, looking to steal later. I decide, I'm going to flat one more time and see if I can either outdraw him, or check-check and win with my king high." [You are forgetting to ask what your plan is when he bets the river. If you don't get the Ten on the river and he bets, do you plan to fold your 9BB? If so, then fold now on the turn, or shove as a bluff. Flatting with only a gutshot is suicide]

"River comes K" [Worst card for you, but also bad card for villain if he doesn't have an ace. You have a bluff catcher, so what are villain's bluffs? Board is AJ3AK. Villain could have Q9s, KTs, but would those hands bet 5BB on the Ace turn after you called the c-bet on the flop? Your range includes plenty of aces. Barreling the turn with a gutshot and jamming river when he either missed or made a pair of kings seems unlikely. If he has a King without an ace, he'll likely check-call the river. But, if you're bluff-catching, then I guess you're calling off -- because you committed yourself on the turn.]

Last point here is that this is a $5 tournament. Villain may be more likely to be bluffing off 18BB from his 40BB stack in a low stakes event like this, which may make your reasoning slightly more plausible, but in a tournament of any higher stakes where players are better, your line here is likely to lose the vast majority of the time imo.

1. Why is this in the Live Poker forum?
2. It's a $5 MTT online. Hero is trying to be far too cerebral for his villains that would definitely min raise AT and continue after flopping top pair. Value bets are rewarded at that level and 2nd pair, some other pairs, and gutshot draws are in hero's range. I wouldn't slow play much or expect others to slowplay much in the $5's.
3. The correct line may have a lot to do with ICM (google this if unfamiliar), but no info was shared on the money situation.
4. Assuming nowhere near the money, generally don't go to your death (or get pot committed or even pot tempted) by passively calling in any tournament at any level without a strong made hand or monster multiway draw vs. your villain's range. Unless you, by observation or by HUD, believe villain is a nit, either: 1. shove preflop where you've got some fold equity and at least marginal show down equity vs. everything except KK and AA (not my choice, but I might vs a loose villain), 2. see a flop and get away after only flopping a gutshot (rarely my choice), or 3. simply fold preflop (my choice).

OP - the biggest issue is that you're assuming your opponent is thinking like you are. That is one of the biggest leaks that poker players have. Instead you should simplify and ask yourself how wide is his range and how many value hands vs bluffs does he play this way.

No idea why you think he can't have an ace (at least) when that is his most likely hand. I wouldn't go assuming that a random player is going to be triple barrelling off very often.