Hold em

[tommy]

When playing Texas hold em would you rather have had A K of spades or pocket queens ?

I had a chance to go all in with either of the two hands and wondered what others would have done.

Only three players were left.

[duffjr]

QQ is an 8% fav over AKs    54% vs 46%.  this holds true for 1010 and JJ vs AKs too.  then you lose about a percent 53 to 47% from 99 to 55 or so, and then it's another percent.

if the blinds are high, you should push allin AK/AKsuited if you're behind.  someone might be pushing allin AQ/AJ/KQ, so you could be a favorite, but bad players usually go allin with any pocket pair or all players when they're behind late in the tourney with high blinds.

[tommy]

I'll comment more when others have posted.

[duffjr]

didn't read that there were 3 players left.  you should definitely go allin with those hands when the blinds are that big, but you can just put out a raise depending on your chipstack vs the blinds.  if you're playing against players that only go allin KK or AA, you could fold, but this depends on their chipstacks.  usually, someone throws out a raise.  it takes a lot of reading skill to know your opponent has AA or KK.  i'm guessing the chipstacks were about 10x the blinds.  you could put out a 3x raise to see if anyone will take you allin or call.  i'm not sure that you were playing $100 dollar tournies, so the players couldn't have been that good.

[missioncontrol]

I'll comment more when others have posted.

I'll post when others have commented

[duffjr]

i'll comment only if others haven't posted.

[missioncontrol]

I'll post a comment after others' comments are posted

[mccoy178]

A pretty good sign of a very strong hand to me late is if I triple the blinds.

[DrewKaree]

You should have folded both hands. 

I only base this on the theory that the sun's gotta shine on a dog's ass sometime, but you're more like the dangly bits that never see the light of day

Glad to have helped you

[duffjr]

it's AKs giving him 3% more to win than unsuited.  he has a 65% chance to hit, but the other guy has a 22% chance to hit trips, so it's not just the percentage of pairing.  if the blinds are more than his stack 3-handed, he should push allin K8o.  i  was making a great comeback K8 shortstack 8-handed, but i eventually lost AK vs 66 by trip 6s on the river to my pair of aces 3-handed.  i won 6 allins preflop in a row till that hand.  the guy who hit trips said i deserved it after my bs comeback.

[mccoy178]

I don't understand in a tourney why you would have to preflop all in six hands in a row.  I know why that is done, but not if you are seriously considering a run at the money.  By that point of going in so many times, you should be well stacked to be considering why you're pushing all in.  Once I have breathing room, I reevaluate my position and play smart again.  I don't understand that logic.  I'm not criticizing, I just don't understand it unless you had a chip and a chair literally.  64 times what you had is probably a good stack.  At least one you can play manageably.

[DrewKaree]

it's AKs giving him 3% more to win than unsuited.  he has a 65% chance to hit, but the other guy has a 22% chance to hit trips, so it's not just the percentage of pairing.  if the blinds are more than his stack 3-handed, he should push allin K8o.  i  was making a great comeback K8 shortstack 8-handed, but i eventually lost AK vs 66 by trip 6s on the river to my pair of aces 3-handed.  i won 6 allins preflop in a row till that hand.  the guy who hit trips said i deserved it after my bs comeback.

You stopped holding my interest at "it's"

[duffjr]

i won "six allin hands" in a row.  i didn't say i won six hands in a row by going allin.  i didn't use the optimal strategy necessarily.  i did go allin when i was in the blinds and my chipstack would have been less than the blinds if i folded.  when my stack got to 3x the blinds, i did fold an allin raise from the blinds with a queen high or so.  my stack eventually got to 10x the blinds when i had QQ and took down a pot at the flop.  then i lost going allin AK vs 66.  it was up to him if he wanted his tourney to end on a near coinflip.

[deadmoney5]

I'd take QQ allin vs AK anyday...

I can't tell you how many times I've been busted with Big Slick

AK, more than likely, needs help to win...QQ can win with no more help

[duffjr]

but QQ has to rely on the greater chance (read:  65%) that AK will pairup.  it's not about help.  it's about the chance that the other guy doesn't hit his cards or you get trips when he pairsup.  you'll win 11/20 times or so in the longrun with QQ.  the difference is negligible in a $5 tourney but more dramatic in a $100 one.

[mccoy178]

I'm stickin' wit da bitches!

[tommy]

I went with the A K. If i went with the QQ i would have been worried someone had this hand with the two overcards. (Too many variables but wanted a general idea from yous)

Depending on the situation, having 3 more K's and 3 more A's seems better than only two more Q's to pull from ---my bottom---.

[ChadTower]

Stop telling tommy what to do with his pocket queens.

[Dartful Dodger]

Odds are there were two more 10's in the deck, so you should have split the queens, and doubled down on the Ace King.