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Quiz of the week: AK vs. Regulars (SNG)

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Hey PokerStrategists,

we are now done with all the calling station play and move on to some SNG action. This time it's about one specific hand: Ace-King. Easily one of the best hole cards a poker player can start with, but certainly something that needs careful evaluation before, on and after the flop.

In this quiz you can test your knowledge of how to play it up against good regulars in a variety of situations. You hold top pair, is your hand still good enough? What to do in a raised pot pre-flop? Show that you know what to do in every situation!

Did you learn much from this week's quiz? Was it too hard or too easy?

Tell us about what you think, and discuss your thoughts on the quiz questions here.


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20 replies
andreibalint
Joined: 11.04.2009
PokerStrategist

It's interested how question 2.2 was explained. I would go broke 80% of the time whitout blinking there, thinking that while somebody MAY have a set, it's unlikely that they really do.

Did you choose the right line of play?


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Proky11
Joined: 05.10.2009
Oldschool Grinder

I made 19 / 24 points :O


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Hope i don't meet up with any regulars when i am playing. 10pts.


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Only 19 correct. ;(


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for the innitial raise, I know the articles say 4x the BB + 1 per limper at least I think thats what they say...

Most videos and in the coaching sessions you will see 3x + 1 per limper so I can see many people not getting
the full points for the first one.

Also about worrying about the set... I do not much like that scenario more likely they are betting into so many
players with a set and more likely to try and trap with fewer players.

If you play your AK and you will go broke on the flop when you hit your TPTK then why would you not do so
on the turn unless you can see made better hands screaming at you in the face.

I think your up against a monster draw or even just an oesd more often than a set here and I think going broke
is the best play.

Just my opinion.


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21/24 points.. and my bankroll is like $20.. How can i do so good in the quiz, and do bad at poker? The quiz even says $22 is full of bad players.. So the $1-$2 SNG's must be way worse..

(I don't think i'm a bad player myself, But i haven't had any decent results so far)


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23/24.. Raise size fail oO


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A thought-provoking quiz. Pleased to get more right than wrong (but was a long way off perfection, so I have much room for improvement).

One puzzling observation - the numbers of people folding between the preflop actions seems too high. I inferred there were 12 people at the table, which can't have been intended. Is there need for an edit, or have I misunderstood something?


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Really enjoyed it. Quite thought provoking.


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DanMeaks
Joined: 25.10.2010
PokerStrategist

@andreibalint

That's the only question i slipped up on.

The board has a T on it though, and maybe the villain has TT. Seems like one of the only likely hands he would call with pre flop. Check the flop as a disguise, the turn shows a K. He's happy to see it maybe.

But the hero could also make the same disguise with KK post flop, since the pre flop raise would be the same as a raise with AK. So maybe the villains move could also be questioned? He's really taking a risk with checking the flop, and by also re raising the turn.

I chose shove over the top.


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TakeManies
Joined: 05.04.2011
PokerStrategist

16 and I'm a regular :f_biggrin:


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I got 17/24, and disagreed with the analysis on a few questions. Btw, there were a lot of places where it said raising when it should have said betting.

1.1: I prefer raising to 4 bb instead of to 6 bb. I'm not that concerned about seeing an extra call or two. These will often be with dominated hands which will pay off my TPTK.

I think folding would be terrible. It would leave so much money on the table. Limping also seems clearly suboptimal. I'm much less happy about trying to get value from TPTK in a limped pot, and limping invites players to overlimp. An overlimp-reraise is a possibility if you feel the CO will often raise after good players limp, but that's not my usual read on regs at this level.

1.3: While I normally bet something like 420 to set up a river push for less than the pot, there are advantages to betting 240 and it should not be dismissed so quickly. Players will bluff-catch much more often with a weaker pair when you make a bet which looks like it might be a cheap steal/semibluff, or where it seems you have to bet small to get value. I think starting with 240 may mean you get two streets of value from some hands which would fold to a bet of 420.

1.4: I prefer checking to a good player. I don't think betting 500 will get paid off by many weaker hands, since I think the CO's range is quite strong after calling a turn bet in a 4-way pot when not last to act. Should I assume a reg flat-called preflop with KQo? I think hands like KQs, QJs, and 99 are possibilities, although it's hard to see a reg calling a large turn bet with QJ when not last to act, and I don't think many regs would call a second barrel with second pair.

Betting "prevents our opponent from making a move?" If our plan was to check-call, then why would we not want the opponent to make a move? If the CO got there with 75 for a busted straight draw, we want him to bluff the river.

Pushing actually has some advantages, since I think a likely holding is AK. Some regs may fold AK on that board, giving us the whole pot instead of a split.

1.5: While I would fold, I disagree with some of the commentary. A good player should raise us with worse as a bluff some of the time. However, regs tend not to do this often enough so we don't need to pay off the raise. It's not that bluff-raising is intrinsically wrong, it's that regs have unbalanced lines which we can exploit by folding.

2.3: I think betting 500 on the river maximizes value against many fish, who are going to have hands like TPWK or second pair much more often than a good player would. Some fish will bet these hands if you check to them, but I think betting small gets more value on average.


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Gavron23
Joined: 26.05.2010
Oldschool Grinder

20 out of 24
Raised standard for 4BB at the first question.
Didn't bet at 1.4

It is maybe a leak of mine and a quite weak line,
but I would have check/evaluated the river(probably calling a smallish bet)
against any player...I think it is really a thin value of the river with J of hearts being one of the worst possible cards in the deck to hit the River


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You scored 19 out of 24 possible points. This corresponds to 79 %!

still consider myself as a beginner been hovering around $55 - $64 bankroll

and sticking $ 1.10-1.20 sng 9,18, 45 man sng


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16 out of 24 here. I learned before this quiz when you raise preflop with AK and guy reraises you, sometimes don't push (he had KK).

The basic strategy articles say to go all in with AK if there is a raise after your raise but surely this often run into trouble as there are few hands that will raise you, AA,KK.


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Mantelo
Joined: 12.05.2009
BlackMember

Originally posted by Gavron23
20 out of 24
Raised standard for 4BB at the first question.
Didn't bet at 1.4

It is maybe a leak of mine and a quite weak line,
but I would have check/evaluated the river(probably calling a smallish bet)
against any player...I think it is really a thin value of the river with J of hearts being one of the worst possible cards in the deck to hit the River

Same story here :diamond: And I completely agree with Pzhon.


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Unam
Joined: 17.08.2006
Elite Grinder

You scored 19 out of 24 possible points.

But I think we should keep in mind how old the quiz is.


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Ramble
Joined: 17.11.2008
PokerStrategist

You scored 23 out of 24 possible points. This corresponds to 96 %!

hmmm... I was happy about this until I saw players like Unam, Gavron, and pzhon all score in the 17-20 range... makes me think I am thinking at a basic level and not where I should be... ?(

Is this weekly quiz a thing of the past? I think it would be great to revive.


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19


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