Should I have played this poker hand differently?

Question

This was only a Pokerstars freeroll, but it really pissed me off because I was a heavy favorite.

$2500/$5000 blinds with about 250 people left. Top 99 get the ticket to the next round.

I had around $100,000 in chips and am sitting next to a maniac who is raising an calling with anything and everything. Maniac has around $120,000. I get dealt AQ offsuit on the button and raise to $20,000. 3 Others call including maniac. Flop comes A, K, Q, rainbow. Everyone checks to me. I bet 40k. 2 Others fold, maniac goes all in. I call.

I flip AQ for 2 pair, maniac flips J7 for straight draw. Turn comes a 10 and he HITS the straight for the win!

Against anyone else, I wouldn't have made this call with only two pair given the flop but going all in w/ J7 was the kind of junk he was pulling all tourney.

My question is, with the 100k stack and only another 150 people to eliminate, should I have just checked my way into the final 99?

Answer 1

I agree with everyone else.  You played absolutely correct.  I don't think all in after the flop was the right play, especially with two players other than the maniac to act behind you and with so much action preflop, especially with several hands that would have you crushed.  But calling the maniac was the right play once everyone else had left the hand.  

I'd be ticked, too.  I really hate losing to annoying players when I have them nailed.  

And, no, you shouldn't have waited to get blinded out.  Like someone else says, the closer you get to the bubble, the tighter people tend to play and blinds come around a lot faster.

Answer 2

No, what you did was OK. Anyone would've called with an AQ vs. J7. You never know what's going to flop, turn and river. I certainly would've called too as the flop suggested his J7 wouldn't help much. It did, oh well. That's gambling for you. Even champions have gone down to worse hands than those.  Shuffle up & deal. Try again.

Answer 3

tough to say. i think you did everything right and just got unlucky.

however, according to Harrington in his book, in this situation you should fold, even if you had aces or hit trips, depending on how likely you were to advance. satellite tourneys, where X number of places are paid equally, require a different strategy in the endgame.

Answer 4

You made the right play calling his all in, but you could have pushed all in after the flop instead of raising 40k to shut him out of the pot. A maniac in a freeroll thinks he can bluff anyone off a pot with a one chip raise,  but he will be more likely to fold his hand if he can't come over the top of you. I know you said he was calling with anything, but an all in is a play where he still more likely will fold than won't.

In this type of situation, it's in your best interest to get your opponents to fold any drawing hand. You don't want to give them the chance to call you down or bluff at you with an inferior hand. You're trying to pick up some chips and hang around at this stage of the tournament, not double up.

Answer 5

I've played those Astronomer freerolls before, and finished in the money just this weekend!  The thing is that with 250 players left it is going to take you a LOT longer to hit the 99 mark than you think.  Plus people will slow down to a crawl, which means that once 'round the table can see the blinds raise once, twice, even three times!  And at that level those blinds and antes matter.  You have to pick a spot with good cards and get your money in the middle at least once.  And you hit this flop big.  Against a maniac I would have played it exactly the same way.  Even against a moderately tight player I would have done the same.  You played this hand right.  You were a big favorite, and believe it or not you probably wouldn't have made the money by folding every hand.  Never know, but in my experience you need at least $150,000 at that level.  You played it right.  Try again tonight, and good luck.

Answer 6

Thats exactly what I would have done in that situation to be honest, as would most other good players.  He just got lucky.

Answer 7

I think you played the hand correct.  You raised pre-flop and the fish called with a bad hand.  You raised again after the flop with the best hand and the fish called.

Sometimes a bad beat is a bad beat.  The fish will get lucky now and then.. but in the end it is the better players that come out on top.