Should you ever bust in level 1 of a live poker tournament?
I usually feel things out in level one and think busting in level one is uncalled for, because of stack depths. We are about 20 minutes into the first level, which are 30 minutes and I have not played a hand yet. The blinds are 100/200 and we started with 50K. I am dealt AA in the small blind, raise from middle for 1K and 3 callers in front of me so I raise 8x to 8K due to all the callers and everyone folds, but one player went on a rant about how I am just squeezing. The very next hand I am on the button and get dealt AA again and the opener was the player that said I squeezed, he raised 8x to 1.6K so I 3 bet him again to 6K. This time he calls and we go to a flop of 10 8 4 rainbow. He checks and I C-bet for 10K and the villain min raises me 20K and I called. The turn is an ace and we go check check. The river is an 8 and he shoves. I have half my stack in the middle like a dumbass and with the second nuts call to see the bad news. Should I play smaller pots in early rounds or folded an over pair on the flop when I am maybe 50/50 behind.
What? Are you saying you played a huge pot where you had AA and made top full and you're wondering if that's a mistake?
If you are playing a cash game 200bb deep, should you ever risk your whole stack on a hand? Absolutely! The SPR will be very high, so it won’t be with something like top pair or an overpair, but when you have a monster hand, you obviously want to get it in. Well, round 1 of a tournament is really not much different than a cash game. ICM pressure is essentially nonexistent and playing for +chip EV is usually correct. Again, you’re only going to want to do it with a true monster, but the spot you described probably qualifies. Bad luck if he had 88, but that’s poker, and it doesn’t mean you played it badly.
I can confirm that you should go broke with top full house on an A T 8 8 4 board.
You lose to 1 combo. You've just got to run better so you stack TT instead of losing to 88.
Considering the dynamic (he thought you squeezed the hand before), I wouldn't have checked back the turn.
yeah i too usually feel a lot of shame immediately after I bust really early
You shouldn't be playing if you're scared to bust
First of all I have no problem busting in the first level because I can buy back in like it is entering a tournament at the start. Huge advantage to play with a starting stack in the first level against bad players.
The other thing is I don't like your sizing preflop. For me it is just 3x 3bet sizing. By making it more it looks like you have a monster. Then the flop bet is way too large in my opinion. On this type of flop which favors the other player's range I just bet the same size as my preflop bet. Also you have to bet the turn here. Villain can have a draw or two pair and will call down. It will likely all go in on the turn and then you will lose to a one outer which is a story to tell for the rest of your life. This hand was a cooler and the thing to learn from it is that at least it happened in the first level and not on the bubble or HU at the final table so its a fun story...
The beauty of getting it all in early and doubling up is that it allows you to play wider and aggressively. So I go for it early on as long as it is a +EV spot which this absolutely is.
I think the 3-bet size is fine. We're 250BB deep, out of position, and there's a ton of money in the pot already (a 5x raise and 4 callers). We either want to pick it up or get the SPR down so that postflop is easier to play / we can more comfortably stack off with AA.
I think the 3-bet size is fine. We're 250BB deep, out of position, and there's a ton of money in the pot already (a 5x raise and 4 callers). We either want to pick it up or get the SPR down so that postflop is easier to play / we can more comfortably stack off with AA.
We are on the BTN not OOP in the hand in question. The 3-bet size was closer to 4x than 3x and makes it look like a monster.
The original hand where there are 3 callers and we are in the SB I would have made it 7k (3x + 1x for each caller + 1x for being OOP) and not 8k but I wasn't talking about that.
We are on the BTN not OOP in the hand in question. The 3-bet size was closer to 4x than 3x and makes it look like a monster.
The original hand where there are 3 callers and we are in the SB I would have made it 7k (3x + 1x for each caller + 1x for being OOP) and not 8k but I wasn't talking about that.
What "hand in question" are you talking about? OP only posted one hand and nobody's posted any others.
I usually feel things out in level one and think busting in level one is uncalled for, because of stack depths. We are about 20 minutes into the first level, which are 30 minutes and I have not played a hand yet. The blinds are 100/200 and we started with 50K.
I think the 3-bet size is fine. We're 250BB deep, out of position, and there's a ton of money in the pot already (a 5x raise and 4 callers). We either want to pick it up or get the SPR down so that postflop is easier to play / we can more comfortably stack off with AA.
What "hand in question" are you talking about? OP only posted one hand and nobody's posted any others.
OP posted two hands that happened one after the other.
In the first one there was a raise and 3 callers and OP was SB and 3 bet 8x the raise. This is the hand that you talk about him being OOP. There were only 3 callers in this hand. And it wasn't a 5x raise it was an 8x raise.
The second hand, which is the hand he wanted our opinion on, happened just after the first hand and he was the BTN in position. This is the hand that he busted out on and wondered if he should have allowed himself to bust out with a boat which was the 2nd nuts vs 1 possible combo of quads. Pre-flop OP's 3-bet raise size in position (OTB) was 3.75x. Which I thought was too big as I would have made it 3x.
Oh, yes, I misread that as the hand in question being from the SB. Even reread it several times to make sure I wasn't missing anything, and I still did. (Paragraph breaks are your friend.)
6k is larger than it needs to be, but it also seems OK to me exploitatively. Generally, you can 3-bet a smaller size when an opponent chooses a larger raise size, but on the other hand, we're 250BB deep, the opponent has chosen a comically large open raise size, and he is bitching about you squeezing. It adds up to a situation where the opponent doesn't seem likely to fold to a 3-bet at all (assuming you don't do something crazy like jam), because of the value they've already placed on their hand and because they're pissed at you. So it seems to me to be a good spot to let them make an even bigger mistake than usual.
The sizing in the first hand raising 8x to the raise and callers might be a mistake. I don't like getting no callers with AA.
Lol, bad beat post.
what about in poker though?
poker?
Look, the reality is that playing AA isn’t always easy—especially in the early stages of a tournament with deep stacks and low blinds. For the first hand, your 8x raise from the small blind against three callers is totally reasonable. You don’t want to play AA multiway out of position for cheap. The guy ranting about a “squeeze” was likely just reacting emotionally or out of ego.
Now, the second hand is more nuanced. Getting AA again and facing a raise from a player who just accused you of squeezing means there’s a good chance he’s playing looser or emotionally against you. On a 10-8-4 rainbow flop, your 10K C-bet into a ~12.5K pot is a bit large for this early level and stack depth. When he min-raises to 20K and you just call, you’re committing a huge chunk of your stack without clarity on where you stand.
The turn ace is great—it gives you top set—but both of you checking signals uncertainty or perhaps you trying to trap. When the river comes an 8 and he shoves, you’re only losing to full houses like 88, T8, or possibly 44 that got there with the river 8. The question is: would he really play those hands this way?
In general, in early levels, it’s wise to avoid bloating pots unless you’re confident you’re ahead. On the other hand, folding AA on a dry flop to a single raise can be overly cautious—unless your opponent is clearly showing extreme strength.
My suggestion:
Be more mindful of position and the specific opponent.
Use smaller, more balanced C-bets (30–50% pot) at deep stacks.
Instead of just calling a flop min-raise, consider 3-betting or even folding in some spots if you sense real danger—it defines the hand earlier and keeps you from getting stuck.
Overall, this wasn’t a massive mistake, but it’s a valuable experience in stack management and adjusting to early-level dynamics.
Hand 1, the raise to 8K is fine from the SB with 22 BBs in the pot and a raise and three callers behind you. Ideally you want one caller, but you sure don’t want to raise to 4K and get three callers.
Hand 2, there are 260 BBs in the pot on the turn and Villain might’ve picked up a flush draw or a double gutter. You’ve got to shove there. If the river is an offsuit K or a 5 that makes a possible flush do you call a shove?
You are totally wasting your energy worrying about what you did wrong when you got beat by a 1-outer. Also, if you are not sometimes busting out in level 1, you are playing level 1 badly.
Preflop, I would go larger, even though your other 3! didn't get called. Someone is not going to open 8x and fold easily to a 3!, particularly since he just complained about your large 3! from the SB.
I would cbet smaller. Your flop sizing and preflop represent what you have a high overpair. This is not a great board for you, and you want to make it look like you could have AK or some light 3!. You want to bet large enough though to gii with 3 bets.
I would bet the turn in position. River, obviously you can't fold 2nd nuts afraid of quads.
most tournaments are re-entry tournaments now so just maximize chip EV in the first few levels. if you bust with top boat you can just rebuy into the tournament. you're still beating more combos here than you lose to (1).
