Poker Forum by Poker is Rigged

I was in the Broadway Casino in Birmingham the other night for my biggest ever live tournament with 250 runners in the casino.

It was a shootout so i had to win the first table to be put onto the last 3.

I started out really well; i had a tight image and i was making squeeze plays with hands like 46s and 9To to take down a lot of limps preflop.

Blinds were going up and they were 100/200 and my stack was 2.9k (i was chip leader - very tight table).

I raised UTG+1 3.5 BBs with AKo, a stack with 1.5k came over the top and then someone else called their stack with 1k. I figured i had to make the call and the 2 show AK and 88. Flop comes K82 .. So it's pretty much game over.

Few hands later i have 1.5k and blinds are 150/300, i have AJo UTG and i min raise hoping to pull off a stop and go no matter what the flop comes. It folds round to the Dealer. He sits there thinking for a while and then calls. SB and BB fold.

flop comes 249 rainbow, i shove all in for 900 more. I get insta called and the guy shows pocket 2s.

Im trying to figure out if this second play was a bad one seeing as if he doesnt hit that flop then im definately taking down the pot which is almost double my stack. If he has AK he would've shoved over the top preflop, and if he had AQ he's folding on the flop. I think mayb i got unlucky, but would like to know if i shld've jst folded AJo UTG or shoved with it?

i disagree. Short stack min raising then pushing flop is either a sign of strength (mayb AA QQ) or weakness. I think you would get called by AQ AK and pretty much any pocket pair. Your shoving 900 into a 1.65k pot(ish) so hes getting 2.5k to 900 which
is not bad odds for him seeing as you could be doing a standard raise push.

So i should be folding this preflop or shoving?

AJ in early position is such a nasty hand to come across. I know the players are tight and will only be playin strong hands against me. Average age on my table was probably around 50. Older players tend to be the tightest.