Aces. Call or fold?

Mid-stage of a tournament. I'm sitting at UTG with around 33.5BB and pick up pocket Aces. I open-raise to 6.5BB.
Button shoves all-in (covering me, roughly 40BB). Action folds back to me — easy call, right?
He flips 9-6 offsuit. I'm way ahead.
Board runs out: 3 – J – 9 / 5 / 6
He hits two pair on the river and sends me to the rail.
I know bad beats are part of the game, but I'm curious — would any of you have played Aces differently from UTG at this stack depth to avoid a flip situation? Or is this just standard and you take your chances?

Natiq 90 said:

Mid-stage of a tournament. I'm sitting at UTG with around 33.5BB and pick up pocket Aces. I open-raise to 6.5BB.
Button shoves all-in (covering me, roughly 40BB). Action folds back to me — easy call, right?
He flips 9-6 offsuit. I'm way ahead.
Board runs out: 3 – J – 9 / 5 / 6
He hits two pair on the river and sends me to the rail.
I know bad beats are part of the game, but I'm curious — would any of you have played Aces differently from UTG at this stack depth to avoid a flip situation? Or is this just standard and you take your chances?

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I have a similar question, lately I go allin preflop, because I was not having any success when making bets and getting called all the way down and they make their hand on the river! Yesterday I was on the button and raised all in preflp everyone folded except utg and turned over K9os they pulled off a river straight 5,6,7,Q,8. My last 9 allins I won zero of 9. I went allin with all preflop half I called and the other half I made the bet, AA, AQos, AJs, 10 10, AKs, 9 9, KK, 4 4, AKs! 🫣😬

Natiq 90 said:

Mid-stage of a tournament. I'm sitting at UTG with around 33.5BB and pick up pocket Aces. I open-raise to 6.5BB.
Button shoves all-in (covering me, roughly 40BB). Action folds back to me — easy call, right?
He flips 9-6 offsuit. I'm way ahead.
Board runs out: 3 – J – 9 / 5 / 6
He hits two pair on the river and sends me to the rail.
I know bad beats are part of the game, but I'm curious — would any of you have played Aces differently from UTG at this stack depth to avoid a flip situation? Or is this just standard and you take your chances?

Click to expand...

If this was a mid or high stakes tournament, I would put in a complaint about a likely superuser.

Personally I'm NEVER folding in this spot. If anyone is going to fold AA here then they should just quit poker because poker isn't for them.

Cheers!!!

Natiq 90 said:

Mid-stage of a tournament. I'm sitting at UTG with around 33.5BB and pick up pocket Aces. I open-raise to 6.5BB.
Button shoves all-in (covering me, roughly 40BB). Action folds back to me — easy call, right?
He flips 9-6 offsuit. I'm way ahead.
Board runs out: 3 – J – 9 / 5 / 6
He hits two pair on the river and sends me to the rail.
I know bad beats are part of the game, but I'm curious — would any of you have played Aces differently from UTG at this stack depth to avoid a flip situation? Or is this just standard and you take your chances?

Click to expand...

When is AA ever a 'flip situation'? (especially when only up vs. one other player - - it's typically an 80/20)
I'd be raising to 2.1bbs but always with hopes of getting it in preflop, somehow.

It's important to understand that there are no invulnerable hands in poker. Yes, aces are good, but they can easily be outbid on the flop, turn, or river. So remember the first rule of AA: the fewer opponents in the hand, the better.

With ~33.5BB UTG, AA is always an open, but I don’t like the 6.5BB sizing.
In most low‑ and micro‑stakes tournaments, that kind of oversized raise usually screams, “I don’t want action,” and it can actually induce some players to shove wider because they read it as scared strength.
You see this a lot — players with FPS (fany play sydrome) who think they can blow you off a hand or “punish” a weird sizing.

A standard 2–2.5BB open keeps your range balanced and doesn’t broadcast that you’re holding a premium.
And honestly, if someone is willing to rip 40BB with 9‑6 offsuit, they’re doing it no matter what size you choose.
You’re never avoiding that shove with AA.

The only real exception may be when you’re literally one player away from the bubble bursting.

In that spot, ICM pressure is huge, and some players tighten up so much that you might adjust your sizing or even your entire opening range to avoid high‑variance confrontations.
But outside of that very specific situation, this is just a standard open and a standard call.

And as for the “full‑stack open with 0.5BB left” type of stuff — yeah, you see that all the time in micros and low buy‑ins.
People love fancy plays, weird min‑raises, limp‑re‑raises, and all sorts of nonsense.
But none of that changes the fact that AA vs a 40BB shove from 9‑6 offsuit is a dream spot.
You got it in massively ahead and the deck just didn’t cooperate.

Nothing to fix here — just variance doing what variance does.

Going all-in before the flop was the right play with AA. If someone goes all-in with AA before the community cards are shown and loses with it, it's not a bad play, just bad luck.

My man, I feel you. No, you played it perfectly. If you would have gone All-In first, that guy would call it anyway, because he's obviously nuts and does not give a single f***. My condolescences, really, nothing much to say here.

As Michael Corleone said "It's the smart move." Unfortunately your opponent was more like a lucky Clemenza than Tessio.

When I get pocket aces (AA), I understand that it is the strongest starting hand in poker, so I try to play it aggressively.
Preflop:
If no one has entered the pot before me, I make a raise to build the pot and reduce the number of opponents. If someone has already raised, I usually re-raise (3-bet). I try not to just call because I don’t want too many players in the pot.
Flop:
After the flop, I continue to play actively. If the board is safe and there are no obvious draws, I make a continuation bet (c-bet) to keep building the pot. If the board shows possible flush or straight draws, I still bet but also think about protecting my hand.
My goal:
I try to play against one or two opponents and build a big pot, because pocket aces are usually ahead.
At the same time, I remember that even with pocket aces I can lose. If the board becomes very dangerous and an opponent shows strong aggression on later streets, I start to evaluate the situation more carefully.
Overall, when I have AA, I play confidently and aggressively, trying to get maximum value from the strongest starting hand.

It's just that you lack luck

Unless it's a bubble or something close to it, I'll always play that hand. In a situation like the one described by the author, I would play the same way.

Not folding here and you're never going to be flipping when it's you vs. only one villain. AA is a massive favorite against anything they could possibly have, but not 100% to win and this time you just didn't - that's poker!