8-8 Play at Orleans Tourney

Here's the scenario I've been killing myself since it happened. I played in the Orleans Saturday Limit Hold Em tourney. With about 35 players left and the blinds at 150-300, this play came up. UTG raised. Everyone mucked to me. I'm sitting three off the button with 88. I have about 1100 chips AFter much deliberation with myself, I decided to muck it...as did everyone else. I keep thinking I probably made the wrong play. What do you guys think?? With someone set my mind at ease please. Incidently, I made a totally stupid play by trying to steal the blinds with 7-6 spades. Blind made a runner runner flush.


Any help would be appreciated.


Ron

How bad can your muck be? I mean, if you play, you've got to raise and ensure that everybody else behind you folds, which means committing all but T200 to the pot. After doing that, it is clear that the rest of the money is going in either preflop or on the flop, and you're racing with the guy.


He almost has to have 2 overcards or a pair. If he has any pair, you're about 50:50 against his entire set of hands. You are getting the extra equity of the dead blinds, so unless you can eliminate some of the lower pairs from his set of hands, this is a +EV spot. However, it isn't that much of a plus, so folding can't be that terrible.


Of course, playing (as long as you don't just call, and as long as you don't fold no matter what the flop brings) can't be that terrible either; unless this raiser is the Rock of Gibraltar, and you should assume that his set of possible hands is heavily weighted towards overpairs.


Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

Greg,


Do you think the 88's should be more inclined to make a move and 3 bet here because the blinds are at 150-300. And they only have $1100. As long as the raiser is not a rock? If they go through the blinds now, they would be very desperate. Whereas if they won this 88's hand they would be in a much more comfortable position. Or out of the tournament of coarse.

I think this decision is very close between folding and 3-betting. What you know about the raiser is certainly the most important factor in making the best decision.


Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

If he is a loose raiser then I re-raise. You are short stacked and need to find a hand soon. You are hoping to get it headsup and be up against AK or AQ or a small pair.


If you do muck then you need to find a hand soon.


A few weeks back I lost in a limit tourney when I re-raised with 77 facing a loose raiser when I had exactly 3x the BB. He had A9 and hit his Ace on the flop and turn.


Ken Poklitar