USPC: $300 NLH hand

Each player started with T500. It's the 2nd round, blinds at 5-15. I've already doubled up (pocket Q's vs. pocket T's), and have about T970. Folded around to my button, I have KJo. Figuring it's time to use my table chip lead to start pushing people around, I raise open for T40. Both blinds call.


Question 1: Should I have made the play at all?

Question 2: Did I raise to the right amount?


Flop comes JT5, no suits. Small blind says "well, either you have the hand or not" and shoves in for T250. This is the guy who twice in the first round shoved his entire stack in to steal T15 in blinds. Big blind folds. So, there's 120 in the middle, and his all-in of 250 more makes it 370 in the pot. Call, lose the hand and I've still got T680. Fold now, and I've got 930. Win it, and I've got over 1200, and the loose cannon at the table is taken care of. What should I do?


Results after a few responses.

If I decide to raise with any 2 then I would go 50 which is in the same ballpark.


The thing is that I will only raise with any 2 generally if I have passive, predictable opponents in the blinds. This does not seem to be the case here :-).


Anyway here we are. It really depends what you make of his comment. Is he trying to mislead or is he just saying what he thinks ? In the absence of any other information, this isn't going to knock me out and he could have anything. Probably call.


Andy.

i call immediately.

I would raise a little higher, but not much. I would probably call his bet and lose to AJ or win to A-10.

Do Daaaaah,


Question #1: Yes. Your cards are good enough to play this hand.


Question #2: The raise to 40 is a good pot size raise. I would say 40 would be the minimum, but you could make it 50 (I just like to toss in two greens, it's easier to count the pot). You should raise the amount that appears to be the standard raise at your table for being the first one in with a raise.


He might of called you with a variety of hands. I would call. He could easily have a variety of hands. What you want to think about here is what hands will he call with and which will he reraise with preflop. I would say that since he committed the rest of his chips he has top pair.


Good Luck


Mark

Some players would say this to induce you to call, and others to induce you to fold. You have to figure out which kind he is. Not much else to add, except he's more likely to be semi-bluffing than bare-ass bluffing, so if you're not sure, I would tend to fold (as your correct calls might still lose 1/3 of the time when he makes his straight).


Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

Andy,


Does a raise with KJ on the button count as "any two" in your opinion? It is likely to be beating the random hands in the blinds. So if you made this move, would you be thinking of it as a steal, or as playing the best hand?


If I were the BB with this hand and it was folded to the SB who just called, I would be sure to raise and would think I had the best hand (against most players). Is the situation much different on the button?


Guy.

Well, I did what most of you would have done. I thought for a good half minute (I try to never make quick decisions in tourneys) and decided he had a jack with a weaker kicker, most likely JQ. So, I called and turned over my hand. He said "Yup, you got me". Anyway, the turn was a 7, the river was a 9, and he dragged the pot with J9o. I stewed in my seat until someone else had the pleasure of knocking him out about 20 minutes later.


Anyway, the tourney was a disaster after that. I somehow managed to steal my way past the first break, and then in the 25/50 round, I had the good fortune to be dealt red kings against pocket tens. Board comes with 4 spades (including the king of spades) and he's got black tens. Yup, it's a skill game, alright.


IGHN.


thanks for your responses.

You're right to pick me up on that Guy, it is better than any two, the real question is whether you will get called by a smaller hand, and whether you will get paid off by someone with a smaller K or a smaller J or an underpair if you hit.


In a typical small buy-in comp it is often worth a raise for value, at the USPC, even though $300 is one of the smaller comps, it's probably marginal.


Andy.

Good read, good call, bad luck. It sounds as though you are a little disillusioned - try to remember that you got the chips in with much the best of it both times. You can't win them all !


Andy.

Sounds like a set. Fold.