rtrombone
12-13-2004, 08:25 PM
$300 + $30 multi-rebuy NLH tournament at the Bike. Blinds are 10/25 or 15/25; I can't remember. I have around 800 in chips.
I open-raise to 75 in MP with two red jacks. Two guys behind me cold-call. The big blind calls as well. The players behind me seem competent to solid, and have me covered. The big blind is a donkey and his stack is the same size as mine.
The flop is 9-high with two spades. The big blind bets 65. This guy isn't sophisticated enough to underbet with a big hand. I make it 400 straight. The two guys behind me muck. The big blind thinks, asks me how much I have left (300), thinks some more, then says, "I'm all-in." I beat him into the pot. He tables Js5s and makes his flush.
Standard, right? I don't know, maybe I second-guess myself too much. Does anyone play it differently? The two guys behind aren't calling my raise unless they have me beat. They're reasonable, so pocket pairs are very likely holdings. Then again, a hand like AQs is also a possibility. I had a very tight image, having shown down only one hand to that point (TT).
The advantage of flat-calling the flop is that I can see what the people behind me do. Moreover, I can stack on a blank turn, forcing the donkey to call off his entire stack with less pot equity than he has on the flop. I would've folded on the turn if the flush got there. The problem with flat-calling is that I give the people behind me the right price to hit one of their overcards, if that's what they have. Again, though, they could have pocket pairs. I'm not too worried about one of the guys behind me making a play for the pot. The presence of a donkey provides protection.
Another option is to just move in on the flop.
This hand occurred near the end of the third level. Is it worth rebuying at that point? You get only 500 in chips and the blinds were about to increase to 25/50. Even with a double add-on my stack wouldn't have been that great. I decided it wasn't worth it.
I open-raise to 75 in MP with two red jacks. Two guys behind me cold-call. The big blind calls as well. The players behind me seem competent to solid, and have me covered. The big blind is a donkey and his stack is the same size as mine.
The flop is 9-high with two spades. The big blind bets 65. This guy isn't sophisticated enough to underbet with a big hand. I make it 400 straight. The two guys behind me muck. The big blind thinks, asks me how much I have left (300), thinks some more, then says, "I'm all-in." I beat him into the pot. He tables Js5s and makes his flush.
Standard, right? I don't know, maybe I second-guess myself too much. Does anyone play it differently? The two guys behind aren't calling my raise unless they have me beat. They're reasonable, so pocket pairs are very likely holdings. Then again, a hand like AQs is also a possibility. I had a very tight image, having shown down only one hand to that point (TT).
The advantage of flat-calling the flop is that I can see what the people behind me do. Moreover, I can stack on a blank turn, forcing the donkey to call off his entire stack with less pot equity than he has on the flop. I would've folded on the turn if the flush got there. The problem with flat-calling is that I give the people behind me the right price to hit one of their overcards, if that's what they have. Again, though, they could have pocket pairs. I'm not too worried about one of the guys behind me making a play for the pot. The presence of a donkey provides protection.
Another option is to just move in on the flop.
This hand occurred near the end of the third level. Is it worth rebuying at that point? You get only 500 in chips and the blinds were about to increase to 25/50. Even with a double add-on my stack wouldn't have been that great. I decided it wasn't worth it.