Tournament Final Table

Hi all,


This is my first post here, but i have been reading all your comments for months, they are really good. But now i need some help from you pros out there, whether what i did was right or wrong.


I reached the final table, i had 2nd largest chip stack with T 18,000 and the other chip stack had 20,000. 7 players left on final table rest of people had stacks between 10,000 and 2,000 (no serious threats). Top 4 places get paid (all of which is good money for me). I was on BB and UTG called (alleged poker professional) as did the button and the SB. I had 78h..the flop came 737. All checked, next card came 4h (putting 2 hearts on the table) SB and myself checked and UTG bet T 1000, all folded to me, i raised 4000 and UTG reraised pot, cant remember exactly but i think it was around 15-16,000. Virutally all in. Even if i thought i had the best hand, would it have been correct to have folded just to have survived to last 4 to get paid or should I have followed my instincts? The river brought a Q, and i lost as for someunknown reason she called UTG with bloody 7-3??? full house on flop and i was gone. With that comanding chip lead she won the tournament. But my question is, tournament strategy, would it have been correct to have just folded and got to last 4? or not.


Thanks for any advice, I appreciate it greatly.


John

I play to win and would have done what you did, however if your only goal was to place in the top 4 than maybe you should fold. ask your self this would you call , raise, or fold on the button with aces???????????

There are 30 hands that beat you on the flop and in a 4-handed unraised pot your stack is already big enough to at least consider the possibility of being behind (hands like A7s, 33 or 97s are perfectly plausible, even for an UTG limper).


> the flop came 737. All checked


Under normal circumstances, you can make a case for slowplaying here. But as 2nd in chips, together in a pot with the only person that can bust you, you shouln't get tricky here. By checking, you


- risk giving a free card to small pairs and gunshots

- encourage ppl. behind you to slowplay

- and (most importantly) signal that this pot is for sale and therefore make it much harder to find you where you stand on turn.


So unless you were going for a check-raise and were almost certain that UTG or the button would bet, I think you should bet out and proceed with caution if you get played with by UTG (after all, you're the only stack that can really hurt her and since you got a free play, you can credibly represent a 7, so you would have to give her credit for a real hand)


> next card came 4h


This turn got you in an uncomfortable situation, as there now is a 2-flush on board and a str8 possible. A bet here can mean anything from a 4, over a semi-bluff, to a slow played 7 or even a str8. And of course you picked up a flush draw along with your top trips which makes it almost impossible to get away from the hand.


> SB and myself checked


If you decided to go all the way with your hand, you should have bet out so that you can get your stack in as the agressor if you get raised by UTG. Also, by betting out, you might induce a semi-bluff all-in raise from one of the smaller stacks.


> i raised 4000 and UTG reraised pot,


By check-raising you maximize the information you get before committing your stack, so this play seems best if you actually would have been willing to concede the pot.


> would it have been correct to have folded just to have survived to last 4 to get paid or should I have followed my instincts?


You need a higher level of confidence than usual to commit your stack in this situation, but if you were sure to be ahead, then of course you have to call. But you need to be aware that top trips/no kicker, esp. when played out of position in a multiway pot, is not exactly a monster and even weak players rarely 3-bet all-in without a real hand, so you need a very good read to risk your stack when you can already fold your way into the money.


cu


Ignatius

I play to win and would have done what you did, however if your only goal was to place in the top 4 than maybe you should fold. ask your self this would you call , raise, or fold on the button with aces???????????


I consider it borderline that I would put my money in here even in a cash-game, this situation cannot be compared to having Aces on the button. Make the board Td-9d-6s (giving 87s the complete nuts, but running the risk of having as much as 14 losing cards to QdJd, or giving the fairly insane 8d7d a nine-card freeroll) and we can compare to Aces on the button pre-flop.


I dislike playing this hand this way. If you plan to get all money in, bet the flop. You avoid giving free cards and will likely take down a pot of four big blinds, which is nice in the latter stages of a tournament.


If you are ready to release you hand to some substantial action (or put a short-stack all-in), check the flop. This way you can check-raise a small flop bet and perhaps gain an even bigger pot at the same time as you are defining you hand, so you can be sure opponents are not taking a shot at you when they come over the top.


In a big bet tournament, I'd thank my opponents very much for the free flop and take it down with a decent bet on the flop. I would fold if the other big stack came over the top, seeing how much larger you two were over the rest of the field.


Better luck next time,


Lars

This is a case where you need to bet the flop. If you want you can check the flop hoping for a check raise, but if re raised by the big stack I think you have to release.


Against any short stack obviously you can and should put them in, but you have to realize that the big stack is unlikely to be risking their entire tournament on 1 pair here, so you have to hope they have 7-6 and are willing to go broke with it. Remember you were BB they will have no problem giving you credit for a 7 when you aggressively play the hand, so If your aggression does not seem to bother them you may have a problem.


The other problem here is that by having checked twice you look like you dont have anything. You induced ation which you were then forced to call. BTW, there was really no much a reasonable player could risk his whole stack with that you could beat on the turn.


He really ois unlikely to have checked the flop with an overpair. So he could have 33 or 44 both of which beat you. Yes 7-3 is an odd hand to have, but it was not the only hand that oculd beat you.

Thanks guys for your responses. It has helped me a lot to understand what went wrong, and I will not make same mistake twice!!


THanks once again.


John