How poorly did I play this? Out first

[Evolution Crisis]

Should I have pushed first trying to force him out or is checking b/c I think he has the overpair to bet with the right move and I just got terribly unlucky?

***** Hand History for Game 1331950552 *****
NL Hold'em $10 Buy-in + $1 Entry Fee Trny:8068502 Level:1 Blinds(10/15) - Tuesday, December 21, 23:43:06 EDT 2004
Table Table 11047 (Real Money)
Seat 10 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 2: ontiltraiser ( $800 )
Seat 3: pau1iewog ( $800 )
Seat 5: meskake ( $800 )
Seat 6: stoney13 ( $800 )
Seat 10: bushriverinn ( $800 )
Seat 8: brownrl1948 ( $800 )
Seat 4: seamus04 ( $800 )
Seat 9: vtz2003 ( $800 )
Seat 1: EvolutionCry ( $800 )
Seat 7: nascarbill14 ( $800 )
Trny:8068502 Level:1
Blinds(10/15)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to EvolutionCry [ Td As ]
pau1iewog calls [15].
seamus04 folds.
meskake folds.
stoney13 folds.
nascarbill14 raises [30].
brownrl1948 folds.
vtz2003 folds.
bushriverinn folds.
EvolutionCry calls [20].
ontiltraiser calls [15].
pau1iewog calls [15].
** Dealing Flop ** [ Ts, 3h, 4d ]
EvolutionCry bets [120].
ontiltraiser folds.
pau1iewog folds.
nascarbill14 raises [240].
EvolutionCry calls [120].
** Dealing Turn ** [ Th ]
EvolutionCry checks.
nascarbill14 is all-In [530]
EvolutionCry is all-In [530]
** Dealing River ** [ Kc ]
EvolutionCry shows [ Td, As ] three of a kind, tens.
nascarbill14 shows [ Ks, Kh ] a full house, Kings full of tens.
EvolutionCry finished in tenth place.
nascarbill14 wins 1660 chips from the main pot with a full house, Kings full of tens.
EvolutionCry has left the table.
The Small Blind left the table. The Dealer button remains in place.

[ChrisV]

I don't understand questions like this. How can you think the turn went badly - how would you have preferred it to go?

Anyway the problem here is the call preflop. This is a very bad spot to play AT.

[Evolution Crisis]

I understand that I had him drawing to 2 outs and I'm happy about that part; but is checking with my trips here the best way to play them or does it just smell badly of a slowplay? The question is should I push here most of the time instead of checking it to him. I got my money in and took a bad beat; that I can handle. Sorry if I worded things poorly the first time; I'm tired /images/graemlins/blush.gif

[ChrisV]

I don't think it really matters. Most players at the lower levels aren't capable of doing anything except going allin here. If you bet out allin it's a pretty tough fold for him. If you check his correct play is to check behind... so pushing looks ok... but you'll feel sick if he folds.

[adanthar]

1)Why did you call a raise with ATo?
2)Why did you then call his raise on the flop?

You should never have gotten to the turn, which is the least important street in this hand.

[Phoenix1010]

It's not your question so I won't spend much time on this, but it must be said: fold preflop. Also, I like the bet on the flop, but fold to the raise.

As for your actual question, it seems checking the turn got the job done quite nicely this time. The proper play depends on the skill level of your opponent. To tell the truth, I start judging this guy from his preflop miniraise. I tentatively decide that this guy can't be a tough player, since most good players know that a preflop minraise is meaningless.

After the top card pairs, a poor to average opponent will often be scared off the hand by a bet on the turn. You could make a small bet on the turn and get a call, but it's unlikely that he will call all-in on the river. When you check, this opponent will sometimes make the correct play and check behind, allowing you to value bet the river, and sometimes take the check as a show of weakness and take a stab at the pot. Sometimes, as with your villain, the opponent will make the worst play available to him, going all-in assuring that he will only be called by a hand that beats him. So, with an opponent this poor, checking and giving him a chance to make such a mistake is the best play.

Against tougher opponents, I say a push is a better play, but that's not the case here.

As I said, you should not have made it this far in the hand, but I understand that sometimes you make mistakes and find yourself in sticky situations. This is how I would handle myself in this one.

Regards,
Steve

[pshreck]

This is one of those hands where I almost don't know how to answer because I never have a situation like this.

You really should never be playing A 10 off, period. TPTK where your top pair is below Q means nothing. You were minraised, and unless this guy is really tricky (unlikely at low level SNGs) you are probably way behind.

It can be tricky... so look to dump AJ and A10 in almost all spots preflop, and you wont be in such tough spots as often. Succesful SNG play is about minimizing tough decisions where you can't possibly have enough information to have a big edge.

[captZEEbo1]

check-calling flop would be ideal. Turn play was okay too. But as everyone else said, just fold ATo preflop (with or a without a preflop raise) at least when blinds are 10/15.