Help me play this better

[Hawkeye27]

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t15 (10 handed) converter (http://www.selachian.com/tools/bisonconverter/hhconverter.cgi)

SB (t800)
BB (t800)
UTG (t800)
UTG+1 (t800)
UTG+2 (t800)
MP1 (t800)
Hero (t800)
MP3 (t800)
CO (t800)
Button (t800)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with A/images/graemlins/club.gif, J/images/graemlins/club.gif.
UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, UTG+2 calls t15, MP1 calls t15, Hero calls t15, MP3 folds, CO calls t15, Button folds, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: (t90) K/images/graemlins/spade.gif, 8/images/graemlins/club.gif, J/images/graemlins/heart.gif <font color="#0000FF">(6 players)</font>
SB checks, BB checks, <font color="#CC3333">UTG+2 bets t15</font>, MP1 calls t15, Hero calls t15, CO calls t15, SB calls t15, BB folds.

Turn: (t165) 7/images/graemlins/club.gif <font color="#0000FF">(5 players)</font>
SB checks, <font color="#CC3333">UTG+2 bets t50</font>, MP1 calls t50, Hero calls t50, CO folds, SB folds.

River: (t315) Q/images/graemlins/club.gif <font color="#0000FF">(3 players)</font>
UTG+2 checks, <font color="#CC3333">MP1 bets t200</font>, Hero calls t200, UTG+2 folds.

Final Pot: t715

[rwanger]

Well, I think you played it fine...until the river. You had the nuts, why not raise? Perhaps you were trying not to push out the other player, but it's fairly unusual that someone who was checking and calling all along will then call the river when there has been a sizeable bet AND a call...they would need a pretty big hand. I would have raised on the river, and perhaps even pushed all in.

It's hard to know what the bettor has, but he definately likes it, and people are usually willing to die with top pair, and definately 2 pair or trips...and no one will expect you made the flush because it was runner, runner.

[Hawkeye27]

Actually the guy that had been betting all along(UTG2) slowed on the river and MP1 woke up for a bet. I really thought UTG2 would call the 200 but not a push from me. Was thinking of min raising to get MP1 to at least call for 200 more.

[rwanger]

Sorry. I did get confused about the betting order. Nonetheless, the fact that a min raise would most likely get you the same amount of money (400 from 1 guy vs. 200 from 2 each...IF the guy calls) testifies to the fact that you should definately raise.

In a SNG, you don't have a ton of hands in which to amass chips. So you should definately, in this situation especially (you have the nuts), be looking to pick up more than 200 more chips. With a board like that, it's pretty likely you're against a pretty solid hand.

Remember, if he folds, he folds. If you are only looking to pick up 200 chips when you have the nuts, you are going to miss out on a LOT of chances where you could have taken their whole stack.

[stripsqueez]

when i have the best hand i usually assume the other guy has the second best hand - my poker nightmare is slowplaying a slowplayer

stripsqueez - chickenhawk

[rwanger]

Good way of looking at it strip. I have a friend whose mentality when he has a good hand is "I'm afraid the other guy will fold". I always try to tell him he should be afraid that he won't extract the maximum when he has a huge hand.

[rachelwxm]

Everything seems fine until river. You have nuts, now you need to figure out whether MP2 will call your reraise or sb will call if you flat call. To me, looks like MP2 is filling up his flush or straight so I think he would call you reraise more than sb call after you did.

[therock]

I must be real tight. I would get rid of this hand after the flop. Even an Ace on the turn could get you in a lot of trouble, so the only good scenario for you is a runner-runner flush w/o pairing the board or runner-runner straight. It worked for you in this case, but these are the types of hands that end up bleeding chips.