TT, UTG, w/10xBB

[EasilyFound]

$11 SNG. I find this kind of hand difficult to play at this stage with that stack. Maybe you don't. But I do. I'm out of position. If I play, I must raise, but any raise that is not a mini-raise is a significant part of my stack, at least 30%, and more times than not, I think, the flop will include at least one overcard. How do other people approach this kind of hand. I feel like, to play this hand correctly after the flop, I need to be bet strong, but I'll be crippled if I miss the flop and my opponent does not. And it is---isn't it?---too early to push.

Any advice is welcome.

Here's the hand:

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t100 (7 handed) converter (http://www.selachian.com/tools/bisonconverter/hhconverter.cgi)

MP2 (t1625)
CO (t390)
Button (t975)
SB (t2300)
BB (t620)
Hero (t1005)
MP1 (t1085)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with T/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, T/images/graemlins/club.gif.
<font color="#666666">[i]

[pergesu]

[ QUOTE ]
And it is---isn't it?---too early to push.

[/ QUOTE ]
No. Push.

[1C5]

Push.

[Unarmed]

Limp. /images/graemlins/shocked.gif

[pergesu]

[ QUOTE ]
Limp. /images/graemlins/shocked.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
What happens when someone raises? It's very likely when they see T250 sitting out there, up for grabs. Limp-reraise-allin UTG with TT? I think if someone posts a hand like that, he'll get called a donk. If you really just hate to play, you can fold here. But I think you have to raise, in which case you gotta go all-in.

Can't be afraid that someone will call with one or two overcards, or wake up with a bigger pair, and bust you. You have to take your chances at some point, and I think a solid starting hand with 10BB is a pretty good one.

[kiffl]

raise to 350, ready to call the all in or push any flop

[HighestCard]

Id say limp in and re-raise any raise with an all in

[Unarmed]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Limp. /images/graemlins/shocked.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
What happens when someone raises?

[/ QUOTE ]

If someone raises less than all-in I push.
If someone else pushes:

MP2 (t1625) Fold
CO (t390) Call
Button (t975) Call
SB (t2300) Fold
BB (t620) Call
MP1 (t1085) Sigh... fold

Pushing is a fine play, and certainly +EV, but it carries with it a good deal of variance, and I don't really need this pot. This is clearly subjective, but given the chip distribution I prefer limping and picking who I'm going to tangle with. If I have to play a flop /images/graemlins/shocked.gif so be it.

[tjh]

As the hands get dealt 10-10 goes from a limper to a pusher. Each person has his own style I suppose and position matters but if 10-10 is not push material here then limping is alright.

We need a graph but then again a graph is useless because as always... it depends. But my graph would look like this

PP VS Ratio of BB/stack
needed to push all-in from
middle position when first to act
====================================
AA any
KK any
QQ 1/16
JJ 1/16
10-10 1/10
9-9 1/10
8-8 1/8
7-7 1/8
6-6 1/8
5-5 1/8
4-4 1/5
3-3 1/5
2-2 1/5
1-1 1/5


These are off the top of my head but a rough idea of the sort of math you might do. Of course by the time you are contemplating a push with the little pairs so many other factors combine to make the actual hand you are holding less important than other factors such as aggresiveness of other players, stack sizes etc.

just a thought as a way to put it down in writing what thoughts one contemplates when holding a PP.

--
tjh

[Nottom]

[ QUOTE ]
AA any
KK any
QQ 1/16
JJ 1/16
10-10 1/10
9-9 1/10
8-8 1/8
7-7 1/8
6-6 1/8
5-5 1/8
4-4 1/5
3-3 1/5
2-2 1/5
1-1 1/5

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you are underrating the dreaded pocket 1s.

[elena_elphie]

I usually muck those because you can never hit a set with them.

[NYCNative]

Push. The flop will almost always have an overcard or two and then what when you've got five limpers? And if someone raises pre-flop, what then - call, yes, but now you're on the defensive and not offensive.

You can get away if someone reraises you if need be but there aren't too many hands that you'd be afraid of and a bunch of those would immediately be afraid of you for making a big UTG play.

[zaphod]

[ QUOTE ]
I usually muck those because you can never hit a set with them.

[/ QUOTE ]

I use to play them, because it makes it harder for my opponents to put me on a hand.

[lutefisk]

While I almost never do things like this, this looks like a good spot for a min-raise, or maybe to 250. BB may well push back at you, but that's fine. It actually works in your favor. If the other players are observant, they will probably realize that they may well have to pay 620 pf to play against two hands, and UTG raiser, and another guy who will be all in. From their seats, I'd need pretty good cards to push or even call a UTG min raise in this situation. Being left with 800 here if one of the big guys pushes back is workable at least. Maybe this is just a by product of having more weak players at the 11 and 22 games, but I've found that a min raise is often sufficient to keep people out who would call a limp. It's also enough where people who would've raised your limp may just call to see the flop. It seems too early to push to me too.

"Only after the 10th punch will you see the fist, and only after the 20th will you block it." --Proverb from the game of Go