bubble trouble

[tylerdurden]

I'm a SNG newbie, just experimenting really. I've played 9 10+1's so far, 5 on Empire and 4 on Paradise. I've placed 1st 3 times on Empire, and 4th in the other six. I have been playing super-tight at the beginning, and I try to loosen up a bit as people get knocked out.

Most of my 4th place finishes are due to getting short stacked, forcing me to push with mediocre hands. A couple of them, though, I wonder if I could have avoided by tightening up a bit.

Paradise Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t150 (4 handed) converter (http://www.selachian.com/tools/bisonconverter/hhconverter.cgi)

Hero (t1872.00)
SB (t1660.00)
BB (t1982.00)
UTG (t4486.00)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, Q/images/graemlins/heart.gif. SB posts a blind of t150.
UTG calls t300, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to t750</font>, <font color="#666666">2 folds</font>, UTG calls t450.

Flop: (t1950) K/images/graemlins/spade.gif, T/images/graemlins/club.gif, 7/images/graemlins/heart.gif <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">UTG bets t300</font>, Hero...?

This seems like a no-brainer push to me, but should I throw it away preflop given the call? Push preflop? I'm not the shortest stack, but I'm right down there at the bottom with two other guys. This looks like a good shot to double up, which would practically guarantee 2nd, and give me a good shot at winning outright, so it seems reasonable to tangle with the big stack.

[bluefeet]

Hero raises UTG's flop bet all-in.

If he had two pair or a set, he's check-raising you.
If he has AK he's putting you in PF.
If I'm wrong....it's just bad luck.

PF: I'm not essentially min-raising big stack w/ more than 2/5ths my chips with this hand. read dependant, KQo might be a perfectly fine hand to push with, but this raise is going to do very little to get UTG off his hand.

Again, I would assume I have him dominated with this flop, and happily raise all-in with this hand.

[fluorescenthippo]

I would push. I also would have folded preflop

[Phoenix1010]

Throw it away preflop. Don't get involved with UTG limpers, I urge you. Your preflop raise isn't scaring anyone who has already VP$IP. Don't even think about standard raising at this level with that stack, push or fold, especially with a limper. The way you played it, doing anything but pushing the flop is criminal. Were you hoping for something better than TP2k?

-Phoenix

[tylerdurden]

Well, I did push, of course, and UTG had AK, of course.

Raising (without pushing) preflop was pretty dumb, I agree (hence why I posted this hand). I have a hard time folding this preflop, though, since I don't think I'm going to have another chance to get my money in before the blinds eat me up. On the other hand, with me being one of three nearly short stacks on the bubble, I have a pretty good chance of crusing into the money by just auto-folding, right?