pushing top pair on flop - what's my biggest mistake?

First post, so be gentle wif me :-) I'm a relative beginner with just a few months of play, but I've done quite a lot of reading (and lurking in this forum) -- now trying to get serious and put all the theory into practice.

So far, my best format is $20 2-table MTT at Party, but this hand is from a $350 freeroll tournament at Doyle's Room (trying to win a bit of money there without putting any more in).

~300 entrants, 48 left. Play at the beginning was arbitrary (lots of Q3 all-ins losing to K high etc.) but has settled down considerably since jettisoning 3/4 of players. I.e. sanity would appear to have taken hold.

There hasn't been much movement of players -- many have been at this same table since the beginning. I had an awful start, losing the first few hands I was in (good hands losing to better hands) but have managed to claw my way back with a couple of double-ups and am now having some success with standard 2 to 3xBB raises and continuation bets. Every time there has been a showdown, I have been ahead.

Play has been surprisingly passive lately. Pushes are common enough, but they almost always just win the blinds. My last action was a pre-flop push a few hands ago, which, sure enough, won the blinds. Now to the hand in question...

- - - - - - - - -
Blinds: 300/600

Seat 2 : Jackl111 has $6,890
Seat 4 : kungemil has $10,570
Seat 5 : hsstrider has $3,900
Seat 6 : bobwieler has $19,770
Seat 7 : axolotl7 has $6,210
Seat 8 : titouan has $6,195
Seat 9 : umustbeatme has $20,205

hsstrider is the dealer.
bobwieler posted small blind.
axolotl7 posted big blind.

Seat 7 : axolotl7 has 3h 9s

titouan folded.
umustbeatme called 600
Jackl111 folded.
kungemil called 600
hsstrider called 600
bobwieler called 300
axolotl7 checked.

Dealing flop.
Board cards [4d 8h 9h]

bobwieler checked.
axolotl7 bet 5,610 and is All-in
umustbeatme called 5,610
kungemil folded.
hsstrider folded.
bobwieler folded.

Showdown!
Seat 9 : umustbeatme has 9d Kd

Board cards [4d 8h 9h Tc 9c]

axolotl7 has 3 of a Kind: 9s
umustbeatme has 3 of a Kind: 9s

umustbeatme wins 14,220 with 3 of a Kind: 9s (King kicker)
- - - - - - - - -

So that's it -- I'm done. Ran into a better top pair. Does this push seem at all reasonable? If not, what should I have been thinking about? What was my worst mistake? All constructive advice greatly appreciated.

Cheers...

[sekrah]

Check-fold.. You can't beat anything that will call you.

[nsj]

To elaborate on sekrah's point, you don't have enough chips to maneouver here post-flop.

If it gets checked through and the turn is a 9 or a 3, then yes, you'll want to get your chips in, but as it is, any call you get here is going to be ahead of you, and you have little chance of improving. And your hand stinks, especially multi-way with four left to act.

This is a *better* push with two overhearts. Check-fold, and find a better spot to try and double up. You're not desperately short-stacked.

[nightlyraver]

I agree with the other posters. The field is just too big for this play to usually work. Remember, this play must very often fold out 4 players for it to be profitable. That's why it's not a good idea. If it were heads up things would be different. A big overbet on an unraised flop full of rags may often fold out 1 player (depending on the player of course), but only sometimes will it work against 4 and 'sometimes' just is not enough.

What you should realize is that this play is a semi-bluff of sorts in many situations.

[RodBlizz42]

I am just starting out as well-but starting out i am very happy to see a cheap flop with 3 9 unsuited-okay i flop a pair of nines but lets not get to hasty-for starters their are many people in the pot one of them could easily hit the flop harder-second i have almost the worst kicker you can possibly have-you could have checked and hey maybe no one bets and i get a free card, someone bets big you lay down your hand you have invested very little into this pot (with big and small blinds being mandatory you can argue the fact that you have not invested anything) and you are not drowning you still have a few orbits to decide when and if you want to push-i think one of the biggest things for us newbies to learn is how to lay down a good hand

[sekrah]

[ QUOTE ]
i think one of the biggest things for us newbies to learn is how to lay down a good hand

[/ QUOTE ]

There's people on this forum with well over 2000 posts who refuse to lay down a good hand and will go to there graves calling all-ins with TPGK (Top Pair, Good Kicker) after the flop.

It's unbelievable really, but It's also good news for the rest of us.

[locutus2002]

You're going to need a basic book. Go to the bookstore, there are plenty of basic books, then work your way to the more advanced ones.

In your example the quality of your kicker card (the 3) is so weak that check fold is pretty basic. Since you have only 10XBB left another play might have been to go all in before the flop (BTF). This sort of move is unclear and popular among the 4 legged players.

[RodBlizz42]

i know for one thing when i started out a few months back i would jump for joy with top pair on the flop but i am learning that top pair is not the holy nuts and how to lay down a good hand in bad spots it does not make me any money folding but it sure has saved me alot /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[ QUOTE ]
You're going to need a basic book. Go to the bookstore, there are plenty of basic books, then work your way to the more advanced ones.

In your example the quality of your kicker card (the 3) is so weak that check fold is pretty basic. Since you have only 10XBB left another play might have been to go all in before the flop (BTF). This sort of move is unclear and popular among the 4 legged players.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I came up with that explanation a few moments after clicking the button. My first thought after the fact was "I deserved that".

It isn't that I haven't read the basic stuff -- it's that I have so much information coursing around my cranium that everything's a conscious decision. There's too much to think about all at once unless I can make much of it second nature, and I can only do that by prioritizing what's already in there.

That's why I decided to post, instead of continuing to ruminate on my own -- it makes a big difference to hear these ideas in other people's words. Actual feedback is an essential part of training my neural networks -- these comments have already helped a great deal.

Thanks all! I'll look forward to posting more challenging questions in future.
Cheers...