PP 11. Bubble hand. AQo in the SB facing big stacked BB.

[playtitleist]

Seat 4: A (1155)
Seat 5: B (755)
Seat 7: HERO (1850)
Seat 10: BB (4240)
HERO posts small blind (150)
BB posts big blind (300)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to HERO [ Ac, Qd ]
A folds.
B folds.
HERO ??

A and B are having giddy little banter back and forth, and folding to aggression. I am fairly certain neither poses a significant threat to my ITM.

If I had to identify one leak in my game to work on, this would be it. “It” is, how to play into the big stack.

I considered my options:
1) Push
2) Limp
3) Stop-N-Go
4) min-raise
5) Other raise
6) Fold

1) If I push here and BB wakes up with a hand I curse myself for ending up OOTM with weak opponents on the short stacks.

2) Limp here I am bleeding chips when the flop misses me, because I am unwilling to invest any more in this hand.

3) This actually wouldn't be a SNG anyway, but if did call/push I might as well push now, before BB has a hand to call me with.

4) Min-raise won’t work because BB can easily call t300 right now so when I miss the flop I go into the tank and end up with a bigger chip bleed than a limp would have made.

5) I could raise to t700-t900 hoping to get a fold. But I am completely in the tank if I get called and flop misses me. Now I am even with the other stacks and need to regroup.

6) Fold AQo on the bubble in the SB? Am I crazy?

What do you do? Is this easy and I just suck?

What I did in white:
<font color="white">Puked. Called. Puked. Flop came Js, Ks, 7d. Puked. Checked. Puked. BB bet $450. Puked. Folded. Puked.</font>

[Nicholasp27]

blinds are over 20% of your stack
i'd push most of the time, maybe fold sometimes depending on read of bb

i wouldn't stop-n-go or raise
i can see limping, but would prolly rather just push this and add &gt;20% to my stack

i may be out of 10% of tourneys by doing this, but the other 90% of the time, i just increased my odds of getting first

[OatmealJoe]

I'd choose between either pushing or only calling. A push seems theoretically the best, although I'd be tempted to just call if I thought that small stacks were weak and about to go out (it also depends on what play has occurred at the table in the previous hands). If I decide to only call and miss the flop, I'd mostly check/fold.

I think there are several viable ways to play this. First, with blinds at 300, and only posessing 6X, I would be prepared to put all my chips in at this point regardless. The conservative approach would be to move ai and secure the big, or hopefully get a call with a lesser hand or coin toss. The upside is that this move defined your hand, gives you folding equity, lets you see all 5 cards, etc. The down side is the likely result is you only get 300, and you are still very short stacked. I do not like the min raise, because it gives the villain clear odds to call a relatively insignficant 300 more with any two, and then he can outflop you easily and for cheap. Therefore, the other real viable option would be to raise 3.5x, or about half your stack, and the run the stopngo. This would probably be the best move, because the big could still be enticed to call with a marginal hand, even one in which you dominate, and youll make enough to not be, or barely be, short stacked if you win the hand. The final option would be to just limp. I would only do this if the BB had been very agressive and fighting for every pot, and you are fairly sure he would raise you, in which case you could then move allin.

Ok, lets look at this from the BB's point of view. The Short stack and cripple fold and and middle stack limps in. If you were the BB and a middle stack limped into a pot on the bubble with a cripple about to bust what would you do? Push any two. I would push any attempt to contest the pot. I can double up the middle stack and still be second in chips, also I can suck out when I dont have the best hand and automatically win first. Now from the SB's point of view. If we believe our hand is the best, calling and raising is not an option because the BB will always push, but he will regularly fold to a push so the only two options here: fold or push. Since we have the best hand we should push this.

Why not just limp to make sure he does so, when you most likely will have the best hand and a great shot to double up? If you push, you probably only get 300. Don't you want to induce the BB to put you allin?

You will only pair on the flop roughly 1 out of 3 times. Since you will have to act first everytime those other two times you will be bluffing into the big stack, not good. Limping is a horrible play is a bad play because he will now push and will have to play the hand down to the river. We only have ace high so it is not that hard for someone to suck out on us. Pushing will make him fold and allow us to preserve our stack till the cripple busts in which our play will return back to normal.

[the_joker]

Just push. The other stacks aren't short enough for you to fold and your results demonstrate why you shouldn't just call.

I think pushing is the best option.

Being shortstacked, I will invite a push from an agressive big stack all day. Often he will be doing so with a smaller ace or queen anyway, in which you have him dominated. Otherwise, you are either 1.5 to 1 or a coin toss. Either way, having only 6x, getting your chips in against an agressive big stack is a +EV here I think.

Never invite someone all in with you when you only have a small edge and he can bust you OOTM.

Short stacked like 6X, I am not sure you are going to get a better edge. Knowing that I have AN edge is enough for me when I am that short stacked. I think you are undervaluing the hand in that situation. Although again, a push is a fine play too.