Satellite - coin flip lost

[Magician]

NLHE satellite for the $200 on Sunday (top 1 in 6 qualify)

I'm dealt JJ UTG. I've got about 2,200 chips and blinds are $15/$30.

I raise to 150. Folded to cutoff who re-raises another 120 (his stack is about 250 smaller than mine).

I decide that either:

a) He has a hand like AK, AQ or a pair like QQ, TT, 99, or even 88

b) He has a monster like AA or KK and is baby-raising to suck me in

I had some notes on him, not relating directly to his pre-flop play but enough for me to conclude that he wasn't smart enough for the situation to be b)

I move in on him, deciding that while he may have and call with QQ, the guy is also likely to call with an AK, AQ, or even a TT or 99.

He calls and flips over AKo, he hits a K, and I am left with a very crippled stack which I bust out with shortly after.


Questions:

a) If I knew for a fact that he had overcards, was that all-in move correct?

b) Against a cunning, skilled opponent, should I have called his 120, made a hefty but not all-in re-raise, or folded?

[Augie]

question A - If you knew he had overcards then I would say that an allin is definately NOT the way to go, just my opinion. See the flop, if you still have an overpair, then your hand plays itself.

I've noticed that many players are willing to get into coinflip situations early in the tourney. They are hoping to get lucky early so that playing when the blinds are raised is easier.

question B - Folding is not an option, no matter how tricky your opponent. For only another 120 you should call, even if you suspect AA, because if you flop your set . . . well, you know.

If you are going to reraise a big chunk and get pot committed it is best to move allin. So I wouldn't reraise less than allin, out of position.

Conclusion: Against most opponents this early in the tourney I would call the extra 120 and see what the flop brings.

[bigfishead]

Jacks are a bitch hand in NL. Personally I would only raise 3x BB, dependent on players a bit but avg lets say.
I dont want to get pot committed with this hand. I may even limp with this hand. I can stand a small raise in a semi-trap situation where they dont know where I'm at and the fact many of these raises I'm seing pre-flop are often only 2x the BB. For me, 95+ % of the time once an overcard comes on the flop I'm dont with the hand. On to the next one. Go ahead run over me for a small pot. I got time.

[Greg (FossilMan)]

I disagree. While the opponent would call with big overcards, we were also told he would call with smaller pairs.

If we had position on this player, maybe just call preflop and see what comes. But since we don't have position, what do we do when the flop comes KT3? We don't know if we're now that much further ahead of 88, or way behind AK. If you check, he may bet hands like 88, and win a pot where we were huge favorites.

Since Magician is a significant favorite over the range of hands he's facing, and he is prone to being outplayed postflop under the circumstances, I say go all-in now and know you're getting the best of it.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)