Magician
07-26-2003, 09:32 PM
Pokerstars $20 NLHE 2-table Sit 'n Go
Payout format is:
$136, $108, $72, $36 respectively gross of buy-in
4 players left, blinds are 300/600 with antes of 50.
Hand No. 1
Cast of characters:
UTG has 2,100 chips
Button has 7,000 chips
I am SB with 5,500 chips
BB has 12,300 chips
I am dealt pocket KQo.
UTG and button both fold.
I raise 600 to 1,200 (i.e. I put in 900 more chips) rather than raising big. Yes, KQo is a good hand in this situation, but I am hesitant to raise bigger against the monster stack BB. I think it's enough to make him release rags and at least get some "value" for my KQo even if he calls. Also, I am thinking just the fear of my perhaps raising the minimum with a monster might be enough to induce a fold.
BB calls for the 600. Flop is J 5 3 (two of suit, giving me a backdoor flush draw but I think this consideration is very minor).
I check. BB checks. Turn is another 3 (still just 2 of a suit on the board). BB bets 600 (the minimum). I call. River is an Ace (3 of a suit on the board now). BB bets 600. I fold.
BB shows K3o (he had hit 3 of a kind on the turn and already was ahead/had a pair on the flop).
Was it wrong for me to raise the minimum pre-flop? I really thought that if I raised say to 1,800 that he still would have called and I would have lost more chips. Same goes for a raise to 2,400 pre-flop - I think this guy would have called anyway (he had called a bet of 5BB many hands before, albeit blinds were much smaller then, with J9s from his BB, similar situation, except that time the raiser was in MP but still a similar situation as in that hand he had been a big stack too).
Instead of the minimum raise, do I just limp in?
Or did I play it right (considering my opponent's tendencies) and just got unlucky that he hit on his 3?
Hand No.2
Later in the tournament (I took a bad beat and lost even more chips between Hand No.1 and Hand No.2):
Blinds are 400/800 with antes of 50.
UTG has 15,300 chips
Button has 3,200 chips
SB has 6,300 chips
I am in the BB with 2,200 chips.
After posting the BB + ante, I am down to just 1,350 chips.
I am dealt pocket Q5o.
UTG and button fold. SB raises the minimum (to 1,600).
Now it's a choice: I either make my stand here or muck. It will cost me 1,350 for a shot at a pot of 4,400 (if I move in for the rest of my stack and he calls).
I think there's a very small chance he mucks if I move in but that the real EV is from the pot odds. I figure I am likely a 30-70 or 40-60 dog to win the pot if he calls (but of course could be a much bigger dog or could even be a slight favorite depending on what he actually has).
What sways my decision here is that on the next hand I am the SB and will again be putting in a lot of dead money (relative to my stack) and I know that if I muck here the 3rd chip leader is likely to close the hatches and wait for me to bust out first.
It's very marginal - I decide to shove in the rest of my stack. SB thinks for a while (gives me some hope) but decides to call the 550 more. When he thinks this long I begin to hope I am not such a big dog after all.
He flips over KJo (turns out I was a 35-65 dog), it holds up, and I bust out 4th.
Was this the right move or would mucking have been better?
Payout format is:
$136, $108, $72, $36 respectively gross of buy-in
4 players left, blinds are 300/600 with antes of 50.
Hand No. 1
Cast of characters:
UTG has 2,100 chips
Button has 7,000 chips
I am SB with 5,500 chips
BB has 12,300 chips
I am dealt pocket KQo.
UTG and button both fold.
I raise 600 to 1,200 (i.e. I put in 900 more chips) rather than raising big. Yes, KQo is a good hand in this situation, but I am hesitant to raise bigger against the monster stack BB. I think it's enough to make him release rags and at least get some "value" for my KQo even if he calls. Also, I am thinking just the fear of my perhaps raising the minimum with a monster might be enough to induce a fold.
BB calls for the 600. Flop is J 5 3 (two of suit, giving me a backdoor flush draw but I think this consideration is very minor).
I check. BB checks. Turn is another 3 (still just 2 of a suit on the board). BB bets 600 (the minimum). I call. River is an Ace (3 of a suit on the board now). BB bets 600. I fold.
BB shows K3o (he had hit 3 of a kind on the turn and already was ahead/had a pair on the flop).
Was it wrong for me to raise the minimum pre-flop? I really thought that if I raised say to 1,800 that he still would have called and I would have lost more chips. Same goes for a raise to 2,400 pre-flop - I think this guy would have called anyway (he had called a bet of 5BB many hands before, albeit blinds were much smaller then, with J9s from his BB, similar situation, except that time the raiser was in MP but still a similar situation as in that hand he had been a big stack too).
Instead of the minimum raise, do I just limp in?
Or did I play it right (considering my opponent's tendencies) and just got unlucky that he hit on his 3?
Hand No.2
Later in the tournament (I took a bad beat and lost even more chips between Hand No.1 and Hand No.2):
Blinds are 400/800 with antes of 50.
UTG has 15,300 chips
Button has 3,200 chips
SB has 6,300 chips
I am in the BB with 2,200 chips.
After posting the BB + ante, I am down to just 1,350 chips.
I am dealt pocket Q5o.
UTG and button fold. SB raises the minimum (to 1,600).
Now it's a choice: I either make my stand here or muck. It will cost me 1,350 for a shot at a pot of 4,400 (if I move in for the rest of my stack and he calls).
I think there's a very small chance he mucks if I move in but that the real EV is from the pot odds. I figure I am likely a 30-70 or 40-60 dog to win the pot if he calls (but of course could be a much bigger dog or could even be a slight favorite depending on what he actually has).
What sways my decision here is that on the next hand I am the SB and will again be putting in a lot of dead money (relative to my stack) and I know that if I muck here the 3rd chip leader is likely to close the hatches and wait for me to bust out first.
It's very marginal - I decide to shove in the rest of my stack. SB thinks for a while (gives me some hope) but decides to call the 550 more. When he thinks this long I begin to hope I am not such a big dog after all.
He flips over KJo (turns out I was a 35-65 dog), it holds up, and I bust out 4th.
Was this the right move or would mucking have been better?