Was I Outplayed? Should I have fired on the flop?

[Magician]

Pokers $30 + $3 NL Hold'Em, 2 table tournament

Down to 7 players

Blinds are 50/100

BB has 1,000 chips (900 after posting the BB). I have 1,200 chips. We are the two smallest stacks.

I have AJo.

UTG and UTG + 1 fold to me. I raise to 300 (i.e. 200 to play) leaving me with 900 chips. Folded to BB, who calls (leaving him with 700 chips).

Flop is 6 7 2 (two of a suit). My Jack matches the suit on the board giving me a backdoor flush possibility.

BB checks.

I fear some kind of pocket pair pre-flop and check along.

Turn is a 9 (3 of a suit now on the board).

BB bets 400.

I muck.


Should I have fired on the flop? Did he bluff me out of that pot? How likely is it that he had a pocket pair and called with it?

If I do fire on the flop, how much? It seems that the pot was so big that I had to move in if I was going to bet.

[cferejohn]

I agree that on the flop you probably need to go all-in if you are going to bet at all. That said, I think I would go all-in here. You may well be ahead, and if you are not, you almost certainly have outs. Also, you are putting him on a decision for all his chips, which means he might even lay down second pair or pocket 4s or 5s.

He may have pocket 2's or something equally annoying, but I think that when you are this short stacked, you have to take some risks, and this looks like a good opportuity.