Flush draw tournament scenario

[Darvcus]

200+ player no limit hold 'em tournament. About 50 players left, I have 5000+ on the button at a full table. Blinds are 200-400. I am dealt <font color="red">K/images/graemlins/heart.gif Q/images/graemlins/heart.gif</font> on the button. 3 limpers, I raise to 1000. Blinds fold. 2 limpers fold, 1 call by 8th position (2 to my right). I am now heads up on the flop vs 8th position, who has just under 10,000 after his call.

Flop comes<font color="red"> 8/images/graemlins/heart.gif A/images/graemlins/diamond.gif 3/images/graemlins/heart.gif</font>. 8th position opens for 1000. How would you play this hand?

I'll let you know how I played it after some responses.

[Bozeman]

So you are getting 3.4:1 on a call? If he will call bets if a heart hits on the turn or will check the (blank) turn (unlikely), the you can call, otherwise fold.

Craig

[Wardfish]

IMO you shouldn't get involved here unless you really know your opponent well. I would fold against typical opponents.

You more than likely will have to hit your hand to progress and you are (roughly) a 2-1 dog against a decent made hand (say top pair, or set of trips). You need runner-runner against top-pair with nut flush draw.

You have given yourself a tough decision with the mini-raise pre-flop, too small an amount IMO. Raising to say 2000 would have been better than raising another 600, but the best play would have been either to call the 400 or fold.

You reap what you sow!

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

3400 in the pot preflop + 1000 bet to him, he's getting 4.4 - 1. Easy call.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

I don't like the preflop raise. A pot-size raise here would be 2600 which is more than half your stack, so your decision should be call or all-in. I'd just call preflop.

Now on the flop you're getting proper odds to call with your flush draw. The problem is, he's probably already ahead and you're very close to being pot-committed. On the turn, if your flush card doesn't come, you should bet or raise all-in with any K, Q, J or T, check behind or call a small bet with anything else. Flush card on the turn makes it easy, though the A /images/graemlins/heart.gif would make me a bit nervous.

Sticky situation due to your preflop mini-raise.

[Wardfish]

I much prefer your 2nd response to this thread.

When the flush draw misses on the turn, calling all-in with 8 or 9 outs looks pretty grim. Never mind the pot odds.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Yeah. This one was mainly pointing out the error in the odds quoted in the other reply. If you just call preflop and your opponent wants to mini-bet you on both the flop and turn, you're not bleeding away that many chips if you don't hit.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

When the flush draw misses on the turn, calling all-in with 8 or 9 outs looks pretty grim. Never mind the pot odds.

You're right, but notice I was saying to make the play with 12 outs. Also, I don't think this opponent is going to bet him all-in, so with 12 outs I would bet or raise all-in, not call an all-in. Now combining the pot odds with the chance that the opponent will fold a weak A makes it a little more appealing. However, without the initial mini-rasie, you don't get into this situation, so maybe it's a moot point.

[Wardfish]

[Darvcus]

I see the mixed responses so far, which are generally (1) call his bet, (2) fold, and (3) your mini-raise was a mistake in the first place.

The result: I went all-in. He called and showed <font color="red">A/images/graemlins/heart.gif 6/images/graemlins/heart.gif</font>. Perfect situation for him -- top pair on the flop and the nut flush draw. I bowed out of the tournament.

What I learned:
(1) My raise before the flop was too small to chase him out. He probably would have bailed with a bigger raise before the flop.
(2) I became impatient with the rising blinds. When I saw a decent hand on the button, I misplayed/went too far with it.
(3) I felt like I boxed myself in when the flop came, and felt like I had no choice but to go all-in, which was incorrect.

Learn from your mistakes!