A Good Play?

[Slacker13]

In a B&M tourney. 98 people started. $19,800 for first. Not a shabby tournament. Four tables left and I was just moved to a new table, blinds are 1500 & 3000, I am sitting with 60k in chips and I am on the button and I know nothing about any of these players. A guy 2 left of the BB raises 9000, he is short stacked. The guy on my right goes over the top "all in" with 35k. I look at my cards QQ. Now, my thought process: I figured the early raiser to have small pair or high suited at best and was just trying to make a move by the read I got when he made the raise. I felt that the guy who came all in felt that the early raiser was weak also and thats why he moved in. The guy to my right I had to put on a pair for sure, I figured jj or 10 10. Now, at this point I look back at those QQ and decide to move all in also. Early raiser folds. We show our cards and my opponent shows 10 10. The flop comes 2 7 7 4 Q. Now, I am very new to tournament play. Was I way off in my thinking? Thanks Jon

[Greg (FossilMan)]

Your thoughts process was fine. However, it does assume that the second raiser was paying attention to the first raiser, and actually thinking about it. That type of assumption can sometimes be painfully wrong. ;-)

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

[Prickly Pete]

I'm no multi-table expert but take this fwiw. I think your read is fairly close given that you didn't have much info. The shorter stack's first in raise certainly could be a good number of hands and you have to feel comfortable with QQ against him. The reraiser typically will have a much smaller number of hands that he will reraise with. When you say JJ or TT, I think you are falling into the trap of him having the hands you want him to have. Wouldn't he reraise just as easily with AK or KK?

So assuming he would make this play with pairs of TT or higher or AQ and AK, by my count he has 12 hand possibilities that beat you (KK & AA), 17 that are a coinflip or a tie (AK & QQ), and 20 hands where you are ahead (AQ, JJ and TT). So you probably made the right decision.

I know it's a lot different sitting at the table when this comes up and I know I wouldn't have folded them either. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

How'd you end up anyway?

[Slacker13]

I ended up taking taking eighth place. At the final table my plan was to play tight and let others eliminate themselves because there was some very loose players at the final table. I go all in on an aggressive player who was stealing hand after hand, I held KQs to J3s he flops a J on the river for the win. Slacker