$10 SNG.. need criticism

[Patton4]

First time poster who has been learning poker for about the last 5 months is playing a $10 PS SNG. Blinds are 50 100. I'm chip leader with $3600 at the table playing pretty conservatively amongst some aggressive play. I'm the BB and am dealt Ah 10d.

2nd in chips (a player who has called many of my big bets both pre-flop and flop only to fold on the turn) in middle position limps as does the button. I make it 500 to go. 2nd in chips calls, button folds.

Flop comes 8s 4c 10s. I open with my top pair for 1000 not fearing my opponent to have a pp or he would have raised pre-flop. He calls, so I think flush draw. Turn comes 8c. If he's still on his flush draw, I'm gonna make him pay with my two pair, I push all-in. Bad decision???? Results to follow... what did he have?

[Patton4]

He turns over Kh 8h and no 10 comes on the river to help me. If my read was good on him not to have the pocket pair... should I have worried about garbage like that??? Should I worry about a paired board when I have raised the way I did? Just looking for some helpful hints. It really ticked me off because this guy ended up winning and I bubbled. Ended a nice in the money streak I had going. Thanks for your comments!

[curmudgeon]

At a $10 sng you gotta be nuts to go all-in without the nuts. I mean 1pair, come on.... there's a pair on the board! Those bozo gamblers can have anything............. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[MVicuna]

Hi,

By my math there was 1150 in the pot and you had 3100 post flop, so a pot sized bet was more then 1/3 your stack. Since you have him covered and you think he doesn't have a pocket pair over TT you push all in and make him decide if he wants to call all-in with his middle pair or his draw.

You do this because neither of you can push the other out on the turn, so if your going to see river anyways make them decide when they have the worst hand. If he has enough chips he probably will let go of middle pair or even a T with a bad kicker even though you want him to call.

The problem is if the 500 to call the flop was more then 1/4 his stack. He may decide for the gamble because if he doesn't win this hand he's not in a good position with the blinds about to go up in a few hands because of Party's crapshoot blinds structure. He also sounds like a crapshooter based on him calling and then folding on the turn.

ATo in the BB is a bad place to be with that hand. You have to act first post flop and you're almost always going to have to put all your chips in first and your going to be called by the AA-JJ when you pair your ten , your going to be called by bigger kickers when your aces hits, and your going to be called by the sets. You were lucky he was dumb enough to call with middle pair, you were unlucky in the fact that you had to act before him when he improved.

Don't go broke in an unraised pot. Everytime I'm in the BB I tell myself that. You have no idea what peoples hand strengths are, so if its checked to you just check and throw all but the monsters away since your out of position