Early SnG hand - what do you do next?

[Sheriff Fatman]

Party 30+3, 6th hand, still 10 players left.

Blinds are 10/15
I'm dealt Q /images/graemlins/heart.gifQ /images/graemlins/club.gif UTG. I have T800 in chips.

I raise to T125. MP (T740) flat calls and button (T665) flat calls. All others fold.

Flop T /images/graemlins/club.gif8 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif4 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif

I bet T300. MP flat calls, button folds.

Turn 7 /images/graemlins/club.gif.

What's your play here and what's your read? Results to follow.

Sheriff

[Stoneii]

He's only got 315 left, set him all-in. Hard to "read" what he's got, but since he called your post flop 300 and didn't reraise I'd guess top pair with not so good kicker - JT?

stoneii

[AJo Go All In]

huh? all-in.

[unfrgvn]

My guess is that he has Ax /images/graemlins/diamond.gif and is praying for that flush to come in. Either that or he's flopped a set and is afraid if he re-raises you will stop putting money in the pot. Set him all in, odds are he's chasing the flush.

[Sheriff Fatman]

Glad to see the responses all suggested all-in.

Basically, I've found that when people flat call big-bets like this its usually either a good player holding AA and waiting for me to dump all-in or its a bad player just calling with anything, maybe a low pocket pair or AK but often much worse. After 6 hands I had no idea which scenario this was likely to be.

Anyway, I did push all-in after the turn figuring the opponent for either AA or AK. I was right to an extent - he called in a heartbeat with A /images/graemlins/diamond.gifK /images/graemlins/diamond.gif and the river brought the 7 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif for the flush. With a crippled stack I went out about 3 hands later.

What's puzzling me is whether there was any way I could have played this to avoid getting busted, given the way he played it. I figure the guy would have called any bet I made at any point - the size of bets being made weren't deterring him and I'm pretty much pot committed after the flop. A re-raise, particularly pre-flop, might let me get away from the hand but, even then, its a debatable laydown against typical Party players.

The reason for betting only 300 on the flop was to potentially fold to an all-in raise, which I would have expected from AA or KK. The second flat call correctly led me to think he was drawing to AK. Unfortunately he also had the flush draw aswell (although I'm convinced he would have made the same play without it).

The odds on the hand are quite interesting - I'm favourite pre-flop and after the turn but he's a favourite on the flop. I'm convinced the guy was a weak player but have been trying to reconcile in my mind whether any of the calls are particularly bad in terms of odds. The first calls is evens with good implied odds, the second is made as a favourite in the hand, and he's as pot-committed as me on the third. I think that's what's the most frustrating thing - I don't even have the luxury of criticising a fundamental error being made.

Sheriff

[Stagemusic]

It's a tough call that early in the tourney. But I've got to be all in after the turn and would probably have pushed on the flop. He put his tourney on the line against a strong overpair with a flush draw and overcards as well. I'm really not seeing anything wrong with the way either one of you played it. If he doesn't catch it's probably going to propel you into the money down the road. As it is, you got your money in with the best of it...next table please. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Would he flat call the flop bet with a set? Not real likely with a fush draw on the board. Would he call preflop with anything that would give him 2 pair on the flop? Probably not. Would he call with J9 preflop? Well, maybe suited.

Most likely he has a flush draw, maybe with the T /images/graemlins/diamond.gif.

The problem is (and it's why I hate Party's structure) you now can't deny a flush draw proper odds to call.

In your place, I'd have to think my hand is good more often than not. I'd push in.