Sound SNG HU thinking or total lunacy - I never know

[Ken Morris]

Stars $5 SNG
HU at Level X (400/800 + 50. 2 Min. to next increase)
Hero: T7700 on the button.
BB: T5800 (Appropriately aggressive, but (too?) loose

Hero limps with 2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif A /images/graemlins/club.gif, and BB checks

Flop: 4 /images/graemlins/club.gif 6 /images/graemlins/club.gif 8 /images/graemlins/heart.gif
BB checks, hero checks.

Turn: 5 /images/graemlins/club.gif
BB is all-in in a heart beat.....

As I'm moving toward the fold button, my brain says "wait a minute." (Sometimes that's good, sometimes not)

I'm thinking:
- He would have raised with an A pre-flop, as I would have with about anything but the off-suit deuce.
- He would have bet at the flop with a flush draw (seen that once), or probably with any pair. (I should have bet at the flop! Right?)
- If I had just hit a GS straight, it would take me a few seconds to figure out how to extract some value. And, it wouldn't have been with an instant all-in. His play screems bluff.

I may well have the best hand, and/or 15 outs to the best hand. The 2+2 wisdom is, "play for first and settle for third."

Hero calls...

Results later, if there's interest.

[La Brujita]

Hey Ken,

Since you are HU the first/third mantra is not applicable.

You should have raised with your hand pre flop. I prefer an all in raise to a limp. I would have also bet the flop.

Part of your problem on the turn is he might be betting because you have shown such weakness or he might have made a hand. I would have folded to the bet on the turn.

[DougBrennan]

I believe I'd let this one go. Whether or not your read is accurate, and it would need to be laser-like for me to call, you just don't have enough invested in this hand to call all-in with an A-high and one card flush-draw.

Has he made this kind of sudden all-in move before? If so, what were the circunstances? It's possible he's buying the pot, but at this price, that pot's for sale in my store.

If he's bluffing, he'll likely do it some more, you might as well wait til you have more in hand with which to call him.

[LetsRock]

I think I let this one go at this point. There's a lot of stuff that beats you (even if it is a lowly pair of 6s) and the pot is just not big enough to be risking most of my stack for.

Something about this just screams 72o with the possibility of a straight flush draw.

I probably would have bet at the pot on the flop, but now it's time to live another day.

[Ken Morris]

The BB was on 2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif T /images/graemlins/club.gif. The river was a blank, and my Ace held up for first place.

That's the great thing about 2+2. You can get some feedback on your play from something OTHER THAN the results, which are often misleading. Thanks, guys.

[mcj0014]

Based upon his prior play, do you think you can outplay this person or not? If so, I wouldn't risk it all on this hand. Otherwise, I would have pushed it all-in preflop or at least have put in a significant raise.

[blackaces13]

The thing about a sudden all-in is that it almost NEVER means strength. I may be off on this but when I play no limit against typical players I respect a small bet more than a huge one (unless there is already a lot of money on the table and the huge bet is a re-raise or something).

My basic philosophy on this is why on earth would a strong hand go all in with only the blinds in the pot? No one does this, they try to extract a little at a time. Its like throwing little pieces of bread to some birds or something. An all-in heads up with nothing in the pot is screaming "Please don't call me, I've got nothing and this hand is frustrating me. I'll feel really good about myself if I can buy this pot right now with absolute garbage and I'm growing a little bored. Look at all my money in there, you won't call right?...Oh God, I really hope you don't go ahead and call that. What have I done? /images/graemlins/confused.gif"

Who goes all in with a monster and nothing in the pot and a weak opponent? No one. Also if he had even a small piece of the board wouldn't he be content to have it checked through or make a smallish bet at the pot? With the weakness shown by hero here he'd have to feel pretty good about a pair so why would he make a bet that will only be called by a better hand? It just doesn't make sense.

Leading with an all-in against an opponent showing weakness and nothing in the pot almost HAS to be a complete bluff. I know that doesn't sound right but when would it not be?

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Easy fold. You have nothing but the blinds invested, and while you're probably correct that he doesn't have a str8 or a flush, he only needs to have a pair to be ahead. So most likely you have 15 outs (counting the 3's), or a 2.07 - 1 shot and you're getting less than 7-5 from the pot. If he's bluffing with no pair & no ace half the time, it's still a very iffy call.