Not sure if I played this right at all.....

[boneil55]

There are about 40 players left in a 100+ tourney and I am about 20th with a little over 5k in chips. Blinds are 100/200, and I'm dealt AcKc in the SB. The CO, who has me covered by about 1k, limps and I make it 1200 to go. The BB immediately goes all in and the limper folds. Now, I have the BB covered by 1k, and based on his quick move all in I put him on a pair, most likely 99 to QQ. After thinking about it, I called and he flipped over JJ -- I didn't improve and I am extremely wounded (got bounced a few hands later when my AK got taken down by AQ).

My question is: is that call the right play? The pot odds say yes, but I'm basically risking my tournament on a coin flip. Should I fold this hand, and look for better places to build my stack, or is that too weak of a play?

Thanks,
Brian

[DougBrennan]

If my math is right ( a real question lately /images/graemlins/laugh.gif) you're getting 1.8:1 on your call, so you are indeed correct to call from a pot odds perspective. And your read was spot on. So...

My question is: is that call the right play? The pot odds say yes, but I'm basically risking my tournament on a coin flip. Should I fold this hand, and look for better places to build my stack, or is that too weak of a play?


I think you are the only one who can answer this question. What's it worth to you? It's your entry fee and your tournament life. You have correctly assessed the situation as being a coin-flip slightly in BB's favor. Do you want to flip that coin?

I think your chances to win the tournament are probably better if you make this call and win, but it's certainly not the only way you can win. You are at some point going to need to win some kind of good hand to get into position to cash, and this hand certainly had that potential.

So I would call, without regrets, but it is your coin to flip.

Doug

[SossMan]

Would he make the same move w/ AQ or AJs? If so, then I like the call. If you "know" he would only make it w/ a pair, then it's pretty borderline.

Are you running over your table? Do you feel like you have a big advantage over the rest of the field?

[boneil55]

The reason I felt he had a pair (and not AA or KK -- I figured he would play those slower) was due to observation and the fact he was not desperate and the raise was a good sized overbet -- I guess AQ was a possibility, but I definitely 'felt' a medium/high pocket pair.

As for personal assessment -- I was not running over the table by any means and, to be honest, didn't feel I had a significant advantage over the remaining players. I didn't feel handicapped mind you, but also didn't feel I had a significant edge. From that perspective, I guess a call was the right play.

Another problem was my initial bet. In looking back, perhaps I should have raised less, and then been able to fold slightly easier. As it was, with 20% of my stack in the pot, I felt more pot committed. What do you think of a smaller initial raise?

[MLG]

I think you nailed it, a smaller raise would probably be a better way to treat this hand, 3xBB should get the job done. Once you make the big raise, if you don't feel you have a real edge over the rest of the field then the call is quite correct. Half the times you'll be looking back on that hand as you sail into the money as the little bit of luck that got you roling.