NL-Holdem tour situation
 

hi there

i am mainly a cashgame player and only play tournaments very infrequently.
yesterday NL-holdem tour:there are maybe one fifth of the players left.i have been moved to a new table recently and do know next to nothing about the players.my stack is about half of average (about 4,5 rounds to play before being blinded and anted off).every other player has about twice to 4 times chips left compared to my stack.about half of the left players will get into the prize money.
i am the bb, all fold to the (for me unknown) button who raises about 4 times the bb amount.his stack is about 35% larger than mine.i have got ATs
would you:
1) fold
2) call
3) reraise all-in

my thoughts were:there is a chance that he makes a steal move against my not so big stack.he may have a pair that i can beat by hitting my (hopefully) overcards.i also have a decent flush and straight possibilty.so having a quite small (but not hopeless though) stack and combining the above mentioned probabilities, i decide to move all-in on him.is this a strong move, ok,not so good or plain wrong?
results to follow

asteroid

Re: NL-Holdem tour situation
 

How big is your reraise?

If it's big enough to give you a chance of winning uncontested (say at least another 10 BB) and not so big that you're risking too much on the hand (no more than 25 BBs?) then I think I like the move. He could be stealing and will fold without a qualm. He might have a "real" hand like AJ or AQ and fold it, which would be great for you, or he might fold a small or medium pair. If he calls, be prepared to be behind, but you'll have some outs.

Guy.

Re: NL-Holdem tour situation
 

in case my presentation wasnt clear enough:

i had about 13 times the bb-amount.
the other player raised to about 4 times the bb,the sb folded and i reraised all-in.
asteroid

Re: NL-Holdem tour situation
 

I find it extremely unlikely that he would fold AJ or AQ, here. If he folds, it makes him low stack on the table. Also, he knows that you probably put him on a steal, and will reraise with substandard values. He might fold a small or medium pair, but you are only a little behind those hands, so you aren't "earning" much (other than piece of mind) by getting those to fold.

On the other hand, if he is on a steal with something lame, he likely will fold it. Therefore, you are in the position where better hands will call you, but worse hands will not -- never a good time for a raise. In order of preference, I would say:

1. Fold
2. Call, planning to bet all in on the flop, no matter what. You still have enough money to make him throw it away if it misses him. This, I think, would be referred to as having Irish position on him.
3. Raise all in preflop.

(and the first two are very close in my preference)

I suspect I will be in the minority with this opinion, but I really think that, IF you are planning on going all in on this hand anyway, it would be better to do it this way. The big danger is that you hit a hand that he would have thrown away preflop, say A6, which then hits his kicker. I suspect that he might still throw away bottom pair, perhaps even more easily than he would throw away A6s preflop.

results:
 

my opponent held the worst possible hand for me,the dreaded aces.so i bust out....nice hand

asteroid

Re: NL-Holdem tour situation
 

Against a steal raise, I can't fault you for going all-in, given the stack sizes. You'll be best often enough to go for it, and many times they will give up on their steal and allow you to take in unopposed, which is best of all.

al