ITM... now what?

[Costanza]

I think I had only played 4 hands up to this point, and the last time I had to show cards was an AKs which looked a like a steal pre-flop. Opponents were playing pretty tight at this point.

$5+0.50 PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t200 (3 handed) converter

Button (t7980)
SB (t3050)
Hero (t2470)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].
<font color="666666">1 fold</font>, <font color="CC3333">SB raises to t400</font>, Hero calls t200.

Flop: (t800) Q[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], T[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 9[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
<font color="CC3333">SB bets t600</font>, Hero...


I'm asking because my final 3 play seems to really stink. I guess I haven't played enough tournaments for my sample size to reach true significance but there's a trend here that bothers me: 2 1st, 7 2nd and 13 3rd.

So is this an all-in? Slow play/trap? Shouldn't have been in the hand to begin with?

[lastchance]

I woulda reraised SB's raise preflop, maybe to all-in, but I suppose calling is fine.

Hero just pushes. The pot's so big there's very little use to slowplaying.

[lorinda]

I call on the flop because the people who listen to the WPT have little voices in their head saying 'Firing once is good, firing twice is excellent, firing three times is world class'

Lori

[stripsqueez]

i like just calling pre-flop although its a rare position for me to adopt

there is a bunch of chips in the pot but your so far in front with few draws available that i could slowplay the flop - i cant imagine folding before showdown unless perhaps trips hits the board and if thats going to happen i just push on the turn - i think the question is what is the best way to get all his chips in ? - sometimes your best option is to push - just calling the flop bet can look more threatening than raising and vice versa

how hard can flopping the best be ?

stripsqueez - chickenhawk

[Sluke]

If you've only played 4 hands to this point you are playing way too tight. Once the blinds get to 25/50 and especially 50/100 you need to be stealing blinds when the opportunity affords. This may be the reason for so many thirds. Maybe it isn't how you play once you get in the money, it could be how you play before you get in the money that is causing you to be on the short stack once it gets 3 handed.

Read this post and apply the blind stealing to your game. That post about blind stealing completely changed my game for the better.

[captZEEbo1]

I'm calling here. At the $5 level, people sometimes allin bluff the turn when their flop bet doesn't work. A raise will look more threatining to a $5 player. I'd say with this little threat, pushing here is a poor play. If I do raise, I'm min raising. One other play is a min raise flop. Then allin turn. Then the pot will be so big, they'll likely call, even if they just have a J (good). If they bet bigger on the turn, you can allin then. If they bet smaller, it's hard to say what to do. I think a call is much better here. He might think you just have a J, and will thus push the turn.

There is one problem with just calling on the flop. if the turn brings an 8 or K, you aren't getting much money out of him (unless he has a J, and the 8 drops, but that's not TOO likely).

[Phill S]

[ QUOTE ]
I call on the flop because the people who listen to the WPT have little voices in their head saying 'Firing once is good, firing twice is excellent, firing three times is world class'

Lori

[/ QUOTE ]

despite the sarcasm, this is why i click a post with loris name as a reply.

funny but spot on. call. nothing to be worried about, well, the board could pair but you cant worry about that. nows a good time to be tricky. dig the hole, set the twigs and leaves and wait and see what falls in.

Phill

[etgryphon]

I think calling pre-flop is good here...It seem like you have a pretty tight image. He has more chips than you so keep that in mind, that can be his downfall...

When the flop comes, you should pause and then raise him the minimum. You are trying to tell him that you have a weak PP or that you have the Q maybe on a straight draw and are making a semi-bluff.

This is where his chip stake comes into play. Making that small bet into the pot, begs the call...or goad them into reraising you all-in, esp. at the $5 range. Either way he is going to call you or reraise. Then you go allin there or on the turn.

-Gryph

[Costanza]

Only having played 4 hands to that point isn't usual for me -- I was getting off-suit rags quite regularly or facing a substantial preflop raise with a marginal hand through most of the beginning. But thanks for the link to that post -- I probably should be looking for more opportunities to steal.

[Costanza]

That's what I did (called his flop bet), and he did go all-in on the turn and I of course called.

I could tell the rest, but, well, bad beat stories don't seem to be welcome.


But that wasn't the point. I just wanted to make sure my decision-making was sound. I think there's a chance that had I gone all-in on the flop he would have folded. I felt like I slow-played myself into a loss which could have been avoided. But I also think I was obligated to put all my chips in on this hand almost no matter what happened.