A few tournament hands.

[Hotchile]

I have jumped back into the tournament foray and found myself making a few difficult decisions already. I would like some comments or suggestions on these hands.

1) JTs in the SB. blinds are 50/100. 3 limps and I complete. Flop is K96 with two of my suit. What is the best way to play through this hand? My stack at the time is 700.

2) JJ on the button. My stack is 750. 2 blinds and 2 limps in front of me with blinds of 100-200. All-in or call to see a favorable flop?

3) Different tourney. Blinds are 100-200. I have 1100 in the BB with A2s. SB, a decent player, raises all-in to $625. Call or fold here?

I appreciate all suggestions here. Thanks in advance. I will post results later.

HC

[Jon Matthews]

You don't give the stack sizes so these answers won't be as good as they could be...

Hand 1

If you are a shorter than average stack (I'm looking at the blinds compared to your chips) then go all in.

Hand 2

Hmmm, automatic all in here I would think but you have a very short stack and are going to get called by more than one player, not so good for JJ. Calling to see a flop wouldn't be horrendous but you allow the BB and SB free and cheap plays here respectively and this may be worse for you.

Hand 3

Fold. You would never play A2o for a raise and the suitedness doesn't increase your equity enough to justify putting in half your stack to see a flop. You are likely up against a medium pair or A3o or greater kicker and are dominated.


Jon

[Copernicus]

1. Agree
2. Agree, with less hesitation. All-in.
3. Agree

[DaNoob]

I agree with the previous poster on all counts.

1) Go all-in here. You've got plenty of outs if you're behind and would be happy with the pot at this point if noone calls.

2) All-in again. JJ is too good of a hand to waste when you are short-stacked. If you run up against a slow-played AA-QQ, you were probably destined to lose your stack anyway.

3) Muck. A2s is easily dominated. Later in the game you want to be the raiser (and not the caller) in the majority of situations. Only exception to this rule (in general) is when you have a big PP.

Hope this helps and welcome back to the tourney circuit.

[Ignatius]

1) Move in. Even agaisnt 4 opps. there's some chance to take it down if no one has a king and with 12 outs you're committed to call anyway.
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2) given your stack, this is a clear all-in. Try to limit the field and get some dead money into the pot.
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3) is a borderline decision. You're getting 2:1 on the call but A2 is the most likely hand to be dominated by a typical raising hand. I'd tend to fold here, also b/c you're risking your ability to steal if you lose the hand.

[Hotchile]

1) First hand played in the worst possible way. Check called $150 on the flop, check folded to $700 at the turn.

2) Went all-in. Lost to AQ

3) Called. Regretted it as soon as I did. He shows AJ so I could feel worse. I made a flush and went on to win the tournament. I still agree with everyone here. I don't like the call either and I want to continue to make better plays in an effort to achieve more consistent results.

Thanks for all your responses.

HC

[DJA]

Hand #1: I agree with previous posters, Might as well give yourself a chance to pick up the pot unimproved... go all-in.

Hand #2: Instant no hestitation all-in. I believe there is a chance that you take this down without a showdown. T550 more is just enough to scare the flock of limpers off.

Hand #3: I believe this is your only tough decision of the 3. I would probably fold worried that I am dominated by too many hands that the SB may make this move with, but I also think that there is a good chance that your opponent could be making this move with less of a hand then yours such as a good K or 2 paint without an A. I would often fold here, but I think a call is often correct. People do desparate things in desparate situations.

Just My Thoughts,

[slogger]

First off, it would help to know the number of players remaining, how many get paid, and what the other stacks are (some of which you mentioned).

1) This illustrates the problem with playing medium suited connectors in NL tourney play. When you "kind of hit" the flop, you're face with difficult decisions. Not a terrible call given the discount, but playing these hands out of position can be deadly. I'd probably check/fold (futilely hoping it gets checked around) or go all-in on the flop with my slush and gutshot straight draws (I would not go all-in if any of the limpers came in from EP - it's too easy for anyone who slowplayed AK, AA, KK or other big pairs to put you on the flush draw and call your all-in, especially if they have a big stack).

2) I think I'd have to get all-in here. Again, I'd be leery of any EP limpers, but with the blinds this high, I wouldn't want to hold my breath waiting for a better opportunity.

3) easy fold, unless you have an incredible read on this player.

[cferejohn]

1. Ick. Against a single opponent or even 2, I'd probably go all-in. A weak king may fold and if you are called you have outs. Against 3, I'd check and hope for a free/cheap card. If someone bets more than 100, I fold. I'll call a minimum bet.

2. All-in. I don't think it is close. That will probably get rid of the blinds, and possibly even one of the limpers (you don't mention how big their stacks are. Would losing the all-in hurt them significantly?). JJ plays reasonably well 3-way, you are very short stacked, and this is almost certainly going to be your best shot to double or even triple up.

3. Fold. At best you are a small favorite, since A2 isn't a large favorite over much of anything (I don't think he is going all-in with a weaker 2. He certainly makes this play with any ace and any pair, all of which beat you pretty badly. You are only a slight favorite over suited connectors. Best case scenario if you call is he's playing Kx unsuited, which still only makes you ~3:2 favorite. In all likelyhood, he's got something better than that. The better I think I am relative to the field, the more likely I am to fold.

[Greg (FossilMan)]

I agree with most that the first two hands are all-in plays with little doubt.

I disagree with everybody about hand 3. You're getting 2:1 on the call. If he has a better A or a pair, it's true that you're a 3:1 dog, and the call was technically incorrect. However, when he has KQ, KJ, etc., you're a 3:2 favorite, and still getting paid 2:1, which is huge. Unless this guy is so tight that he will seldom have a K high or Q high type hand, then calling is the right play.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)