How to Play Low Pocket Pair in SB

[poboys]

A friend of mine and I were both playing this $50 SnG on PP. We got into a long discussion (read: argument) about how we "should have" played this hand.

How would you recommend playing this? I'll reply with my desired play.

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t200 (6 handed)

Hero (t1340)
BB (t2705)
UTG (t2330)
MP (t1650)
CO (t1015)
Button (t960)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 5[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 5[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img].
UTG folds, MP folds, CO folds, Button folds, Hero raises to t600, BB raises to t1500, Hero calls t740 (All-In).

Flop: (t2840) A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 8[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(2 players, 1 all-in) </font>

Turn: (t2840) Q[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(2 players, 1 all-in) </font>

River: (t2840) T[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(2 players, 1 all-in) </font>

Final Pot: t2840

Results in white below: <font color="white">
Hero shows 5h 5s (one pair, fives).
BB shows Ac Ad (three of a kind, aces).
Outcome: BB wins t2840. </font>

[poboys]

My thoughts on how we should have played this hand.

First off, the BB was a pretty solid player. Definately not a maniac, but was not afraid to play hard pre-flop.

I wanted to min raise (T400) and then fold if re-raised pre-flop, fold if the flop was scary (i.e. A|K), go all-in in the flop looked safe.

If we were re-raised pre-flop that chances are the guy either had a pair, A-x or K-face-card. At best, it would be a coin-flip. My goal was to get the guy to fold a marginal to bad hand preflop, but get out of his way if he made a play back at us pre-flop or probably hit something on the flop.

[carpola]

If your going to call any raise I'd just go all-in preflop. I'd want him to fold.

[secada]

too bad the chip leader was to your immediate left eh? I don't know, were you prepared to go all in to a reraise? I wouldn't raise more than I could walk away from if I got pushed in this situation...My thinking could be wrong though.

-secada

[secada]

my first post was before reading this.

yeah i agree with you. how does your friend think you should play?

[poboys]

[ QUOTE ]
my first post was before reading this.

yeah i agree with you. how does your friend think you should play?

[/ QUOTE ]

He played the hand the way it was posted in the first message. Raise T600 and then called the all-in reraise.

[Dornkirk]

I agree with your thinking if the BB is a solid player and your image is as a solid or tight player. You want to show enough strength to make him fold a marginal hand while leaving yourself enough chips to find a better all-in situation that this probable coin-flip at best to big dog. I think a min raise does that with 100/200 blinds.

I might be wrong with this next thought, but if the BB is a tight player, I probably bet the t600 thinking a fold was likely enough to risk a bit less than 50% of my chips. I would still play your strategy if the BB re-raised or called and a scary flop came. With 6 players left, you still have enough hands before you are blinded out to go into survival mode and make a better move later.

[tolbiny]

I think that raising 1/2 your stack and calling all in is just about the worst option here. If you are willing to push all in to a raise you have to push preflop in this situation- 55 isnt a bad hand to play heads up, but at this point i would rather take down the blinds and move witon. Any hand that he would push reraise with i am at best a small favorite over. I push and expect to take down the blinds around 70% of the time, and win the pot 40% of the time it is played out. Winning about 82% of the time if my estimations are good...

[HajiShirazu]

I would just push and expect to take down the blinds a lot more often than 70% (I wouldn't push if it was only 70%). Making a raise that basically pot-commits you to call all-in (which almost any decent size raise does) is not something that you ever want to do in these situations.
Of course if your opponent is going to have aces, what can you do. It happens.