preflop decision late in Friday special
 

22 players remain and I am at an 8-handed table

I have 22,000 chips and am dealt AJo utg w/ blinds 1500/3000.

Average stack is about 45k, however the median stack is much lower as there are a few monster stacks around.

small pay jump at 20th ($1483) vs $1112 and of course large escalations at final table to $41k for 1st.

Is folding weak here?

Is pushing reckless?

Both blinds are medium stacks 20-35k.

MrX

Re: preflop decision late in Friday special
 

I'd push. It's 8 handed which does make a difference. Winning the blinds increases your stack by 20%. You've got medium stacks in the blinds who are less likely to call you with marginal hands than big or small stacks. You're about to pay the blinds which will reduce your stack and folding equity.

Re: preflop decision late in Friday special
 

This is the kind of hand/spot where I'll push, knowing it's the correct play, until someone wakes up with a monster (always a bigger stack [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] ). I always second guess my play, and try to convince myself that I should've waited and wasn't desperate etc etc. Unfortunately, the fact is that with the huge blinds late in party MTTs, you simply have to accumulate chips.

Ask yourself this: Is the pay increase at 20th place REALLY a big deal to you? It's ok if it is, but if you're really gunning for a deep final table finish, I think you have to push here.

Re: preflop decision late in Friday special
 

[ QUOTE ]
This is the kind of hand/spot where I'll push, knowing it's the correct play, until someone wakes up with a monster (always a bigger stack [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] ). I always second guess my play, and try to convince myself that I should've waited and wasn't desperate etc etc. Unfortunately, the fact is that with the huge blinds late in party MTTs, you simply have to accumulate chips.

Ask yourself this: Is the pay increase at 20th place REALLY a big deal to you? It's ok if it is, but if you're really gunning for a deep final table finish, I think you have to push here.

[/ QUOTE ]

I pushed without a whole lot of thought. I felt like Lloyd said that being 8-handed does make a difference.

The jump in $ to 20th is trivial to me at this point; I only added that info to try to give all the pertinant info.

MrX

Re: preflop decision late in Friday special
 

It's difficult to answer this as you've set it up. What's your table image? Whose been loose? Is the table tight? What have others seen you do in the last few rounds. Etc. With no information, i.e. you are new to the table, I would simply fokd here.
pkduke

Re: preflop decision late in Friday special
 

Yea more information would be helpful. This is a tough decision. Its tough to fold but you would prefer going all in with a better hand. If the table has been playing pretty tight with the payout steadily increasing you might be able to limp or make a small bet.