[RiverDood]

VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION: For anyone seriously interested in stop-n-gos, go explore the archives and look for posts by Greg Raymer (fossilman) on this topic, from back in 2003 or 2004. He's made a lot more money with stop-n-gos than any of us.

NOT SO VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION: 11t's posting covers the key strategic concept just fine. I've applied that mostly by trying stop-n-gos with small/mid-PPs, when I'm the smaller stack and I think I'm up against overcards or a slightly bigger PP.

Classic case: I've got T1300 or so in an MTT where the blinds are 50/100 and the average stack is T2000+. I now post in the BB, pick up 55, and see some guy in MP has raised to T500. All fold to me.

No one is playing very tight, so I'm assuming he's got A9+, or maybe a bigger PP. I'd like to play this hand, figuring I've got a 45%-50% chance against his likely range and there's enough dead money in the pot to justify being in. But I've got no reason to think I'm the favorite, and no reason to think he'll fold if I push. I have essentially zero folding equity.

So I'd like to see if there's a way to take down the pot fast without letting him keep drawing on the turn and river.

I call the preflop bet and push right away on the flop. It's Q62. The guy agonizes. The flop hasn't helped him a bit, and the Q overcard worries him. Heck, maybe he thinks I hit a set. I'm convinced he would have folded 77-99, as well as any Ax or any two Broadway cards that didn't include a Q.

The actual outcome turned out to be a fluky -- and strategically irrelevant -- bit of good fortune for me. He finally called and turned over JJ. I caught a 5 on the river and doubled up. For those particular cards, I'd have come out in the same place if I had pushed. But as the example shows, I also improved my chances of picking up some pots that I might not have been entitled to otherwise.