2 hands.

EDIT: No reads on any of the hands since they had newly started.

Hand 1)

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t20 (9 handed) internettexasholdem.com

Button (t1500)
SB (t1500)
BB (t1500)
UTG (t1500)
UTG+1 (t1500)
MP1 (t1500)
MP2 (t1500)
Hero (t1500)
CO (t1500)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 6[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img].
<font color="#666666">3 folds</font>, MP2 calls t20, Hero calls t20, CO calls t20, Button calls t20, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: (t120) 5[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], 3[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(6 players)</font>
SB checks, BB checks, MP2 checks, <font color="#CC3333">Hero bets t60</font>, CO folds, Button folds, SB calls t60, BB folds, MP2 folds.

Turn: (t240) 9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
SB checks, <font color="#CC3333">Hero bets t100</font>, <font color="#CC3333">SB raises to t200</font>, Hero calls t100.

River: (t640) 8[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">SB bets t520</font>, Hero ...

Im thinking this is an easy fold? He played this hand in a weird way.

Hand 2)

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t20 (9 handed) internettexasholdem.com

MP3 (t1060)
CO (t1490)
Button (t1450)
Hero (t1280)
BB (t1990)
UTG (t1970)
UTG+1 (t1500)
MP1 (t1300)
MP2 (t1460)

Preflop: Hero is SB with J[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img].
UTG calls t20, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, MP1 calls t20, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, <font color="#CC3333">MP3 raises to t60</font>, <font color="#666666">2 folds</font>, Hero calls t50, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, UTG calls t40, MP1 calls t40.

Flop: (t260) 3[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], 2[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(4 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">Hero bets t100</font>, UTG calls t100, MP1 folds, MP3 folds.

Turn: (t460) 3[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">Hero bets t100</font>, UTG calls t100.

River: (t660) 5[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">Hero ...

I'm figuring I should bet here but how much?

[Chief911]

Heaven,

I'll say this alot nicer than some people will. Hand 1 is horrible. Fold preflop. And if you can't fold it preflop, fold the turn to the min-raise. What hands are you ahead of?

Hand 2 is a bit better. Its OK to call the raise although I'm not sure I like a 5 way pot from the SB. You hit about as good a flop as you can expect. But I think I'd check the river and call a reasonable sized bet, now that you dug yourself in that far.

TJ "The Craps King" Cloutier has an article in cardplayer about big mistakes people make in tournaments, and one of the biggest he mentions is calling raises with paint hands that even if you connect, might not be the best hand.

Yea I know hand 1 is aweful but when the blind is as low as 10/20 I see alot of flops. It's one of my errors in my game, I don't mean I like to see flop with 3-9os but you get the point. Any hand that can make me a good one and isn't UTG or UTG+1 or so I usually call with when the blinds is this low.

Hand 2: Its just 60 to call and I can get a pretty sweet flop like I did. I like calling here. What would be better? Fold or Raise. Just not calling?

[Benal]

[ QUOTE ]
when the blind is as low as 10/20 I see alot of flops

[/ QUOTE ]

That's fine, but dont do it with dominated hands. Do it with suited connectors, suited aces, suited broadways...

[Chief911]

To add to what Benal said, and I'll add more later, play with position. I love hands like small suited connectors or one gappers early in tourneys when the blinds are big. But only in position. I MIGHT play a hand like that on the button, but in EP/MP, its suicide, especially if you are not good at getting off the hand when its obvious you are beat. And there are not many hands that play out that way where you are ahead, even on the turn.

Nick

[locutus2002]

Hand 2:

PF Easy call. After raising so little its likely that MP3 may make other mistakes after the flop. You may have the best hand.

ATF I'd bet more to thin the field. It's hard to believe you don't have a jack with this flop.

Turn: I'd bet around T300, you likely have the best hand, you don't want to give villain a chance to hit his hand cheap.

River: I'd bet T250, after the weak turn bet you may get called by mid pairs and weak jacks which comprise a substantial number of villain's possible holdings.

Thanks. I should probably increase my raises to get even more but with low blinds I like to bet out small when I feel I got the best hand so I get more chips early in the torunament.

I agree with Benal and Chief, you've got to dump both of these pre-flop in my opinion. Playing these two hands is just asking for trouble I think...

Agreed on the first but AJ in the SB? Only 50 more to call. I think that one is worth a flop for sure.

[ QUOTE ]
Agreed on the first but AJ in the SB? Only 50 more to call. I think that one is worth a flop for sure.

[/ QUOTE ]

I just personally don't like playing AJ to a raise b/c more often than not, if you hit your hand on the flop, you're behind. If you hit your Ace, you could easily be behind to AA,AK, or AQ. If you you hit your J, you could be behind to AA,KK,QQ, or JJ. All of these are potential raising hands, and hands that your opponent (or one of the other calling opponents) could have. Just more trouble than it's worth, I think...