PP 30+3 Final Table, 5 people left.

[Garbonzo]

A little information.

I started playing on-line multi tournaments about 3 months ago, a couple a week then, more now. I have not gotten to the final table of a decent size tournament before. This is my first.

I started playing Hold-em about 6 months ago. All in all, i'm a huge rookie. I have read a ton, and try to play more than I read. I know books can only help so much. I play live some, but mostly I play on line.

Anyway, I want to ask about one hand that has been eating at me.

5 people left:
Chips

SB ~85K
BB ~110K
UTG ~30k
MP ~65K
ME ~92K

Blinds are 2k-4k

It's folded to me with QcJc I raise to 12K. SB folds, BB raises 35K and I call??? Flop was rag rag rag, BB puts me all in and I fold...

BB has been the tournament leader for over an hour. He is aggressive, but has not shown down any weak hands whatsoever. Furthermore, I watched table 1, where he sat for the past two hours, nearly the entire time, he almost never lost a pot, and any hand he showed down was close to a "monster"...I think this may have accidentally had a bad effect on me, it caused me to fear him more than I should have maybe....

I think I made a mistake and I should have raised all-in or folded, but not the dreadful call? The point being, I sat there frozen, and literally had no idea what to do until the time was about out, when I quickly hit call and proceeded to beat my head against the desk in frustration. Also, I should I even raise with this hand? If the hand gets played it will likely be HU, this hand doesn't do so well against many hands HU. But, it has to be way above average for a SH table no? Should I have just folded originally? Help!

What should I be thinking here? What thought process should I be going through?

Also, I was at table #2 the entire tournament, it was absolutely nuts. More all in's, with big stacks, that I have ever seen. Hyper agressive, and tight tight tight...literally, over the course of 1 1/2 hours, the average bet was probably quite close to the average stack size at this table. It was both frightening and intense, and hella fun. I think the way the table played kept me away from more marginal hands and prevented me from making some of the stupid mistakes I often make after gaining a good stack.

All in all it was very exciting, and I hope to go through the hand history and post some of the hands that got me there and get some feedback. There is one hand in particular that I am quite proud of and I want to see if I am a fool to feel this way.

Please be gentle.

[MLG]

Your raise is absolutely fine. You have a good amount of money compared to the blinds at this stage of the tournament, which means there is a lot of play left. However, when he comes over you I think that calling is a bad play. Unless you know that this is a player with a propencity to bluff (which you are saying he isn't) then this is a clear fold. Don't commit a third of your stack here with these cards. Additionally don't look to tangle with the one stack that can bust you. Each person that busts out means a bump in the money for you, so when you're a big stack, but not the biggest one, try to avoid tangling with a player who has you covered when youd dont have premium cards. But hey, its your first final table, consider it a good learning experience. The fact that you recognized your mistake is a good sign, it means your analyzing your play and trying to improve, keep thinking about your game and you'll be able to iron out these mistakes as you get more experience...at least thats what I tell myself whenever I make an asinine mistake.

[Garbonzo]

[ QUOTE ]
Your raise is absolutely fine. You have a good amount of money compared to the blinds at this stage of the tournament, which means there is a lot of play left. However, when he comes over you I think that calling is a bad play. Unless you know that this is a player with a propencity to bluff (which you are saying he isn't) then this is a clear fold. Don't commit a third of your stack here with these cards. Additionally don't look to tangle with the one stack that can bust you. Each person that busts out means a bump in the money for you, so when you're a big stack, but not the biggest one, try to avoid tangling with a player who has you covered when youd dont have premium cards. But hey, its your first final table, consider it a good learning experience. The fact that you recognized your mistake is a good sign, it means your analyzing your play and trying to improve, keep thinking about your game and you'll be able to iron out these mistakes as you get more experience...at least thats what I tell myself whenever I make an asinine mistake.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the feedback, that call is awful. I think the next time I get QcJc I'll shudder...

[schwza]

you should DEFINITELY open-raise there though. i would recommend open-raising a hand as bad as Q9o on the button there.

[Garbonzo]

The problem was that the two players behind me were both very agressive. I felt like any hand I played I should be ready to back-up with some more chips, which is not what I want to do with Q-9o.

I recall specifically folding Q-9 off in this position...and folding.