Any way to avoid busting out in this situation?

[david050173]

Come on raising with 99 would have been a questionable play preflop. It is a small pair where you want a lot of callers (early in the tournament) so that when you flop the trips you can get a lot of action.

Personally I think you both deserved to lose by trying to slow play trips on the flop with common straight and flush draws out against you. The lack of betting post flop (200 is a courtesy bet) does not allow you to tell anything about hands out there. When the Q came, if I had trips I would be thinking about trying to check this down as cheap as possible. With a made straight, if some one starts betting big you have to think about giving them credit for it at least early in the tournament especially if you have a big stack and are playing against another one.

If I had the 99s I would have to think a lot harder before laying down but with bottom trips when I haven't invested any money in the pot yet, this seems like a hand that you can lay down. Yes you will lay down the best hand a lot of times. But you will also survive a lot times also.