To Push or Not to Push-Please Critique

[juris]

I'm a novice player who doesn't have significant experience in multi-tournaments. I've thought for 2 days about this play in a $20 Multi and can't make up my mind, primarily b/c of the table chatter after the hand. From the chat from other players, it seems I'm was an idiot to 2 and brilliant to 3. Given some of the tournament plays I've seen, I've decided to ask a better sample. I'll post results later.

Approx 150 players, down to final 50, 25 paid out. I've got about $4500, which puts me with a middle stack. I'm UTG +1 when I find 99. Table has been moderately loose with several limpers each hand, but I've seen only one showdown in last 8 hands. Blinds at 200-400 and going up after this hand.

UTG, with a stack of about 6000 limps. My notes show he loves playing draws and plays from early position too much. I have played one hand in the last 2 orbits and raise to 1000, all fold back to him who pushes in.

I push in quickly and wait for the cards to turn up.

I know why I did what I did. I would very much appreciate hearing WHY you think what I did was right or wrong. Thanks in advance.

[CrisBrown]

Hi juris,

I would fold 99 here. A limp from UTG, followed by an all-in reraise, smells a lot like AA or KK to me. Now, I don't know this player, and it may be that your read of him is right and he turned up something like JTs. But my instinct would be to get away from 99 in this situation.

Cris

[Rob Blackburn]

A all-in reraise seems to be he is holding TT or higher pair(probably AA/KK) and/or maybe outside shot of two suited faces(most likely KQ or AK) probably connected. My instinct would to be drop 99 so fast your head would spin, but if you observed this players patterns enough and he is in fact playing draws out or raising alot to muscle steals I would call here as well. I would suspect though the general consensus here is that you have to fold this hand the majority of the time in this spot no matter the conditions.

[NotMitch]

I'd fold it, you are too likely to be either a small favorite or a big underdog. It sounds like you can find better spots to get you money in.

[LetsRock]

I think your intitial raise was good, but you should have folded to the all-in. As painful as it is to experience, even loosey-gooseys catch real cards once in a while, and ususally at the worst possible moment.

Unless I had real solid evidence that his player only pushes all-in when he's bluffing, I would lay it down. Live to fight another hand.

[Guy McSucker]

Limp-reraise is the classic AA or KK play. Very few players are capable of doing it with less.

You should fold I think, unless you've seen this player make this move with pairs smaller than 9. Even if all your opponent has is overcards you're only 50-50. Give it up.

Guy.

[JohnG]

Given that one player is already in the pot, and your stack size in relation to that pot, my initial move would have been to raise all-in or fold. I favour folding given the loose limper and the number of players still to act behind.

Once it's raised to 1k, and he then moves all-in. I don't fear AA or KK from this player, although it's a possibility. Given the players description and the pot/stack ratios, I think this player would move-in with any hand they decide to play, and that's probably quite a number of hands for this player. I don't like the 99 much against that range, but I'd probably grit my teeth and call the all-in.

The problem in my view is not the call of his all-in, but the opening raise amount that created this uncomfortable situation. I'd correct the problem at it's source.

[juris]

Thanks for the comments. I believed, right or wrong, he had overcards and didn't want to play scared. He had QQ. Oops. Hellmuth at reading I'm not-yet.

But I do have something-stupid luck. I caught four spades to win with a flush. I then went into another big hole in my game-reverse tilt thinking I was playing with "free chips" rather than thanking my stars and just barely finished in the money play much, much too agressive.

I have read on here that when in doubt, and think it's close, choose the more agressive route. I think that to be good advice, as long as you remember the "close" part.