One piece of advice that I can see is paying off

DanTheCardMan · #1 03-23-2004, 10:21 AM

Read a post not too long ago about how one should not fold just because the pot has gotten big and you have seemingly little chance of winning. That instead you should hang in there (not fish-calling station hanging in there) but if you have a piece of the board and the pot is huge and you're pretty certain you have close to the best hand or a good chance to improve to the best hand, that going forward is not necessarily a bad thing. I've taken down a few big pots since reading that, but where it's really helped is changing my thinking from "I've got a pretty good hand, the pot is $2 and someone's just bet $4 into it so I'll call" into "why am I gonna call that big a bet for such a small pot without the nuts? I'll wait it out." Conversely, it's also changed my philosophy from "there's a king on the board and 2 fishy players just went all-in. I've got them both covered but only have a pair of 8's; I can't bet" to "Hell yeah I'm hanging in there! Call!"

Of course a lot more goes into these decisions: type of players still in, type of table, what hands you believe are out there, etc. Last night I had a pair of Jacks on the button in a SNG. Two early limpers, one a fish one a solid player. I mini-raised and they called. Flop came all rags (T62r). EP bet his remaining stack 280, EP+1 went all-in. I was short-stacked, so that was partially why I called but also because the pot was huge and I could nearly triple up. I'd put one of them on overcards and the other on AT or KT. I was right on my reads, and would have taken the pot had a K not come on the river giving EP+1 KKTT. All those chips in the pot and I had the best of it - you can't ask for more than that.

LetsRock · #2 03-23-2004, 11:46 AM

One thing to keep in mind when playing "sherrif" is the number of opponents you're facing. Vs. one opponent, it's usually correct to "make sure they have you beat". Vs. 2 or more, you have to really consider: "Can I beat both (all) of them?" This is a very important factor in determing to call even if the pot is big.

spamuell · #3 03-23-2004, 05:17 PM

With two limpers to you with JJ and you're shortstacked, why not just move in?

I'm not a SNG player at all but this would seem natural to me. Maybe not.

thirddan · #4 03-23-2004, 11:08 PM

most of the time i would move in here, the only time i wouldnt is if it was a bubble hand and someone was either going to be blinded out or go all in this hand...but i would have to be pretty sure i would make the money in order to not push in the 4th best hand...

also...Min-raise = ugh

lostinthought · #5 03-25-2004, 06:40 AM

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also...Min-raise = ugh

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Sometimes a min raise on the button with something like AA or KK will entice a SB or BB to move all in or over the top of you, figuring you are trying to steal the blinds.. it's work for me many a time.

No play is ALWAYS wrong.. be careful..

thirddan · #6 03-25-2004, 08:36 PM

i did not say that a min raise is always incorrect, but given the circumstances of this hand i think it is pretty bad...there are already two limpers plus the blinds so now anyone with a decent hand is getting pretty good odds to play, and the limpers will almost definitely play...