Time to get tricky???

prk · #1 12-21-2005, 11:14 AM

Final Table of a $10+1 on Empire. Was seated as Table #1 in seat 4 for the entire tournament. Villian in this hand had also been there the entire time with me. My read on him is weak-aggressive. Normal preflop raise was a min-raise from ANY position. Another thing that this guy did was min-raise EVERY time that it got open folded to him in late middle-late position.

I had re-raised his crappy attempt to steal the blinds with his min-raise and he folded both times that I tried it. This was over about a 1.5hr period.

This hand comes up. Final table. Blinds are 400/800. Hero has T30,000. Villan has around T18,000

Hero is dealt J [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 9 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] on the button. Folded around to the Villan who makes it T1600.

Hero thinks and pops it to T3600. Blinds fold. Villan thinks for about 45seconds, and pushes for ~T16,500

I put the villan on a HUGE range of hands after watching him call his entire stack away preflop after he was caught trying to min-raise steal the blinds, with 3 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 4 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] catching runner-runner 4's to BB AA.

Im really trying to take my MTT play to the next level, which for me is WINNING one. I have actually made it to the final table 4 out of 8 of these partiucular tournaments. I feel that plays like these, specifically, getting some BALLS to make a move on someone, is what's holding me back.

Is Villan TOO loose to make a play on?? Should I have waited for a better spot??

#2 12-21-2005, 11:30 AM

You say he's folded to your re-raises before, so it's clearly not impossible to put a move on him. But given his stack size, I wouldn't do it with your hand. You'd really like to see the flop, but he is either going to push or fold. How does Villain play after the flop? I'd consider calling and then any pushing any favorable flop.

LearnedfromTV · #3 12-21-2005, 11:31 AM

Please tell me you folded.

#4 12-21-2005, 11:38 AM

[ QUOTE ]
You say he's folded to your re-raises before, so it's clearly not impossible to put a move on him. But given his stack size, I wouldn't do it with your hand. You'd really like to see the flop, but he is either going to push or fold. How does Villain play after the flop? I'd consider calling and then any pushing any favorable flop.

[/ QUOTE ]

villain already pushed

LearnedfromTV · #5 12-21-2005, 11:39 AM

As for the reraise, if you reraise you want to make it 4500, and you'd much rather do this with AA or 72 than J9s. You want to see the flop with this hand, you have position and you say he is weak, which means you win when you hit and a lot of the time he doesn't, which is plenty to call a minraise but it's a bad idea to expose yourself to being pushed off the hand, especially when he's shown himself to be really loose preflop. All you do by reraising to 3600 is build a pot he'll be more lucky to bluff at the times he does call. A call gets you in the pot cheaper and with a greater chance that he gives it up when he doesn't have a hand and misses.

Matador225 · #6 12-21-2005, 11:39 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Please tell me you folded.

[/ QUOTE ]

You certainly can't call here. Just because villain was caught bluffing before w/ 34s doesn't mean he has a weak hand now. You still have a big enough stack after folding to be able to play, and you can get yourself in a better position later on.

Taking your game to the next level does not mean calling a push with J9s just because you think villain has a wide range. It means picking your spots and sensing times when aggression will take down the pot uncontested.

prk · #7 12-21-2005, 11:57 AM

Of course I didnt call. I laid it down after he came over the top. I probably should have added this to the OP.

These are hands that frustrate me. Maybe its a lack of patience?? I keep telling myself not to play TOO tight.

My major mistake was not following my read of knowing the player was weak/loose and just either flat calling or folding PF.

prk · #8 12-21-2005, 12:03 PM

Let's say Villan smooth calls my reraise.

Hero has ~30,000. Villan has ~15,000. Pot is ~8,200.

Flop comes Q [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 4 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 9 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

Villan leads out for his usual minraise/bet of T1,600.

Whats my move? What range can he have?

I put him on the range:

66-10 10
A10s-AQs
KQs

Matador225 · #9 12-21-2005, 12:30 PM

My mistake. Sounded from your original post that you were contemplating calling.