20+2 Four Hands from one STT.

[Paul Thomson]

The following hands are taken from a 20+2 30 person sit-n-go. I ended up winning the tournament despite the mistakes and questionable decisions I made. Below are 4 hands which I thought might be of some interest.

Hand1: QQ



Situation: STT. We are already down to 9 handed play and the blinds are still relatively low. I’ve been multi-tabling so I don’t have a good read on the villains.

Your Hand: Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] Q[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]

Action to you: Player A folds. I raise 2.5 x the BB to 250. Player D and Player E call. The rest of the table fold. The pot has $900.

Flop: 2[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 3[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 6[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] (rainbow)

Question: You’re first to act, do you check or bet? And how much do you bet?

I loved this flop and the thought going through my head is how to extract the most money out of the situation. So I couldn’t make up my mind. The clock started to run down and I panicked.

Action: I pushed all-in.

My logic was I felt pretty certain that at least one of my opponents had a pocket pair higher than the board and might call me assuming that my over bet was a steal bet. Looking back I think this was a mistake and would have been a better move if there was a flush draw on board. I think the best play is to put in a bet about the size of the pot. This way it looks like a typical continuation bet and maybe one of my opponents will try and steal it from me. And they won’t be getting the correct odds to call with AK. Is a check raise a better option?

Action: Both opponents folded.


Hand 2: KQs



Situation: STT. Still 9 handed play. I’ve been multi-tabling so I don’t have a good read on the villains.

Your Hand: K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] Q[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

Action to you: Player A-C fold. PlayerD (Villian2) calls. The SB (villain 1) completes. The pot has $450.

Flop: 2[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] Q[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]

Action to you: SB bets $275.

Question: Do you fold, call or raise? There is a player still to act behind you.

Action: I raised $1000. Villian 2 folded and Villian 1 called all-in with his remaining 705 chips. Villian1 turned over Td 9c. The turn and river came blank-blank. And I won a sizeable pot.

Thoughts: This was probably my worst post-flop play of the tournament. My thinking was I would protect my top pair against a lone heart in either of my opponents hands. However, there was 1750 in the post and Villian1 had only 705 chips left. So he was getting better than 2-1 odds to draw with a lone heart. Whereas, the correct play I believe is to call. And then if a blank falls on the turn, to put him all-in when he won’t be getting the correct odds to call with a single card to come.

The only reason I post this hand is that there could be a small problem to the “correct” line. If Villain2 has the A of diamonds, then he’ll be getting the correct odds to call on the flop, better than 3-1. And if the SB (Villian1) goes all-in on the turn and I call, then Villian2 has better than 3-1 on the turn as well. And if I raise the turn, then I could be drawing dead to a made hand. Should I be worried about this remote possibility?


Hand3: A7s



Situation: STT. Still 9 handed play, I just won a big pot, so I have a big stack. I’ve been multi-tabling so I don’t have a good read on the villain.

Your Hand: A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 7[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

Action to you: Player A-f fold. I raise to $400 and the BB calls. The pot has $875.

Flop: 7[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] Q[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

Action to you: SB bets $150.

Question: Do you fold, call or raise?

I have bottom pair and want to reevaluate on the turn. The minimum bet looks suspicious to me. If it is checked to me on the turn, I will bet and try and take down the pot.

Action: I call. The pot has $1175.

Turn: J[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]

Action to me: BB bets $300 (the minimum again)

Question: Do you fold, call or raise?

I’m still not sure where I am. Why would he bet the minimum. Since I’m getting 5-1 on my money. I decide to call and hope to hit something or check down the river.

Action: I call. The post has $1775.

River: 6[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

Action to me: BB bets $300.

Question: Do you fold or call?

I’m getting better than 7-1 to make the call. Since he called a preflop raise, it’s hard for me to put him on a weaker 7. I just don’t know what he could be betting that I have beat. So I fold. Is this an automatic call, even if it’s only to see how my opponent plays a hand? What would you have done on the flop and turn?


Hand4: 8To



Situation: STT. We’re down to 4 players and are already ITM. The payout structure is 1st=40%, 2nd=24%, 3rd=16%, 4th=12%. The table has been playing tight.

Your Hand: 8[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] T[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

Action: Player A folds. I raise to $2000. The SB goes-all in for an additional $3,636. The BB folds. There is $6,836 in the pot. It cost me $2,036 to call.

Question: Do you fold or call?

I’m getting better than 3-1 to call. However, if I call and lose, my chips stack would be diminished to 5x the BB; in other words, I’ll barely have any folding equity. Since the table is playing tight I decided to fold. But given that the payout structure is so heavily weighted for first place, should I have gambled and called the all-in?

Action: I fold.

And these were the only mistakes that I felt were worth posting. So the deck hit me and I won something like the last 9 hands I played. Thanks for the comments in advance, this way I won't need to rely on my luck box.

1) i like the push actually, i get worried about people drawing out on me with my big pocket pairs. you could be vs. A4 or A5 or someone trying to pick up a raggedy two pair.

2) i hate flops like this. as frustrating as it is, i'd probably just throw it away on that flop. if he hasn't made a flush yet, he'll chase it all the way. let SB hang himself later.

3) i'd fold the flop, if not then the turn, there are tons of hands you are behind here that he'd be playing.

4) i wouldn't try to steal with that weak of a hand.

[Paul Thomson]

Hand 3:

[ QUOTE ]
3) i'd fold the flop, if not then the turn, there are tons of hands you are behind here that he'd be playing.


[/ QUOTE ]

I think folding the flop is a mistake. I'm getting 6.8-1 pot odds to call. Even if i have to catch one of my two other hole cards to win, then I still have the odds to call. Plus I'd be sending a weird message to the rest of the field which is that I'm willing to fold on the flop to a small bet.

But I think folding the turn could be the correct play. But I think it's close.

[fluorescenthippo]

where did you get these graphics?

[Paul Thomson]

Quote: Where did you get the graphic?

I made it in photoshp. If you PM me, I can email it to you.