4-handed tourney situation.

[Plaxus]

34 players to start, down to final 4. (top 6 pay, though very heavily-weighted top 3)

Blinds 300/600 no ante. Stacks in positional order are approx: SB = 16K, BB = 3K, UTG = 8K, Button 5K.

UTG folds, I am button with QQ. I've been able to steal a healthy portion of blinds preflop and I know the players all have some respect for my raises.

SB (chipleader) is a loose player. I've seen him commit a lot of his chips earlier with drawing hands, as well as playing all-ins with low pairs. He got to be chipleader with Ace-rag against KK... Also won a big pot with 55 vs TT and spiked a set. He may play with me if he has anything at all..

BB will not protect unless he has a monster.

I make my standard 2K raise. SB comes over the top to push me all in. BB folds.

What do you do? Is the decision automatic either way?

[Lloyd]

This is an easy call but I think you should have pushed from the beginning. QQ is a good hand, but with someone like that in SB, who will play aggressively and come over the top, it will lose a fair amount of time to Ax. Why not just win the pot right then which solidifes your position in the Top 3. The only time I wouldn't push when shortstacked is with AA, maybe KK.

[M.B.E.]

Is there a huge leap in the payouts from fourth to third, compared to the increase from third to first? We really need to know the exact payouts for the top four in order to determine whether you would have been better off just pushing with QQ rather than trying to trap as you did.

[Plaxus]

Payouts - 4th $130, 3rd $240, 2nd $420, 1st $640.

5th was actually only $10 less than 4th at $120 and 6th was $80... $50 buyin with 34 entrants and a small portion taken out of the pot for expenses.

[M.B.E.]

[ QUOTE ]
Payouts - 4th $130, 3rd $240, 2nd $420, 1st $640.

[/ QUOTE ]
The best way to think of this is that all four of you are guaranteed $130, with $910 remaining in the prize pool to be distributed 56% to 1st, 32% to 2nd, and 12% to 3rd.

So you don't care much about making third place since it's only 12% -- you should be focusing on maximizing your chance of finishing first, even if that increases the risk of your finishing fourth.

So going back to your hand with QQ on the button, you clearly don't want to push preflop unless you think there's a good chance that the SB will call. Your play of raising to 2000 worked out fine. Obviously you should call the reraise. Personally my initial raise would have been less than 2000, because your goal is to persuade the other players (particularly the aggressive SB) that you are not potcommitted, and that might be a hard sale when you're in for 40% of your stack.

[La Brujita]

I think I agree on M.B.E that a smaller raise would have been fine. FWIW I would have raised up to 1500 or so and called any raise all in.

One added benefit of doing this (assuming you win) is that your raises will get more respect and you will be able to steal more blinds.

I think given the description of the SB you clearly want to bait him into a showdown with you.

If the question was do you call the reraise, I can think of extrememly few situations where I would let go QQ heads up four handed (this is not one of them).

I don't think open pushing is that bad either, if I had 4k or less I would just push in this situation.

[zaxx19]

AT this point in the tourney i think you want to get all-in heads up with QQ...

Unless there is a huge difference between 4th and 3rd i think your play is correct bc he cant pick up anything from a standard raise and will be more apt to move-in here and like i said b4 thats what you want.

[JasonK]

I like the play. 4 handed I want to get all my chips in with QQ. I don't want to just pickup the blinds.