One out of the money with a decent BB hand

[Quaalude]

$10 STT - Blinds are 150/300

Seat 1 : X has $1,720
Seat 2 : Y has $540
Seat 5 : Hero has $6,520
Seat 6 : Villain has $9,220

Villain has been aggressive the entire game and raising lots of pots preflop UTG, though he seems to be a fairly decent player.

Hero is in the BB with A [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 7 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

Villain raises to 600.

X and Y fold.

Hero calls.

Flop is J [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 2 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] A [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]

Hero checks.

Villain bets 1,200.

Hero raises 2,000.

Villian reraises All-in.

At this point my intuition is screaming that I'm either out kicked or behind to two pair. I'm also kicking myself for getting in to a situation like this with the only person that can break me with seat 2 about to be blinded away.

Comments, please...

-Travas

[Karak567]

Fold preflop and I don't think it is close at all. No reason to go to war with the big stack when you have a very healthy stack with a marginal hand like A7 ESPECIALLY with two short stacks, one of them being VERY shortstacked. Get out of the way.

[string4]

*in the dark, critique welcome*

IMO going forward with this mediocre hand when you are on the bubble and another player is so close to being blinded out is a mistake. Fold and make it up later.

[pergesu]

[ QUOTE ]
$10 STT - Blinds are 150/300
Seat 2 : Y has $540

[/ QUOTE ]
Those two pieces of information should guide every play you make.

Busting on the bubble would be downright stupid. Even if you lay down the best hand, you're nearly a sure thing to make the money, and are still able to play for first.

You should fold this preflop without a second thought.

[Karak567]

Yeah, remember 3rd place money is infinitely better than 4th place money.

[Quaalude]

Ok, good advice, all. Now let's say that Villain just limps in, or you mistakenly call anyway. Do you just check and fold to any bet here?

-Travas

[gasgod]

I would go into check/fold mode. Without the nuts, I won't call a bet as long as he can push a later street. If we get to the river, I can call a bet for value.

This situation illustrates why it's so valuable for big stack to keep the bubble alive. He can run all over you, and there's nothing you can do about it.

GG

[rydazzle]

I am not so sure I agree with the passive play on the bubble here as others are suggesting, I like your play...lots of guys start stealing here, you can communicate to him that you are willing to make a stand to those moves.

[aside form the pre-flop [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] ...post-flop]

I REALLY dislike the check with top-pair here. You have gained zero information. Was your intention to check-raise? If so, why? That seems like an expensive and risky move (especially on the bubble) where a bet half the pot/pot is a cheaper and a less risky way to gain some information. Also, I think the check raise too weak (a pot-sizer would be min I think, make him stop and think), perhaps this is why he put you all in?

...which leads to the next question: why would he risk his stack so quickly? does this all-in want a call? now you have to wrestle with this question.

I like a half to pot size raise on the flop. If you get called, slow down and see the next card. If you get raised, I may bow out since you are so close to the money.

[Quaalude]

[ QUOTE ]
I am not so sure I agree with the passive play on the bubble here as others are suggesting, I like your play...lots of guys start stealing here, you can communicate to him that you are willing to make a stand to those moves.

[aside form the pre-flop [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] ...post-flop]

I REALLY dislike the check with top-pair here. You have gained zero information. Was your intention to check-raise? If so, why? That seems like an expensive and risky move (especially on the bubble) where a bet half the pot/pot is a cheaper and a less risky way to gain some information. Also, I think the check raise too weak (a pot-sizer would be min I think, make him stop and think), perhaps this is why he put you all in?

...which leads to the next question: why would he risk his stack so quickly? does this all-in want a call? now you have to wrestle with this question.

I like a half to pot size raise on the flop. If you get called, slow down and see the next card. If you get raised, I may bow out since you are so close to the money.

[/ QUOTE ]

A small raise UTG had been a frequent play of his for the entire game, so I wasn't giving him credit for much of anything. I reasoned that he was unlikely to have hit the flop, and that he would likely make a continuation bet no matter what he had, and I wanted to extract as much as I could from him. He would often fold to my reraise in similar situations, so I about crapped myself when he reraised all-in. I knew I should've folded at that point, but I managed to talk myself into calling anyway. As luck would have it, he had A [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 2 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].

-Travas

[lastchance]

Again, fold preflop, because there's no great way to play this hand out of position.

But, on the flop, I like a check-raise here given your read, but you've got to lay this down when your opponent reraises you all-in. And it's not close.