A hand question

heyrocker · #1 01-18-2004, 04:41 PM

Paradise $10 SNG. blinds 30/60, about to become 50/100. Seven left. Three are together around 600, I'm down around 450, the other three way higher. I look down and find AQo in the cutoff. Folded to me, I make it 180 (just push it in here?) BB (one of the big stacks) calls. Flop comes 479 rainbow. BB checks to me. I push in my last 250. Comments?

Greg (FossilMan) · #2 01-18-2004, 05:08 PM

Pushing in is good, but your choice is also OK. Just don't let yourself get bet off this hand postflop. Even if the flop is a terrible K98, 567, or some such, you're potstuck, and must stay in. Especially so if the opponent is at all sophisticated. You're going to hate yourself if you fold to the stop-and-go play here.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

chesspain · #3 01-18-2004, 05:25 PM

Greg,

I don't understand why you say that Hero's play is good whether he bets all-in or only bets 3x the BB. By doing the latter, he's practically insuring that BB is going to call unless he's holding total garbage, since BB is getting better than 3:1 on his call.

Since Hero is pot-committed anyway, why shouldn't he just push all-in, and be happy to either take down the blinds or get BB to call for Hero's full stack size?

heyrocker · #4 01-18-2004, 06:19 PM

I think that at the time I thought I could still get away from the hand if something happened. I was pretty sure the BB was going to call any raise with almost anything because he was so far ahead (he had around 2500,) so I wanted that option available. In retrospect that is pretty dumb, since with the blinds about to hit 100/200 I have very little time left. The end result didn't matter anyways, as BB had 77 and hit his set on the flop, so he surely would have called either way.

GrinningBuddha · #5 01-18-2004, 06:41 PM

[ QUOTE ]
since BB is getting better than 3:1 on his call.

[/ QUOTE ]

Huh? He's having call 120 into a pot of 270 or 2.25 to 1. However, if the BB is loose he may take these odds as well. Better to go all-in in that case. The raise to 180 should be sufficient for normal or tight players.

Greg (FossilMan) · #6 01-18-2004, 07:51 PM

Despite his reply below, he should be pot-stuck with the 3xBB raise, and should pretty much never fold here.

However, the reason the smaller raise might be OK is if the opponent is the type who sees too many flops, and might call even the all-in with a mediocre hand, but who will fold to a flop bet if he misses. There are more of these types than you might guess.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)