A successful Stop & Go

[Lurshy]

With so little going right for me poker-wise over the week-end, I thought I would post a succesful stop & go hand.

Did I just get lucky, or was this good play?

The set-up Struggling in satellite, made a couple of lay downs that cost me big chunk of stack. I think I showed one hand all tourney, but that doesn't matter, as I am new to this table (1st few hands), so no reads etc. I'm down to about 5.5 BB with the blind levels at 50/100 before posting the SB.

Either me or the converter is kaput...

***** Hand History for Game 1264238186 *****
NL Hold'em Trny:7681838 Level:5 Blinds (50/100) - Sunday, December 05, 20:38:58 EDT 2004
Table $200K Saturday Qualifier(153780) Table #10 (Real Money)
Seat 9 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: BB ( $1845 )
Seat 2: UTG ( $560 )
Seat 3: UTG+1 ( $2085 )
Seat 4: MP1 ( $1205 )
Seat 5: MP2 ( $3745 )
Seat 6: MP3 ( $2045 )
Seat 7: CO-1 ( $412 )
Seat 8: CO ( $1410 )
Seat 9: Button ( $4490 )
Seat 10: Hero (SB) ( $645 )
Trny:7681838 Level:5
Blinds (50/100)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero (SB) [ 9 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 4 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] ]
UTG folds.
UTG+1 folds.
MP1 folds.
MP2 calls [100].
MP3 calls [100].
CO-1 folds.
CO folds.
Button folds.

Two in, limped around to me. Pretty weak. Being so out stacked by the limpers, I figure someone would call an all-in. I call with the intention of pushing any flop. I would fold to a PF raise by the BB.

Hero (SB) calls [50].
BB checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ A [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 5 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 6 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] ]

A dangerous looking flop that looks perfect for a SB limper. I figure only a real hand can call me. Even Ax (without a high heart) may let go, as I do still have so folding equity, and the flop is scary...

Hero (SB) is all-In.
BB folds.
MP2 folds.
MP3 folds.
Hero (SB) does not show cards.
Hero (SB) wins 945 chips

Well, it worked, so the play wasn't terrible. What do you think, too aggressive, or the right time for this?

[kuro]

Bad play that got lucky.
Muck that and look for a better spot.

[Lurshy]

I dunno, the more I think about it, the more I like the play.

If you are going to have the Stop & Go in your aresenal, this was probably the spot for it. Having only one in the pot ahead of me, instead of two, may have been more ideal, but then, the fear of the guy behind them may have helped BB and MP2 fold to my flop bet.

If I waited another round (without finding a spot to double up), I would be so short stacked, that I would have no folding equity at all. I also would still be short if I did hit. There were a few minutes left in the level, so if the blinds didn't go up before they hit me again, they would go up soon thereafter.

In this spot, I was able to make a pot sized bet, 4x the BB giving me some folding equity.

I thought it may have been luck, (thats one reason for the post). But then again, doesn't any bluff have an element of luck in it?

What do others think?

[Rocaix]

A stop'n go generally applies to a heads up situation with a late position open-raiser. Not with two limpers in an unraised pot.

Pushing when you're first to act in a four-way pot on a monochrome board is not +EV in the long run. This hand should've been folded preflop.

[JaBlue]

At this point you can't afford completing with such a horrible hand. You are going to have to double up eventually, so you're giving up 100 chips by calling 50.

I don't like the play at all. I'd much rather be in position to make this play if I would ever consider it.

[Sam T.]

Not to re-open the "is this a stop & go" debate, but Fossilman would argue that it's not a stop & go if you don't think you're ahead pre-flop (which in this case seems unlikely, to say the least).

That said, I don't mind the play. Limpers certainly don't indicate any particular strength, which is good, and it was a dream flop for you. I'd be happier doing this with a couple of faces, but given your stack, you can't be too picky. You do, however, look a tad silly if you get called by K [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] Q [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]...