Did I overplay this?

[parappa]

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t50 (6 handed)

BB (t705)
UTG (t1360)
MP (t460)
CO (t680)
Button (t3665)
Hero (t1130)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], 9[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].
UTG folds, MP calls t50, CO folds, Button calls t50, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: (t200) A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 2[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 6[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(4 players)</font>
<font color="CC3333">Hero bets t200</font>, BB folds, MP calls t200, Button folds.

Turn: (t600) J[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
<font color="CC3333">Hero bets t210</font>, MP calls t210 (All-In).

River: (t1020) 3[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(2 players, 1 all-in)</font>

Final Pot: t1020

[mmcd]

Yes

[parappa]

Okay. What's the right move? I can't decide between:

a) pre-flop raise. Doesn't intuitively seem right w/this hand but I'm willing to be told otherwise.
b) check/call has to be wrong because it potentially gives a singleton heart a free card;

so that only leaves:

c) check/fold?

[Hood]

Please, such replies really aren't useful at all.

Especially as I think you are very wrong. I don't think you overplayed this hand. On the flop I would have pushed all-in, because your 200 pot bet is committing you (you'll call if he raises all-in for another 210).

The turn bet isn't doing much (I expect he's going to call with pretty much anything, and there's a good chance he's got a better hand), which makes it look odd like you're overplaying your TPMK. But looking at the size of the pot, you're going to call if he goes all-in, so you may as well make the play yourself.

[parappa]

(i suppose it matters, and I didn't put it in, but this is from a 10+1)

Thanks for the reply. I can see what you're saying about the possibility of pushing, and the fact that I'm pretty obviously going to call if he puts the rest of the chips in on the turn.

My problem is that I wasn't thinking about any of that. I was on autopilot and was basically thinking something like "I have an ace. AQ or AK I would've probably heard about pre-flop. AJ and AT are possibilities, but I'm either going to check-fold or play aggressively and hope that I'm raised. Seems silly to give up the pot when I'm probably best. Pot-sized bet."

I wasn't particularly happy when called, but I thought he was as likely to have the Kh as anything else, and I thought he'd fold the turn when the jack came.

What concerns me quite a bit is that I make a lot of these kinds of plays from early position and I'm getting burned on them. When I take the lead and get called, I feel obligated to keep betting on the turn and I get trapped a lot. I'm in the process of trying to decide if a hand like A9 here is marginal enough that I can check/fold it without giving up too much in terms of EV. It's one of those situations where I seem to win a little/lose a lot.

As it happens, he had QhJh and I was betting it for him. Bad luck, or bad play?