All-in Master

[soda]

Ok, so I'm playing this tourney on Paradise. It was $30 Buy-in, NL HE, 121 peeps.

I've been leading most of the way up to the final table. Guy in seat 2, who I have (unfortunately) not played with until the final table has become very aggressive. Not typical aggressive, but pushing all in preflop very often.

Due to a recent tough beat on me (!!!!!) - my AQ losing to A7 all in preflop, I'm now second stack to the pushin artist. We are now 5. Push in artist has pushed in about 1 out of every 3 hands for the last 3 straight orbits.

Folded to me on the button. I have K4s and raise 3.5 times the BB. SB folds and BB (push in artist), predictably, pushes all in. I had decided to call as soon as I first saw my hand, so I called.

Stack sizes - me ~40k, push in artist ~50k - 30k, 30k and 10k.

I am playing to win - 5th and 2nd are virtually the same in my mind. The only problem player is the push in artist - all others are putty waiting for my fingers to mold them.

Any thoughts are welcome.

soda

[cferejohn]

K4s? Ugh. Even if he is pushing with any pair, any ace, or any king, this stands a good chance of being dominated. I think you can wait for a better hand than this; at least ace - decent kicker or two paint cards...

[DeathDonkey]

No offense intended, but you basically got frustrated and called a huge bet with one card (and not even an ace). The all-in master got you to do exactly what he wanted. You say he only pushed every 3rd hand or so, this means he is actually looking at his cards before making his "standard" raise. I cannot think of a hand he would push with that you will be dominating, but I can think of many that will have you dominated. Players like this are a test of patience, you can do so much better than K4s and you have plenty of chips. If he was on the BB and I thought it likely he would reraise all in if I raised, I would have folded K4s for sure.

-DeathDonkey

[BradleyT]

The blinds can't be that high otherwise the 10K and 30K stacks are in danger of busting out soon.

You have plenty of time to not play a goober hand like this.

[soda]

[ QUOTE ]
No offense intended, but you basically got frustrated and called a huge bet with one card (and not even an ace). The all-in master got you to do exactly what he wanted.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ok, I agree with what you say here. Although, I wouldn't really consider it a huge bet. It was his only play. All in. That's it. So, it's more of a - I'm playing this hand, than a large raise. Perhaps my 1 out of 3 estimate was a little low. Wish I had hard numbers on that.

Regardless, he had AJ this time, which was ages better than I thought he'd have.

Now, I begin to wonder how bad the call really was.

The blinds were 1.5/3, and my raise was a touch over 10k. Regardless, the feedback I got was that I should have waited for a better opportunity, and I suppose I will next time.

Still, I can't help but wonder. Folding gives the all in artist a 2/1 chip lead over me and two others. One person has a foot out the door with only 10k left. True, I still have chips to maneuver and that is worth something, but if I win this hand I'm a huge favorite over the field for the tourney.

If I win, the only opponent I fear is crippled badly. Given the hand he held, I win only 40% of the time. Given the way he was playing, I felt my hand had a reasonable chance of being the best hand preflop. The only thing I did not want to see was a pair 44 and higher, A4, or a king with a kicker. Any other hand was fine by me. Even the one he showed wasn't too bad. At least, not until the flop came Axx.

Now let's say I go 4 hands without seeing a pair or an ace. Not too unlikely. Ok, now I'm down to 25k. And the all in artist is at 65-70 - depending on whether he pushed in once or twice in those 4 hands.

Gee - I'd better make a move soon. 4 more hands and I'll be at only 20k trying to beat an aggressive with 70-80k. Hope that pair comes soon.

I guess I was just prepared to make a stand. Maybe next time, I'll pick a better spot.

soda

[TheGrifter]

I lost at the final table of a 1000+ entrant rebuy tourney recently when i pushed with Jacks and got called by a hyperaggresive K4s...grrrrr...I don't like this play.

[img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[cferejohn]

[ QUOTE ]
Ok, I agree with what you say here. Although, I wouldn't really consider it a huge bet. It was his only play. All in. That's it. So, it's more of a - I'm playing this hand, than a large raise. Perhaps my 1 out of 3 estimate was a little low. Wish I had hard numbers on that.

Regardless, he had AJ this time, which was ages better than I thought he'd have.


[/ QUOTE ]

What did you think he would have. Granted he probably didn't have something that good every time, but it really seems like he probably had something that was either roughly even with or better than K4s. You are probably going to need make a somewhat loose call against this guy, but at least hold out for two paints, an ace, or a pair. Alternately, some other player may get fed up with him and challenge him as well.

As someone else said, wait until you get a hand you are happy to call with before raising a player like this.

[jwvdcw]

Sorry man, but I agree that is a very poor play. You went on tilt. One, you were mad that you lost with your a-q. And, two, you were upset that this guy was able to successfully take so many blinds.

K-4 is not the hand that you want to make a stand with.

[soda]

[ QUOTE ]

As someone else said, wait until you get a hand you are happy to call with before raising a player like this.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was very happy to call him with the hand. I only raised because I knew beforehand that I would call. I believed K4 had a very good chance of being the best hand.

Is the diff. between 40/60 and 60/40 really that big of a deal when a players stack is increasing at such an alarming rate?

I really question conventional wisdom here.

Next time, I will try to wait for a better hand, tho. See how the other half lives.

soda

[cferejohn]

[ QUOTE ]
I was very happy to call him with the hand. I only raised because I knew beforehand that I would call. I believed K4 had a very good chance of being the best hand.


[/ QUOTE ]

I think you are overrating Kx then. *If* you are a favorite, you are probably a very small one (to two cards between a K and a 4). The suitedness helps, but only a very little bit.

You are slightly or hugely behing any ace, most kings, and any pair. If he is pushing connectors, you are slightly ahead of those.

K4 just has such a good chance of being dominated. I'd rather have something like 9T, which is worse than K4 heads up, but is actually a favorite over low pairs and is a much smaller dog to a king with a better kicker (provided said kicker isn't 9 or T).