Ponderings
This is not a bad beat story; I'm finished with those.
Actually, it's a question of how to play a hand that's been on my mind for a week or so.
Here's the situation: $5 SNG on Party; it's very early in the tournament - the second level has just started. I'm in the small blind with Hiltons. Four players limp to the #8 seat, who raises it to 60 (blinds are 15/30). Action folds to me, where I think for a second and decide to call, figuring I can disguise my strong hand and strike hard on the flop.
Unfortunately, there are five of us in the hand. Not what I wanted. However, I get a reprieve when the flop is J-7-3 rainbow. I bet the pot (T300), action folds to the 5 seat, who pushes all in. Action folds to me.
Back in the tank, I start kicking myself for not raising pre-flop, but I can't dwell on that. He might have a set, but his push indicated to me that he didn't want a caller. The more I thought about it, the more I decided he was on a steal. He had me slightly outstacked, so I called.
He showed his QTo (WTF?), I showed my queens, and he caught 9 on the turn and K on the river for his straight. That's poker.
I don't blame him; I blame me. I'm thinking I should have gone ahead and raised - especially since I was in a lousy position, but I was hoping to hide my hand's strength. I'm thinking that I was so clever I knocked myself out of the tournament (assuming my opponent would have folded to a big raise -- always a questionable prospect).
Any thoughts or suggestions?
posted by Brian @ 7:32 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Bet the pot, pre-flop. You are giving the donks to much by letting them see a cheap flop. You have to be aggressive with good cards.
I estimate that you have a stack of 700-1000 chips when this hand came up. So you'd make it 180 to go. This will likely fold around to the original raiser who will at most call.
Unless he has a real hand. But that range could be, well anything at a $5 SNG.
I'm not entirely sure you did anything "wrong" per se. You knew you were slow-playing when you flat called your queens, and slow-playing is inherently risky. One of the risks is that some luser will draw out on you with crap. Sure enough, that's what happened. You got your money in with the best of it, and you can't ask for better than that. Well, you could have asked for no 9s, but it probably wouldn't have helped.
Now, would I flat call QQ with four limpers, in level 2 of a $5 SnG? No freakin' way. You're going to be lucky to shake them off with a raise, you can't really go much bigger than 200 and they'll all be thinking, "Hey, that's less than half my stack." I think I'd bump it to 180, then some idiot would go all-in, and I'd end up forced to call and sucked out by QTo. Different line, same result. What can ya do?
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