stud tournament hand

[TeeSludge 0]

Hello all,Wondering if any good stud players can help me with this hand. I was playing in a 200 person Stud tournament at the Trop. Top 16 spots paid out. We were already into the money with 15 people left and I was sitting at about T6k in chips with 7 people at my table. Antes were at T100, the bring in at T200 and the stakes at 500/1k. My stack was either the biggest or second biggest at the table. I had been playing very aggressively as my table was very tight and it seemed that the short stacks were more interested in waiting around to move up in the money rather than double up. A big stack was the bring in with the 3 The next player limped in with the 9 . He had a decent stack at about T3800. I raised to T500 with J showing and 9 10 in the hole. Two very short stack players behind me put the rest of their chips in which was not more than the T500 raise. The bring in folded and the limper called the raise. There were no diamonds, eights or queens showing on the boards. 4th street brought him the 8 and brought me the Q . He checked and I bet out T500. He just called. With a good player I would think that he was slow playing a big hand but I didn't think that was the case with this guy. 5th street brought him a 10 and brought me the K completing my straight and giving me 4 to the flush and a gutshot straight flush draw. He checked and I bet out T1k and he raised to 2k. Now this really got me to thinking. He was raising into me with a board of 9 8 10 and my board showing J Q K . It was a tough situation for me to figure out but ultimately I put it at 50/50 that he either made a lower straight and thought it was good or he had been slow playing rolled up trips or hit his set on 4th or 5th street. Finally I decided to re-raise him his last T900 chips or so and committ to the hand. He ended up having 10 10 as his down cards and he filled up on the river with an 8 . It was a huge pot that he ended up taking down and left me with about T2000 in chips but I was able to fight back and ended up finishing in 9th. I just was wondering what everyone thought about this hand and if I made the correct decision?

[bettor 0]

I am fairly new to poker and being 19 years-old have limited experience playing stud tournaments(two or three online, but I won the very first[pot-limit]). From where I'm sitting, everything in your post tells me you did the right thing, but I am totally convinced that there is an X-factor in poker(my father calls it "card sense") that sometimes flies in the face of everything you know. For me, it's a little voice or twinge in my stomach that tells me what the other guy has before I've even really thought about it. I guess it's just instinct, but thus far it's served me incredibly well.I'm curious as to why you didn't apply the brakes on 5th street when you made your straight. First, by checking, you give yourself a chance to get a free card and possibly make your strong flush. Secondly, if your opponent goes all-in for his last 900 it gives you at least a little more information before you are forced to act. You mentioned two small stacks calling all-in...If your opponent bet his last 900, I think you're getting the odds to call but wouldn't it be worth it to possibly move up two positions in the money? If my 4am math is correct you're still sitting on a decent 4k-ish stack, not exactly against the ropes. You are, after all, guarenteed a look at his cards at the end and therefore gain another chunk of information on the guy you can use later. I know you said you were playing agressively, so I'm not oging to say you did anything wrong. I actually prefer being agressive when playing stud. But sometimes slowing down is okay... I'm just throwing ideas out there. Hopefully this post(my first!) raised some valid points...-Abraham

[TeeSludge 0]

Hey,Thanks a lot for the response. That may have been a thought to check 5th street, but I doubt I was getting away from this hand now that I think about it. He had a very non-threatening board and with all the money in the pot I was pretty much committed to the hand. I'm honestly never really concerned with moving up one to two spots in the money- I want to win the whole thing, that is basically why I was involved in this hand to begin with. I was playing aggressively because everyone else was playing so tight. I guess everything would have been gravy if he didn't river his boat anyway... lol. Thanks for the response and the ideas.

[CrosRoads 0]

Hmmm, you did nothing wrong, you had the best hand the whole way.....he had a set when you had a straight. he needed to catch another ten, a nine, or an eight. That leaves him 7 outs. Since you had his nine and his ten tied up, that leaves him five. even if he hits one of them, and you hit Qd, you win. I will take king high straight with gutshot straight draw sharing two of my opponents cards needed to fill up any day.He was behind the entire hand.

[SportsW234 0]

You played the hand perfectly. There was no way did not have the best hand on 5th street and you made the right move by not meesing around and put in the 3rd raise to put him all in. The way he played the hand was too cautious to my liking. I would have open up with a bet with buried 10's. If I were you I would've reraised because a three straight flush is a powerful hand and you could two overs to the 9's he was representing. Anyhow it doesn't matter if he open for a raise or you called or reraise. A lot of money is going in if someone has trips the other player has a straight. You just suffered a minor bad beat and have nothing to be ashamed of.

[TeeSludge 0]

Thanks a lot for the responses guys. I am relatively new to seven stud only having played it online for about 4 or 5 months and having never played in a large tournament so I honestly didn't know whether this was just a bad beat or a bad play but I think you guys cleared things up... thanks.