16 replies to this topic

[sxz18]

Here's a common MTT situation I run across almost every tournament I play. I'm still not quite sure what the correct move is but I'm hoping someone here can help me out!This situation is specific toward the middle of a tournament when blinds are 150/300 and the average stack is roughly 2500-3000. A lot of the bad players have already been eliminated and people are looking to double up or set traps. Given no previous information on UTG or UTG+1, what would you do if this occured?UTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold AK. Your move?UTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold KQ. Your move?UTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold KJ. Your move?UTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold QJ. Your move?UTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold AA. Your move?UTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold TT. Your move?UTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold 77. Your move?I'm curious to see what other players would do because I've been stumped many times when an early position player limps. I get caught off guard and no longer know what to do with some hands I would normally play/raise with. There have been times when I would raise and discover UTG/UTG+1 was slowplaying Jacks or Kings. Other times, I have raised and UTG/UTG+1 simply folds. Lastly, I've also seen UTG/UTG+1 limp with hands like JTs or 98s as well as pocket 4s and 5s. Any insight would help! Thanks!

[Swift_Psycho]

sxz18 said:

Here's a common MTT situation I run across almost every tournament I play. I'm still not quite sure what the correct move is but I'm hoping someone here can help me out!This situation is specific toward the middle of a tournament when blinds are 150/300 and the average stack is roughly 2500-3000. A lot of the bad players have already been eliminated and people are looking to double up or set traps. Given no previous information on UTG or UTG+1, what would you do if this occured?UTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold AK. Your move?UTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold KQ. Your move?UTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold KJ. Your move?UTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold QJ. Your move?UTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold AA. Your move?UTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold TT. Your move?UTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold 77. Your move?I'm curious to see what other players would do because I've been stumped many times when an early position player limps. I get caught off guard and no longer know what to do with some hands I would normally play/raise with. There have been times when I would raise and discover UTG/UTG+1 was slowplaying Jacks or Kings. Other times, I have raised and UTG/UTG+1 simply folds. Lastly, I've also seen UTG/UTG+1 limp with hands like JTs or 98s as well as pocket 4s and 5s. Any insight would help! Thanks!

Actually, it depends on your read of the player. What do you feel he would limp UTG with? And another thing is the the difference between 3000 and 2500 is enough to change my answer in some cases. I might limp in behind the UTG limp with 7-7 if I had 3000 and I might not with 2500. 10x the BB is technically a "short stack," but with no antes to worry about, you have a while yet before you need to panic. With no info on the player though, here are my answers (and I'll assume I have 3000 in chips).1. all-in2. fold3. fold4. fold5. Raise to 1500 (while obviously mentally committing myself to the pot).6. all-in7. callLet me point out however that I usually play sit & go's if I do play a tournament, so I don't know how qualified I am to answer your question. I don't play many MTT's.

[Vade]

I agree with Swift on all the hands, but I would also call with the KQ, it's worth seeing a flop with imo.

[sxz18]

Thanks for the response guys. Earlier today, I raised an UTG limper with KQos, the table folded around to him who reraised me the minimum amount. The flop came K Q J and I given the flop and given my cards, I decided his most likely holding would be AA or JJ. Turns out he was limping with Jacks He checked to me and I put him all-in and he called after thinking for a few seconds. The turn and river brought no help and that was it for me.I was kinda angry because I had a suspicion that he was trying to slowplay something. Thanks for the help once again guys!

[hoppityhow]

it just me, or does anyone else pretty much play jacks for a set or an overpair and thats it. i think it's a pretty weak hand, especially to slowplay. maybe i'm dumb, but i dont really like raising with jacks preflop. i don't like to get a lot of money invested in preflop with such a vulnerable hand.i guess thinking about it tho, raising would limit the hands played and you could very easily know if you were the best hand on the flop, so...

[Randy Reed]

AK raise $900KQ callKJ callQJ callAA raise $900TT and 77 callI'm not a big fan of putting my tourney on the line with all-ins (pre-flop) unless necessary and you still have a little time here with 3k in chips. Agreed that 2500 or less is a different story and I probably push with KQ and TT.

[jogsxyz]

XXEddie said:

no way is someone calling if they cant beat KQ

KQ must be the most overrated hand in hold'em. Everytime on TV when it's KQ all-in against another hand, the other hand is better. They post the odds and KQ is the dog. Dont like putting tournament life on KQ. Not even KQs.

[Vade]

If you have less then 5 or 6 BB, it's either all in or fold.

[Swift_Psycho]

XXEddie said:

Vade said:

If you have less then 5 or 6 BB, it's either all in or fold.

in you have less than 10xBB allin or foldone standard raise is 1/3 your stack

Meh, not sure about this. 10x the BB with no antes, you've still got a little bit of room left. You aren't "desperate" yet. The problem with moving in for 10x the BB is that the raise is so huge you are only getting called by monster hands. With that said, most of the time I mentally commit myself to a pot when I raise pre-flop with just 10x the BB left unless there is a ton of action behind me.But, if there are a couple limpers to you and you find yourself with 7-7 on the button, I might just limp behind instead of moving in just because of the fact that if I decide to make a move now, I might get called by 8-8. If a flop comes J-6-4 and it's checked around, I may decide to move in right here. The difference is that the 8-8 is now more likely to fold.It's close though, you could make an argument for both sides.

[Swift_Psycho]

XXEddie said:

with the same flopsay you have 77, he has 46s....he wouldnt of called the allin post flop and some people limp with this hand

I'm quite aware of that. That is why I posted this:It's close though, you could make an argument for both sides.

[mk]

hoppityhow said:

it just me, or does anyone else pretty much play jacks for a set or an overpair and thats it. i think it's a pretty weak hand, especially to slowplay. maybe i'm dumb, but i dont really like raising with jacks preflop. i don't like to get a lot of money invested in preflop with such a vulnerable hand.i guess thinking about it tho, raising would limit the hands played and you could very easily know if you were the best hand on the flop, so...

JJ is such a situational hand. All the variables you must consider in a tournament come into play, but I think the most important thing to consider when playing this hand (or throwing it away) is position. Early in a tournament, I generally throw this hand away from early position. But if I do come in, I come with guns blazing (at least 5x BB) because I want to knock out hands like Axs, Kxs, and under pairs. JJ likes being heads-up. If an overcard flops and I'm heads-up, I'll generally test the waters with a smallish bet to protect my hand, and I'll know if I'm beat right there. If I can open a pot from middle or late position, this is an excellent holding no matter what stage of the tournament, but especially late in the game. You can feel great calling all-ins from short stacks with JJ. You will often have them dominated, and even if they have overcards, you're a slight favorite. The only hands you really have to worry about are overpairs.

[Smasharoo]

UTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold AK. Your move?PushUTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold KQ. Your move?UTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold KJ. Your move?UTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold QJ. Your move?[b]Fold fold fold.[b]UTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold AA. Your move?UTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold TT. Your move?UTG/UTG+1 limps, you hold 77. Your move? Push push push.What's hard about this?