$3.40 NL Holdem Turbo Sit&Goon PokerStars
Blinds t75/t150

Hero in SB with 10d10c

M1: Folds
M2 (t3,565): raises to t450
Button: Folds
Hero in SB (t4,590): ????
BB (t2,556): ????


I hardly ever call in these things. It's usually either fold or shove. But since I'm sitting on a comfortable chip stack it doesn't seems negative EV to puch into what is most likely a coinflip situation. Is calling correct here? My concern with just calling is that the BB might shove after I call. Any thoughts?

I am just flat calling here. The best you are usually hoping for is A rag but more likely would be in a coinflip for a huge amount of chips - and he could still have an over pair. I call, bet into a low flop, if re-raised, I would be prepared to lay it down to a reraise which would probably be a shove. I am check/folding K or A. Just don't see the value in thinking he is bluffing.

I call, then shove any low card flop. BB coming along or pushing is a valid point. But if BB shoves and raiser folds, the you have to call 1700 more or so to win total pot of about 5,000 with 1010 and BB could be shoving something like A7 there. So I would call then evaluate.

I don't mind either play tbh.

Shoving has its merits, but I think flat calling is a little better.

Agreed.

How about re-raising to 1200 to try and win it pre-flop? If it goes to flop, push on a favourable board. This could be a position steal and TT isn't the cream de la cream post flop and OOP.

Turbos aren't my bag so I'll defer to the more experienced but being that they are turbo, it stand to reason that good hands are even rarer since the time to play is significantly shorter and the blinds build much faster. Got to play good pp like TT or JJ aggressively when you have them else your playing worse with tigher stacks all too soon. Or is this TOO aggessive even for a Turbo?

Yeah, what he said.

obviously I hate shoving with 30bbs, its call or raise. Calling pot sized raise here is committing to his stack so he is either shoving back or folding, neither of which do we particularly love. I would flat it and c/r non drawy, no overcard boards and c/f to Aces or two overcards. No Ace and one overcard I probably probe bet and fold to a raise.

You wouldn't love a preflop fold? TT is a nice pair until the flop turns up one of it's overcards! I'd love a fold here - 450 plus the blinds is a nice pot non-contested..

Further to my 1st reply, a raise would also likely fold the BB whereas calling give him great odds to call with Q-8o or something gawd-awful like it. A raise gets TT HU or an un-contested pot - gotta love that!

I think that's a recipe for one of two things: getting bluffed off the best hand too often, or folding out hands we beat too often. The pot is ~$1k and villain has $3100 left. If you're betting $700 and he shoves, you'd be getting almost 2/1. I don't think folding with those odds would be correct.

If he has 88 on a Q36 flop he's shoving over your donkbet. If he has A9 on a K93 board he's shoving. I just don't get what it achieves.

Flops with one overcard are good for you, and I'll usually check/shove them.

I said probe bet, which is around $350 and even easier to fold than a $700 bet, but even 2:1 doesnt pay for a two outer which is what we probably are up against if he shoves. Probe bets are very difficult to shove against because they can be either testing bets or suck bets.

check/shove to one overcard has its own problems of giving a free card when he checks and being crushed when he calls your reraise.

We're boss stack going into this hand in a SnG. There is no way Im donking off 3/4 of my stack to a shove.

I don't like check/shoving here. I bet into them and if we fold out hands we beat I am happy to take this pot down now. We are way too deep to put that much into this pot into a preflop aggressor with just a high middle pair. If he shoves over our bet, how often is that a bluff vs. a legit hand? I don't agree that someone with almost 20 BB's shoves over the top of us with middle pair top kicker or a smaller PP that often. He would also want to find a better spot.

My line is still.

- Flat Call Preflop
- Bet into a low, non-drawy board. Even a K or Q over I am still betting. I don't mind turning TT into a bluff at that spot. If flat called or raised I am prepared to completely shut down here. We are out of position and could just be donking off all our chips if we continue on.

CURSES!!!!! I keep getting distracted when responding and you beat me to it. Of course I am at work....

By the way, I want to thank you. Your advice regarding SNG's has helped a lot - plus reading Sit N Go Strategy. Just moved to $20 single table SNG's cuz I felt I was playing really strong in the Steps (even if I was coming in 3rd too often!!!!!). And over the last two days have played 10 of them and finished in the money in 7 - over 100% ROI. Going to stick with them and challenge myself to do around 300 this month with a decent ROI. Maybe make a run at the battle of planets.

What level SNG's do you play, if any? (btw, not trying to hijack)

Results?

I like raising $1000 on top to $1450. Pot lays $2125 to him, he gets a little better than 2:1 to call you but he's committing a large portion of his stack from doing so. We can get away from it if he shoves but I think he folds a lot. If he just calls, I feel a ton better about shoving a 9-high board or less, along with simo's one-over, particularly if that's a J or Q.

The problem I have with this is we raise to 1450... AK, AQ maybe AJ are all hands that either flat or shove back over the top of us. So we would be folding ourselves out when we are a coin flip. Calling and betting into a flop that he misses with these hands will likely get rid of him. Q or K hi flop and our donk bet (although I go higher then the 350) if he goes over the top I can lay this down. Less money put in the pot by me and I beat out those hands that I was ahead of pre. Those hands aren't folding preflop no matter what.

Yeah but if we call and check the flop, we're letting more hands beat us (he's going to bet if we check) than would call us if we reraised preflop. If you call and donkbet a one-higher board, and get raised, you've lost the same amount as my line, but QJ/KJ/KQ/AJ all fold more often than call or reraise, methinks. Obv read-oriented; if hero has been laggy then a flat-call is probably better.

I don't think anything worse than JJ pushes over the top and AQ maaaaybe 50% of the time. Probably doesn't as we're playing for villain's stack.

Also metagame implications from reraising vs. check/folding a scary flop.

Just a difference in style I guess. I think if you disagree that more hands beat us on the flop with a call/check line than a raise/fold or raise/bet than I think will, your line is better. They're pretty close either way.

All-in pre-flop here, is just a hideous idea. I'd almost never do that.

Considering the three-dollar buy-in, I figure that the opening hand range is pretty wide. (Also, btw, this I find this to be middle stage more than late stage.) So, the raiser could easily have Ace-rag, or KT, or QJ. TT is a strong hand, especially five-handed. You should re-raise to 1500. Should get the job done, right there.

If he then comes back all-in, you can get out and still have 20 BB's left. Which is plenty to fight with.

you know what? you beat his range here. I dont hate a call but i my standard play is a raise. Don't fold. I make it like 1400 here. I think his range is a lot wider than most of you. Even if he shoves I think we beat his range. I'd expect him to show up K10o just as often as AA here. Really.