Final table, 7 Players left,

I'm short stacked (around 9k, Blinds 750/1500)
and in the C/O.

Cards A 4

Raise preflop to 3000

5 folds

BB calls..(BB has decent stack, around 25K)

Flop J 6 2

BB bets 1500

I call...(should I push here?)

Turn Q

BB checks,


What's the play here?

Check for free card, or push?

Free card? All you have is A high with no flush or straight draw. You have 4,500 chips left. I check behind at this point and hope for a free showdown or an A to hit the river.

I would have pushed all-in preflop by the way as you had only 6x BB.

Exactly.

That mini raise was ridiculous, what was the point of it?

What a ridonkulous play. The deck must have hit you in the face all tourny long.

Ridonkulous


:shock:


Very nice word.


I'll take the nicer route and point out that you really do need to just push all your chips in there. The mini raise is basically telling everyone that your money is easy and up for grabs. Use the full power of your stack in nl tournies.

It's being patented tomorrow. You'll have to pay me 20 cents everytime you use it.

It just might be worth that. My funding will come from all the ridonkulous plays I run across at my NL tables on stars.

Sweet jesus. Push or fold preflop. Pushing is probably better, as your 9000 stack might be enough to fold better A-rag hands than your own. If you get called, it's probably by pockets or A-face, in which case you are mostly screwed (or maybe broadway, in which case you are kinda happy). But you do have a decent chance at picking up the blinds, as BB is probably going to hesitate calling off 1/3 of his stack with a weak hand. He will probably not hesitate calling a minraise from the CO with anything, though.

Failing that...fold or push the flop. Without a read, BB's min bet smells a bit like a trap bet (so folding is better), but if he's the type who consistently min bets on a missed flop, pushing will probably win you the pot right there.

Failing that...check the turn. Pray for an Ace. It's your only hope.

You screwed yourself by not pushing pre-flop. That weak raise pre-flop set you up for disaster. Calling the BB bet after the flop only compounded your problems. Hope this was a freeroll... :wink:

I agree with the others - push pre-flop. You bust out, oh well, it's a good place as any to take a stand...if everyone folds, you get some free blinds...if you double up, you improve drastically.

However, considering you didn't, then what you need to do is push post-flop no matter what hits the board - otherwise you're just advertising you missed.

Although, without knowing the BB, his small bet could be a trap - but it could also be recon....he possibly caught the jack, but more likely the 6 - he could have something like A-2 or even A-10....a fold could be smarter, but I think I'd push anyway - you presented pre-flop...continue your aggression to the end.

I never would have called that flop bet...fold or push.

After the turn, check....he's gonna call anything you bet.

But even if an A comes up you could be in danger, although he prolly doesn't have K-10, but if he has an Ace, you're dead (except A-3, or A-4).
A four is useless (probably), but will entice you to put your chips in, and, probably, lose.


Your best hope at this stage is for a ragged river and two checks.

That's the comment I was waiting for!

As the hand played out, I realized that was where I made the
worst mistake.

Turned out the BB had Q 8 offsuit...

I cold called his lame flop bet and let him hit his Q on
the turn, at which point when I pushed, he almost beat
me into the pot.

He did say afterwards that if I'd pushed to his bet on the
flop, he was folding, with no pair and no flush draw.

It wasn't all bad tho, for my $30 buy in I got back about $150,
and in only my second live MTT tourney.

(I'm learning....slowly....lol)

Thanks guys