All right, I had this hand on a MTT tonight.

Blinds are at 30-60...still many players left.

My stack is around 3500 and my eventual opponent's (call him Jon)is at 5400.

No great reads on Jon other than to say that it appeared that prior he was playing big stack poker.

There were 4 limpers in the pot and I get AQc in Middle position and raise the pot (250). Jon calls.

The flop was 8c 9d 5c with 520 in the pot. Jon is first to act and blasts the pot with 2K.

What would you do?....call, push in or fold? I'll post my decision later Friday.

that's easy, fold it. If you push all-in, you'll get called by whatever he's holding. The only thing you can beat is a bluff. Right now you have nothing, a pair of 5's beat you.

Any thoughts as to what my opponent had?

I would say he had 6c-7c.

And I would let the hand go.

Hard to say

Could be a pure bluff with that much of an overbet. Could just be TPTK, or Two pair. He could have lots of things.

You have ace high.

You fold with a smile.

With the lack of replies I guess this hand wasn't as interesting as I thought it was :roll: Anyway, his early position bet of over 4 times the size of the pot really made me think. Why on earth would he nail this pot so hard in early position when I could have any overpair and have him killed? I put him on a pair of fives, in which I was barely favored if my A and Q were both live. I will lay down this strong draw almost all of the time when faced with a big bet, but this time I actually pushed in.

Obviously, the correct play is to toss it and move on, but I knew that if I called it was going to be a flip. I had a moderate sized stack and if I took down this pot, I would be in the top 10. This was a small buy in tournament with a massive field of players (600).

I guess the point of this post is to ask if anyone else takes similar risks in a massive field in order to amass a stack in a small buy in tourney.

I really didn't care if I lost too much and the only dollar winnings that I would care about would be 1-3 place (like most people, I guess). The blinds were about to rise to 50-100, which is usually a level that people really tighten up on and having a big stack makes it easy pickens at this stage.

Now for the meaningless results....as soon as I raised all in, he typed "you got me" which led me to believe it was a stone cold bluff and that he actually might fold. Instead, he called (which was obviously correct if he had anything) and turned over 7h, 8d. He still had 3 live outs on a redraw if I hit my A or Q. Anyway, I hit my club and an ace actually and moved into 3rd in the tourney.

Does anyone else do the kamikaze push with a moderate stack when they know it's a race vs. a big stack? High risk vs. High reward.

I don't understand how you can win a tournament without doing a race. I'd go for it. In your situation if he's on a flush draw then you have a definite advantage. If he's got a pair then he's a slight underdog. From what I've noticed people that go all in or make large bets are on a draw. Good call. The semi bluff has been big this year with players. It wasn't like that last year and it probably won't be next year. Just my opinion.

Him on a lower flush draw was definitely something I thought about when he overbet the pot by 4X the amount. I sensed weakness on such a ridiculously large bet. He definitely did not want a call in any way. I took a chance...it paid off this time.

I think you made the right call by moving in like you did. You have a pretty good draw against just about anything he could hold.

Personally, I would have put him on one of 5 hands, 56-67-78-89-J10. Its possible that he hit trips, but unlikely I think. He limped, so maybe he's got TPTK, but his bet just really seems like he's got a pair w/gutshot or 2 pair. I'd be comfortable with my chances against any of that.

Seriously, just because you think your opponent is weak or has nothing doesn't mean you should call with nothing. You have AQ, which means you got 6 outs to hit with 2 cards to come, you should know that if you don't hit one of your outs that your going to be sent home. The call was not good, because you were a pretty big underdog to almost anything and you were not in the position where you needed to push all-in. You totally missed the flop and are calling with overcards, the only thing you can beat is a draw or a bluff, why would you call? I'm really shocked here how many people call overbets with weak hands, I really should incorporate this into my strategy, overbet the pot with top pair.

jayboogie,


he had A Q which is two overcards and a flush draw. As the person stated it was a low buy-in tourney and he just really cared about 1-3 place money and was willing to gamble to get their. Take the time to read the entire thread before you post some ridiculous rant.

I actually had 15 outs. 9 of those were clean outs and the other 6 outs, he had a weak redraw against. I actually was slightly favored to win this one Jay. I'm just trying to gauge a reaction on how everyone feels about making stabs at huge pots like this on coin flips.

sorry about that, I totally missed the part of you holding AQ of clubs, I thought it was offsuit and no draws, except overcards. In this instance, I think there's no doubt you should call at least, really calling and pushing makes no real difference, I guess it's more or less an insurance policy incase your opponent decides to check both the turn and the river and you miss your draw and stay alive, but that's a very unlikely situation.

Pull the trigger, you've got enough outs. I'm putting him on top pair, giving you 15 clear outs. If you are going to call his bet on the flop, you probably are going to call a bet on the turn, so you might as well get your money in the pot now cause he's gonna be scared to see an ace or club. That might not sound like the smartest idea because you've only got ace high, but if you have 15 outs, which I would be guessing, you have the best hand at a little over 50% to win. All you can do is get your $ in when you are favored to win the pot, right?

Being we do not know what he has, we have to discount your outs to something less than 15. For instance, if he has JTs, any one of your Qs make his straight. If he has 67c the 9 or 4 gives him a straight flush, with him already having a straight, which counterfeits your Aces as outs.

Some of these possible holdings may not be likely but, you do have to discount for them, somewhat. Given that, lets say we figure you to have 12 outs. You no longer have odds to call. The play worked and you moved up. In a MTT, I feel you need to pick your battles, I think this one was a fold. You are not in jeopardy at this point, wait for a better spot.

I would rather get all my chips in with a 4:1 edge, rather than a coinflip. JMHO.

hm.....500 pot...bet 2K.....Thats a bluff...push him in...and if he does have a set, str8 2 pair....etc, youre still about 30% to win