Hey everybody, this is my first post here so go easy. I took this hand from a sit and go I was playing last night. It was down to 14 ppl out of 27 at this point.

The button is an aggressive player on the big stack who has already stolen a few blinds from me from late position. UTG seemed to be a pretty weak-passive player to me, but to be honest, I didn't see enough of his play to really tell.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t150 (7 handed) converter

SB (t2735)
Hero (t3235)
UTG (t3240)
MP1 (t2670)
MP2 (t1320)
CO (t3450)
Button (t5530)

Preflop: Hero is BB with [Ac], [Qs].
UTG calls t150, 3 folds, Hero calls t150, UTG calls t150.

AQo seemed like a pretty playable hand to me. Even though the button might be trying to steal, but he must have some strength, since UTG has called already. Also, given my position, I don't want to commit too much just yet.


Flop: (t975) [3c], [Kh], [7c] (3 players)
Hero checks, UTG checks, Button bets t450, UTG calls t900, Button folds.

Here, me and UTG check followed by a small bet (half the pot) from the button. This smells like a steal to me, and since UTG checked with me, I figure he doesn't have much. I figured that by raising the button, there was a good chance that UTG would fold with two other players contesting the pot, and that the button would fold his failed steal.
Much to my disappointment UTG called. I figure he has a pretty strong hand at this point (K with a strong kicker, or maybe even a set). The button burned about ten seconds before folding.

Turn: (t3225) [8d] (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG checks.

Here I slow down and am ready to give up the pot if UTG decides to make a sizeable bet. But wait! UTG checks too! Now this is weird. The pot is already pretty big. With a flush draw and a straight draw on the board, UTG would definitely take down the pot here with a set or K with good kicker. I'm starting to think that he just called me on the flop thinking I was on a complete bluff, or perhaps he has a K with a weak kicker and hopes I'll just show him down. He might even be on a strong flush draw.

Given this show of weakness, I feel that I can take down the pot on the next round with an all in bet for t2000 if a nothing card shows, hoping that UTG will think that my check on the turn was just a tricky play to try and trap him. I barely have him covered.

River: (t3225) [3s] (2 players)

Both the flush draw and the straight draw miss, so I don't have to worry about the flush draw anymore.

Now just as I go to press "All In"... my computer disconnects!! At this point I was upset about losing my chance to win the sit and go, but I was even more upset to miss the opportunity to see what would have happened. Nevertheless do you think the decisions I made in this hand were correct? I welcome any criticism you may have about any part of my play. I don't mind it being harsh, so long as it is constructive.

Thanks everybody!

Why, for the love of hellmuth, would you push on the river? He check/called two large bets cold on the flop, and he wasn't closing the action. His turn check is sneaky, but he's just trying to induce a river bluff from you. He's not folding, and all you can beat is precisely dick.

Seems incredibly unlikely he could play a drawing hand in the manner he did on the flop, but if for some reason he has a busted draw, he'll check behind you and you'll probably win the pot. Chris Ferguson wrote an article titled "The Worst Play in Poker" and he was referring to betting a medium-weak hand on the river.

He called a raise and a re-raise on the flop - I read him for at least a K. Maybe K10 or KJ.

If he's weak, he's not going to fold it and he will call your bet.

Just check on the river. You still have 2,000 chips left after this hand.

You guys are probably right. Pushing in on the river is probably a bit reckless. However, my intuition just screamed that this guy was weak, even though he might have had me beat. Remember, I had the feeling that this guy was a weak passive player. But then again, it all might just have been wishful thinking.

In any case, after requesting the hand history from PokerStars, it turned out that UTG had 9c Tc for the flush draw. I was surprised that he would risk so much of his stack on a draw like that.

Even after I disconnected, he ended up checking (donk!) and I won the pot. I ended up being blinded out of the tournament about 60 hands later.

This is an interesting situation that has come up a few times in tourneys that I've been in where someone has been disconnected in the middle of a hand.

I would say that the other player is being courteous by not taking advantage of the fact that you got disconnected. He feels that he wasn't going to win the hand with his busted draw and declines the opportunity to gain thru your misfortune.

I've also seen cases where this happens post-flop or post-turn, where someone will bet into a disconnected player and then show his hand to the rest of the table to indicate that he had a good hand and that his bet was normal (i.e. wasn't bet to take advantage of the disconnected player).

Hindsight is 20/20, but as I read the OP I put UTG on a flush draw as soon as he checked behind the turn. There's nothing sneaky here at all, 90% of SnG players will play a flush draw this way. The only thing he did by checking behind is tip his hand that he had a draw.

OP, you're instincts to bet this river were dead on. Jesus may not like it, but he may not be used to playing the donks we face everyday in online SnGs. BTW, what was the buy in for this SnG?

This was a $5+.50 sit and go on PokerStars. I've played a few of them now, and even though the buy-in is relatively small, the field often plays fairly conservatively in them since they start off closer to the money.

Closer than what, in MTTs I presume? Sure, but not as close as 1 table SnGs. Ive played 2 and 3 table SnGs, but they're not as profitable as playing 1 table higher buy in SnGs, IMO.

If you're looking to play SnGs to make money, try 2 or 3 tabling 1 table SnGs. But if you're just playing them for entertainment, then the 2 and 3 table SnGs can be rather enjoyable.