ok so generally i play fairly loose, so disregard the flop call since I make calls like this all time.

I got about 14000 in chips avg might be around 11k.,, im in 150th of 500.. playing to win of course.

Im CO with 6d7d....Hijack, who's table chiplead (about 26k) and has been in a decent amount of pots raises to 1200, I call, it folds around.. flop is 2d3x3d, he shoves.

so its about 12800 to me, no real pot odds..HOWEVER, I can only really put him on 2 types of hands:

1.- a draw, diamonds would SUCK, but maybe he's going crazy and pushing a A 5(or 4) type hand with the Ad.

2.- a tiny pair 44, 55 66, Possibly 77 or 88 but not so sure..

AK with 1 d is alo a small posibilty imo.

That being said, I feel im never a favorite, but calling here and winning catapults me to like 11th place, folding leaves me a bit above avg.

I believe in gambling early on to get chips and be able to make it deep..another thing is that if I get a stack at this stage I can most likely dominate the table as the chiplead and build an even bigger stack (I have bax at the table, but I have position on him and he's got a semi short stack, so I dont feel too uncomfortable.)

So the question is:

Am I a small enough dog often enough to make this gamble worth taking?

Umm, what's your hand?

i just got word that he had 76 of diamonds

sorry lol I copy pasted and i guess it didnt paste the hand...there ya go.

Folding leaves you around average, I don't see a call here, you're a good player you can find a similar situation where you can do the pushing and gain the edge on the semi-bluff.

Monty

Yes. indeed

see, the thing is that I can double up here, who knows when I'll get the chance to double up...Ive played the tourney for 1 1/2 hours only, so busting here doesnt hurt, howver if I hover around avg stack or slightly above until the bubble, then I'll have to gamble anyway because the structure of these tourneys are crapshooty after the bubble until the FT. The only way you can manage to FT these tourneys is to have enough chips post bubble to be able to absorb a bad beat or two..I feel that if I double up i can make enough moves at this level and at the 300/600 level to build a huge stack. Meh, dont know, maybe my logic is flawed, but I dont mind gambling right now as much as i do post bubble. If I gamble right now, I might not have to gamble as much post bubble.

Save the chips and gamble more as you approach the bubble, people will tighten up. Attack the middle stacks in position with solid hands, attack the big blind from the small, etc.

If the situation was turned around in your post, if you had first action, you can push there and put the other guy to the decision. I understand the value of building up a big stack, but I think there is more value in building up that big stack as you approach the bubble so that you can get a solid cash, rather than gambling in this particular spot.

The power of the bubble cannot be underestimated. Lots of people tighten up like crazy, and that is the time to gamble and move chips.

Monty

as a gambling type player myself i would call.
if he has AK your in a bit better shape than you would with just the diomond draw.
if he has maybe 44 or 55 your in a bit better shape.
i personally would make this call, but as i said this is comming from another gambling type player

Imo its better to already be a big stack at the bubble rather build it there. I dont really want to secure a cash, I want to give myself the best shot at winning.

Also, I think the cash bubble online is overrated, you really cant push people around THAT much since the bubble usually lasts about 2 to 7 hands and the cash prize is often very insignificant..

I think you're right about that.

One of the other reasons the cash bubble is such a big deal in a WPT or WSOP event is because there are so many people who satellited in.

Sure they got there for $50 or whatever but a lot of sites require you play the first seat you win, so they can't choose to sell the seat to get that big entry fee back even though it might be a lot of money to them. Therefore, if they minimum cash, they are a ton happier than if they just fronted the whole buy-in themselves and win back barely more than the buy-in itself.

Playing to maximize my equity and all of that, I probably couldn't make the call unless I knew my opponent well enough to give him an accurate hand range. I have no problem calling without a read if my only goal is to make the final table.

Yes, you have too much gamble in you.