It will probably* take longer to explain the structure, stacks, and players than the hand itself, lol.

In this league, we play twice a week to qualify for a monthly STT in which the winner gets a $500 seat at a WSOP satellite (though we then also get stuck with the cost of going to Vegas, so it's a mixed blessing). Points are awarded in a strange (and bad IMO) manner: the first player eliminated each night gets one point, the next one two, and so on until the winner gets points equivalent to the number of players who played that night. The winner each night also gets ten bucks, but there are no other nightly prizes. Tonight we started with 24, and there were seven left; so I already had 19 points locked in, and I am cruising pretty comfortably toward making the monthly STT.

Starting stacks are t1500, starting blinds t25/50, so a little snug; by the time of this hand the blinds were up to t800/400 (no antes), and the average stack was t5143. I was in the BB, with t5200 after paying the blind. The button was a drunk idiot (example: he earlier called a big river bet on a board of T77TQ, and showed down pocket deuces, obviously not realising he essentially had the nut low, lol; I also saw him call another river bet with J high--and win, against a busted draw) who had lucked into the chip lead as donkeys sometimes do. He limped or raised every single hand all night IIRC, and never failed to bet his trash when checked to. The SB was a solid, straightforward player who had about t3000. Since arriving at the final table, I had folded all but one of the first twenty hands or so (including showing ATos in the BB when raised by a solid player in EP), having just a few hands earlier pushed my shortstack with 88 and tripling up when I made a boat; so I had a tight image I think.

Four folds, button limps, SB completes, Hero checks with [9h 2h].

Flop (t2400): [2c 6h 10h]. SB checks. Hero...?

*ETA: "Probably"? Ya think? LOL

ETA2: Results are in a post downthread, so don't read my 12:05 a.m. post before you comment.

instapushes.

That's tempting; but don't forget I have essentially no FE against the button, a calling station if there ever was one. OTOH it sure looks like I have lots of outs, doesn't it? The nine hearts are probably good, as most likely are the two remaining deuces and the three remaining nines; plus my hand might even be best already.

son of a b, you just answered your own post!

Okay, so this was that obvious? Maybe you're right. I guess it's easy to second guess yourself when it doesn't work out. I hope this wasn't so obvious that I'm going to get lectured that the BBFIDTS, lol.

Results: Hero pushes, button calls, SB folds. Button shows [6c 3s], turn and river brick, GG me.

It's just sickening to me how many chips that moron had when I left the table. I sure hope he managed to hemorrhage them off to a more worthy player (as all of the other five are).

To add a little to this topic: what strategy adjustments would you guys make in light of the structure and the points system? Seems like on the one hand ultra-tight play is called for since going out early carries such a penalty; OTOH the relatively short stacks don't allow you to wait around forever. And once you've made it deep, it's sort of the opposite in that playing tight won't help all that much with the big blinds and lack of any bubble other than HU for the ten bucks. I've been pretty much playing it the same way I'd play any other tourney, but that can't actually be right.

AINEC

If the SB is as straight-forwar as you say, he is pushing any legit hand. Even thought button is a calling station, that means he could still call with A high, a weaker 2, a str8 draw. Even if he does call with a better hand most likely you have 14 outs twice.

I shovel. Even if he has a T with a heart kicker you're still about a coinflip on the flop. A set of 6's is about the only hand you don't want to see here, and he likely would have raised otb with TT.