Hand Analysis
I just got home from the Woodbridge $250 buy-in tournament ($100 add-on). Saw some old Pokerforum.ca faces....All_aces and Azim, and met a new one, Dick Hertz. Dick Hertz was going strong a made it to the final table of 10. 1st place paid $9400 and seventh paid $350. Go DH!!!! I on the other hand busted out on the bubble in 12th place. Here are 3 hands for analysis. The funny thing is, the hand I busted out on is the one I like the most and I don't know if I would have played it differently....but that's why I also need some objective opinions.
Hand #1 - Blinds 500/1000
I am the table average with 10000 chips. Chip leader at my table has roughly 24000.......6 players at our table. I'm on the button and it's checked to mid position who has about 9000 in chips. I know him as a loose aggressive player. He raises 5000. It's folded to me. I have K :spade: 10 :spade: . I think about it for quite a while.....and fold. Was the fold the right move this late in the tourney? Do I call the bet in a six handed game....or move all-in? I think I might have missed a chance on this one?
Hand #2 - Blinds 500/1000
I'm UTG with 10000 in chips and dealt A :diamond: Q :club: . I raise 3500. Player to my immediate left who I've played against on many occasions, and I know as a solid tight player, pushes all-in for 7500. I agonize about it and fold. He shows me one card a K :diamond: . He later tells me he had KK, but I just don't know if I believe him 100%. Is this the right fold? Do you call if AQ is suited? Or should I have moved all-in instead of the 3500 raise?
Hand #3 - Blinds 1000/2000 (my bust out hand)
I'm in mid position with 5000 in chips. UTG (loose-aggressive player) moves all-in for 5500. Player to his left with about 8000 in chips calls. This player was super loose and would play almost anything.....and catch of course. I'm dealt 6 :club: 5 :club: . I call with little hesitation. My thinking at this point is that they are both on high cards, which leaves me the lower cards in the deck, the straight or flush possibilities, and I can triple up. Turns out I was right. UTG has J :diamond: 10 :club: . Super loose player has A
8 :diamond: . So I actually feel pretty good about my hand now. No pairs and no clubs in either of their hands. Flop comes 2 4 :spade: 4 :diamond: . Turn 8 . River 9 :spade: . With the second caller I felt the value was there. Was this the right move or should I have waited for the blinds to come around and hope to catch something better?
Any and all input and criticism in welcomed and encouraged.
Cheers!
Hand #1 - Blinds 500/1000
I am the table average with 10000 chips. Chip leader at my table has roughly 24000.......6 players at our table. I'm on the button and it's checked to mid position who has about 9000 in chips. I know him as a loose aggressive player. He raises 5000. It's folded to me. I have K :spade: 10 :spade: . I think about it for quite a while.....and fold. Was the fold the right move this late in the tourney? Do I call the bet in a six handed game....or move all-in? I think I might have missed a chance on this one?
Hand #2 - Blinds 500/1000
I'm UTG with 10000 in chips and dealt A :diamond: Q :club: . I raise 3500. Player to my immediate left who I've played against on many occasions, and I know as a solid tight player, pushes all-in for 7500. I agonize about it and fold. He shows me one card a K :diamond: . He later tells me he had KK, but I just don't know if I believe him 100%. Is this the right fold? Do you call if AQ is suited? Or should I have moved all-in instead of the 3500 raise?
Hand #3 - Blinds 1000/2000 (my bust out hand)
I'm in mid position with 5000 in chips. UTG (loose-aggressive player) moves all-in for 5500. Player to his left with about 8000 in chips calls. This player was super loose and would play almost anything.....and catch of course. I'm dealt 6 :club: 5 :club: . I call with little hesitation. My thinking at this point is that they are both on high cards, which leaves me the lower cards in the deck, the straight or flush possibilities, and I can triple up. Turns out I was right. UTG has J :diamond: 10 :club: . Super loose player has A
8 :diamond: . So I actually feel pretty good about my hand now. No pairs and no clubs in either of their hands. Flop comes 2 4 :spade: 4 :diamond: . Turn 8 . River 9 :spade: . With the second caller I felt the value was there. Was this the right move or should I have waited for the blinds to come around and hope to catch something better?Any and all input and criticism in welcomed and encouraged.
Cheers!
Comments
how many people had less chips than you at this point?
if you did bust out on the bubble, i dont think i wouldve called - i wouldve held on for dear life and tried to finish in the money
your other two hand were played the way i wouldve played them as well, i dont think you can be faulted
2nd hand: I wouldn't have raised in your position. There's a good chance for a re-raise. When it happens you have to make a tough decision. I think your laydown was the right choice here.
3rd hand: I don't like the bet. Flushes are rare and so are straights. Your chance for high card or top pair is virtually nil. With 2 guys already in, one of them has to have something better than you. This close to the money, I need a premium hand to take a big risk.
Just my thoughts. I'd love to hear others.
2nd hand: AQo tough hand UTG. I definitely wouldn't have pushed all-in to start. The hand though is too good to not play. It just hurts once you've put 1/3 of your stack in the pot to walk away from a hand. My bet is that the other player had a read on you being relatively tight and figured he could get you to release your hand.
3rd hand: i love the concept of having 2 live cards. The only problem is that the concept is actually a little worse against multiple players with cards higher than you. Because now not only do you need to hit one of your two cards (talking pairs, ignoring straights and flushes) and now you need to also dodge 4 of their cards, rather than two. Running the numbers you're at 28% pre-flop on this hand and that's with basicly your opponents having i would say the worst cards you could expect them to have ... most times one would have a pair.
Hand 2: Blinds 500/1000, you have 10K. Being UTG, you don't want to just limp in here with a solid hand. Hopefully everyone will fold and you can have your blinds paid for. How much do you raise here though is the question? Make it 2000, doesn't seem enough to me. 3000, seems a bit to much if you get re-raised. I think 2500 is the right bet here. Of course, you are in a situation that you should normally take down the pot. You got unlucky by running into AK, KK, KQ suited...well a big raiser.
I had a very similar situation the other day where I was EP with AhQh, blinds 25/50 I have 1400 in chips and raise to 350. Tight lower stack re-raises me all in for another 700. I call and he flips over AA. I was wondering if I would have folded this if It was suited. Nice Fold on your part though.
Hand 3: You have to make a stand at some point and you had the right read, really a judgement call for you at the time. I'm sure in other situations you might fold that same hand in the same situation.
stp
Hand 3 I wouldn't have gone in on. Heads up against a loose player maybe, but not against two of them.
That's exactly what I was thinking pre-flop. Against any of the other solid players at the table, I lay down my hand, but I felt I had a read on these two players. In fact, if the second weak-loose player doesn't call the all-in.....I also lay down my hand. With 12500 now in the pot I felt it justified the call. With the blinds coming in the next two hands, and the reads I had on the two players, I felt this was the time to try and triple up. If I'm above average in chips, or against any other players....I'm laying it down. So that was my thinking then, but with the advice of everyone, next time I will lay it down. Thanks for the input.
Now at the risk of going overboard, I have one more hand for analysis. This one was in the first hour of the tournament. Starting chip count for the tourney was 2000......and I was currently at 1800. Blinds are 25/50. I'm in mid position with Q :club: J :diamond: . I raise 175. It's folded to SB who calls. Flop comes 7 :diamond: 8 :diamond: J :club: . SB immediately bets 500. I've played against this guy before and know him to be a good, reasonably tight player (he actually busted out in 10th place). So I now have top pair with a Queen kicker. I debate this one for quite a while. I eventually fold. I had him on one of these hands, either QJ, KJ, AJ or even the 10 9 straight. I figure he may have hit the straight and see's the diamond flush draw and wants the pot right there. I thinks it more likely he hit his J with a K or A kicker, doesn't want the flush draw to materialize and wants the pot right there. I can't put him on J10 with his call of my 3.5XBB raise. Either way, I think I'm behind in the hand. My thinking was, it's better to live to see another day, rather than hope that we're tied with QJ. Was this the right fold?
Wader