Assume that you are in a no limit tourney or a sit and go with 800 chips and with blinds 15/30. Then at some point, perhaps in the third hand, you see AQs and so you raise it up to 60. You then have several callers however they’re not the blinds. Consequently, flop came Qxx rainbow and so in early position I placed a bet around 60-90. Behind me, somebody went out and moved all in. Do you think I should call such or just give away the 120-150 chips and then flip the high pair?

Another thing, say you are on a certain money table with some maniacs, would you still play and then have the risk of losing money just to have more? Any thoughts? How about advice?

Thanks!

Knutson
Knutson,

In a tournament with a low amount of chips like you were in, I would call. In a sit n go I would call as well. You are trying to make it to the top three spots. You need to push your advantages when you can. Chances are you are against a weaker queen or a lower pair. If not, there is always next time. With the short stacked nature of the event, you needed to pick up chips.

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Just recently, I was in a one-table tourney online. Luckily, I made it to the final three players. If I remember it right, one of the two others was tight. I was a little looser then because I was the short stack. I believe the other one of the two was a tight aggressive; as he actually thought also.

With marginal hands, I took a few pots from him at some point. Eventually, I became the chip leader which caused him to drive nuts. Player A then folded, he was on the button. I then called the big blind 400 with K 8 off suit. Player C was next and raised to 800. I was in for 400 so I didn’t mind seeing the flop for another 400.

Finally, flop came and brought 989. I then placed 1,000 bet while player C went all in. I then called him. Later, he flipped A Q off suit over. Turn and river came however both of no help at all so I just took him out. He then went nuts and called me a fish and so on.

Now, in such situation, was calling his preflop raise just right? Another thing, in a tourney situation, do you have to play differently than you would more or less play in a regular event? Any thoughts?

Habin
Habin,

You do have to play differently in a tournament situation than you do in a cash game. When you are down to three players, it is right to call down with weaker hands. His main mistake was not raising enough. If he raised to say 1,500, I don’t see you staying in. I don’t know how much he had, but it may have been right to call for pot odds.

You weren’t a fish. He is just a weak player.

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I was in an online $50 no-limit tourney the other week. At some point, I was dealt Kd Qd while the blinds were 100/200. I remember I had 1800 chips while the BB had 8000, he was the table leader by the way. One caller appeared and so I raised to 400. SB then folded while BB called. Other players folded.

Later, flop came and brought Kh2d4h. Then I placed a 600 bet and BB called. Turn came and brought 4d. At such point, I had 2 pair with a flush draw.

To be honest, I was concerned of the 600 call. I want to ask, how would you play when you feel you have the best hand and your opponent is on a draw? Well, when I was at such instance, I went all in. As expected, I was called. River came however was not a diamond. BB then flipped his cards over, Jc4s, therefore he won the pot.

For several times, such situation happened to me. Most of the time, I don’t want the player to have cheap cards as he might be on a draw however in the event I bet too big and he made hand, big losses are ahead. Please, I need your advice on this.

Thanks,
Dornisch
Dornisch,

You played the hand properly. The fact that your opponent called with such a poor hand speaks about his poor play, not your ability. You had 2 pair and a flush draw. The only draw to beat you is an Ace high draw. I might have bet as a partial value bet and to disguise the fact I had a draw too.

When there is a draw possible, you do not want the players to get a cheap draw. You played well. You just got unlucky.

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Recently, I was in a multi table fixed limit tournament. I was seriously troubled then as just about more than an hour after the tournament started, entries were gone, stakes went 50/100. I was in a new table with approximately 700 chips. Well, I was somehow behind in terms of chips but at least I was not the lowest.

If I remember it right, there were nine players at the table. Luckily, I got a number of decent starting hands however flops were empty therefore I bailed. Next thing that happened, I was down to approximately 465 chips then was UTG with the blinds coming and stakes moving up rapidly. My hole cards were Jh, Js. Then I called. Quite to my surprise, no raises followed. I believe there were 5 or 6 players in. Flop came and brought Jc, Qc, Th. Consequently, I either had called or led the betting. Again, no raises followed however at such point there were only 3 or 4 players in. Turn came and was 8h. I then led the betting while two others called. River came into the scene and brought 3h. I then bet while one folded. The other player raised. I then went all in while he called and then won the pot with his Ah and 9h.

Do you think I’ve played well? Another thing, if you were me back then, how would you play when you have just moved in a new table and was actually in a multi tournament?

Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Stark
Stark,

You played this hand poorly. You should have raised pre-flop, especially if you were short stacked like you were. In fact, since a standard raise would have been to 350, I would have just moved all in preflop. When you are that short, you need to start picking up pots. Push your advantages. If I didn’t push preflop, I would have definitely done so on the flop.

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I believe in most of my holdem tournament plays that were all in fest, I did well particularly when I got to see the flop. However when at times I just depend on chance and wait and be tight, I became behind in terms of chips therefore I just have to move all in or let big stacks bully me.

Now, how should I handle all in games?

Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Larson
Larson,

I would see a few more reasonable hands and try and hit the flop. Don’t stick to big hands only. Don’t get too liberal with playing them. You might also want to play your position as well against players.

All-in fests tend to be luck heavy early on and then even out the later you get into the event.

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I don’t like table tournaments so I tried $25 PL online. I’ve been playing such kind for some time now.

In one of the events I was in, I lost because of a certain hand. There were actually five players in back then. I had $64 and was considered the largest stack. At certain point, I got 10 10. Then I raised to $2.75 by which was the pot amount. Other four players called. Flop came and brought 10d Qc Kc. Player into me placed a $2 bet while I raised to $5. Player next to me also raised but at such point it was $10. Other two players followed and went all in for the money left to them, approximately $15. For $25, original bettor then went all in. Later, I followed my instincts saying I have to call. I wasn’t able to get the boat as well as any club. Player next to me had AJ.

In your opinion, did I make the right play? Or if not, I should have laid it down?

Well, fortunately, I got AA on next hand while the player who won the big pot had KK. For $28, both of us re-raise till I’m all in. Luckily I was able to somehow get back what I lost earlier.

Since I’m here, I’ll just grab the chance to ask this. Well, it’s something about the argument that me and my friend had just recently. He said that the 2004 WSOP is not over and that Greg Raymer and his $5 million win was only a preliminary. Is this true? And according to another guy I fairly know, it was the Vogel guy who won it.

Personally, I believe that the event lasted 6-7 days and actually started with preliminary tournaments. Those who won got a bracelet and go on to play. It just continued till the winner was determined. Please, I need clarity on this.

Thanks!

Regards,
Zaccano
Zaccano,

You flopped a set. There was a lot of action involved which meant that you might be behind. Of course, there is a good chance that you had the best hand. With so much money in the pot, you pretty much had to call here.

The 2004 WSOP concluded when Greg Raymer won the Main Event when he defeated David Williams. The World Series of Poker is a set of over 50 tournaments. Each award a bracelet. The events before the Main Event are preliminary events. The winners of the event does not automatically qualify for the Main Event. The players that play the Main Event must put up $10,000 each to play. The Main Event is spread out over around the course of nearly two weeks now. The entire WSOP lasts over 6 weeks.

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First, I would like to commend you for having a nice site. Congrats!

Well, just last night I was in a tournament with several friends. In late position, I got dealt pocket kings. Just one player then called the blinds therefore I decided to move all in.

At the table, there was one player in the hand who played aggressively. He had four times the amount of chips as I had then. Well, he had beaten several players so this was not that surprising. Later, a friend of mine who had A7s called the bet. Cards then came out and he ended up having an ace high flush.

Now, I’m thinking if I made a big mistake moving all in with pocket kings. Any idea? Also, I’m wondering if what were his reasons for calling.

Hope you can help me.

Thanks a lot!

Cheers,
Bratli
Bratli,

Without knowing more about the scenario regarding blind amounts and you stack, it is hard to say whether you should have went all in or made a strong raise. If you think that an all-in was the best way to take the pot down, that’s one thing, otherwise a strong raise may have done the trick in most situations.

As to why the player called your bet, it is hard to say. He may have thought you were on a steal and thought his suited ace was good. Not knowing more about your chip stack, the blind amount, and his stack makes it hard to gague whether this was a super poor call.

Taken in the context presented, he made a really poor call and you got unlucky.

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The other day, I was in a no limit tournament with a $35 buy in by which everyone had $1500 worth of chips. I was two seats removed from the button when the blinds were still $25/$50. I remember I had Kh-Qh then. Few minutes passed and four players limped in.

Eventually, I raised to $300 while big blind and one limper decided to call. Flop as expected came and was Jh, 7d, 4c. Afterwards, it was checked to me and I placed another bet, once again it was $300. Big blind finally went all in while I called. My call was actually based on two over cards, a back door flush, and back door straight draw.

In the end, I lost to a AK off suit. I believe I didn’t survived that long because of the wrong moves which made me short stacked. Do you think it was just a bad luck or there was really something wrong with how I played?

Thank you very much.

All the best,
Praml
Praml,

You played bad in this hand. With all those limpers, you either fold K-Q or just limp in yourself. You may have been raising your position, but as you saw, this only knocked out two players.

Since you raised, the continuation bet on the flop was not a bad idea, but calling the all in was. Never call an all in based on backdoor draws and overcards to the board. As it turned out, you had 3 legitimate outs to win, and that was 3 queens. You had 12% to hit your hand at this point.

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There were four players left for the pot. Player 1 had 10,000, player 2 had 8,000, player 3 had 5,000 and player 4 has 2,000. All figures were in chips by the way. At some point, all four went all in. In the end, player 1 won the pot. Who will take the titles 2nd and 3rd placer?

Hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks!

Jim Hatter
Jim,

In a tournament when multiple players are eliminated, the eliminated player that had the most chips at the start of the hand gets the superior placing. In your scenario, player 3 would get third place, and player 2 will get 2nd place. Player 4 is the bubble boy.

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Just recently, I was invited to be in a certain tournament. It was actually a six player no-limit winner-take-all tournament.

Back then, my opponents were five young men and the play was extremely loose and quick, just as what I have expected actually. Well, I tried to play a bit tighter than the table, however I have remained looser than usual. Unfortunately, earlier part I lost some hands, betting or bluffing on pocket cards that were questionable.

There was one player who had actually a great night. He was the player to my left. He played loosely and had pulled out flush draws and had eliminated shot straights on the turn. At some point, he had KK which actually had beaten AA with a K on the river.

I had one significant hand back then, pocket fives which turned into a set on the flop, and fives full of deuces on the turn. Fortunately, my hand had beaten two players on a big pot. Later, the table was down to three players, me, the maniac on my left, and the short stack.

I was expecting at certain point but later I felt the opposite over AJ off suit. Short stack eventually checked and I placed a bet to put him all in and the like. Maniac then called. Short stack followed and pushed in the last of his chips. Flop came and brought Ad, Jc, 7d. The bet was on me then while I flopped a very strong top two pair beforehand. I believe the maniac has nothing left anymore.

Later part, I went all in thinking he had nothing to beat me. He then called in an instant. Afterwards, he showed Qd, 3d. On the other side, short-stack flipped his own two diamonds Td 8d over. I was then happy as about a 70% to 75% chance that I could take all the chips was then very possible. However turn came and brought 6d. I felt very degraded right after knowing what the turn card was. Unfortunately, I was a terrible dog then. My only chance I believe was A or J on the river however none of the two came and therefore I lost.

As of now, when I recall, I still feel good about how I played though I lost. However, I’m now curious if what will you do in the event you are asked to call a bet of any amount already called by 5 other players and you’re guaranteed to be a 70% favorite. Would you certainly call? Will this be every time you are asked to do so?

Thanks in advance!

Moors
Moors,

If I know that I am a huge favorite to win a hand, I am going to call the all-in bets of other players. Being a 70% winner means that every 7 out of 10 hands you will win. Of course, you will lose the 3 other times. Getting sucked out on is a part of the game. When you play well, you will get sucked out on. Take pride in the fact you made a great decision. Don’t worry about the fact you got unlucky.

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