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Live MTT satellite hand advice needed

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  1. Crow2 Crow2 is offline

    La Crescenta, CA
    United States

    Posts: 6
    Joined: May 07

    Jan 10th, 2009 (1/10/2009 8:04pm)

    I just got back from the Hollywood Park Casino and have been thinking about my last hand. Playing a $65 mtt satellite to HPC's Poker Derby Main Event (about 85 entered, awarding 8 $550 seats), I found myself playing at one of two last tables, six-handed. With my stack at 17.5K, the blinds were 1200-2400 with a 500 ante. After posting the 2,900 for my bb/ante, I picked up A5o. The player from the cut-off seat (who I had been playing with at a prior table and had seen to be very aggressive, always looking to get his money in first with holdings as weak as J3o whenever he sensed that his opponent would fold preflop), put in a raise of about half his stack, around 15K. It folded around to me, and after about what seemed like forever, I figured that he had probably not the best of hands, and I decided to go with my gut feeling and play for my whole stack. After calling, my opponent said "bad call," then turned over his Q10o. Unfortunately he caught a Q on the turn, which proved good to win the hand and send me to the rail in 12th, 3 spots shy of the prize. While at first I felt alright with my read and putting my money in ahead, even if it was only slightly, I have really been second-guessing my play since then. I am starting to feel that it was an unnecessary risk for my tourney life, and probably should have just folded and waited for something more sound. Anyway, on the up side of things, had I won the seat I would have been stuck at the casino for another long session since it was going to be 40 minute levels and 12K starting stacks. So let me have it, what do you think you would have done?
  2. gguk2008 gguk2008 is offline

    United Kingdom

    Posts: 1,021
    Joined: May 08

    Jan 11th, 2009 (1/11/2009 6:30am) in reply to Crow2

    I don't see how you see the upside of losing a $550 ticket as being the idea of spending more time playing the tournament that you were AIMING to play. Why bother if you're going to do that?

    You've completely disregarded a whole host of things which affect this play. How many players are left, how many shortstacks are there, how many rounds are you good for paying blinds and antes and so on. You're trying to survive, not come first.

    Of course, they're only considerations when you have a good hand. A5o is a terrible hand to play for all of your chips and $550. It sounds as though even if you have AA/KK/AK here, though, you have no hope of folding because your stack is so small compared to the blinds.

    Wait to get it in good, or wait to at least be first into the pot. When you have A5o and you're shoving over the top of a guy, you're not hoping for him to call so that you can hold (because usually you're behind anyway), you're hoping for him to fold. You think anybody is folding anything when they've put half their stack in?
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