Playing a Big Pair Early in a MTT
The hand below shows how I went out early in the $200 UB tournament last night. I think there is some value in discussing it ... please offer feedback.
It's early in the tournament and blinds are just 10 20 when I pick up QQ in earlish position. A good player raised the blind from 20 to 70 and I just called. Of course many of you would raise here and I normally do. I was simply mixing up my play and because it's early, I wasn't sure I could really bet him out of the pot with say a raise to 200 or even more. So I decide to see a flop and if no AK then see what he does and push. Nevertheless, I think I should raise there to make sure it's heads up between me and him. A lot of people could call 70.
But all that's thrown out the window when a guy two to my left re-raises big to over 300. Everyone folds and it comes back to me. Looking at the hand now, that certainly doesn't look like an AK bet but who knows ... maybe it's a big bet trying to protect JJ?
I called and the flop is 3, 9, 10. I checked with the plan to put him all-in. If he has AK, I expect a continuation bet (I thought maybe half the pot). If he has JJ, then maybe he goes all-in and I'd have a decision to make. But he made the perfect bet ... 500 into a 720 pot. That was enough for me to think he didn't pair and I pushed ... you see what he had.
So how do you play this hand? I think it's important that it's early in a tournament. Should I push like this when I could live and fight in another hand? One final note: I had been busted earlier in a TEC SNG when I had JJ with a low flop, and AK bet, I went all-in, and AK called (unfortunately he caught). I think that may have made me play the flop too aggressively as well. People love their AK.
Thanks!
3 Comments:
I think youre biggest prob w this hand was you're getting tricky to the original raiser. U have to raise there, and then when the third guy comes over the top, it makes your decisions easier. W/o that info, u didnt really play the hand wrong.
Hey, this is Pupkin from UB. I had a somewhat similar hand in tonight's $100 tourney, except even earlier. Blinds were 5-10 still, I was in first position with JJ. I raised it to 50 and the button raised it up to 185, and I actually chose to fold right there. Now JJ is obviously worse than QQ, but I consider them to be very similar, since in either case you can still have two overcards against you. One of the big reasons I folded was because I just didn't want to risk it that early in a tournament. If I was in your place in that hand, and if I called that first smallish raise like you did pre-flop, I most likely would have busted on that hand as well, although probably in a different way. I almost certainly would not have checked the flop. Simply having an overpair isn't a hand I'd try to trap with, and I wouldn't want my opponent to see the turn for free if he had AK. I would have bet about three quarters of the pot, and then if I get re-raised I'd have a tough decision. Good chance I would have went all-in after the likely re-raise, though.
I think you shouldn't be such a &ick at the tables, Only then would you recieve more feedback then (2) posts!
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