Question about a live hand..

[SinOrSwim]

I was playing in a B&M tourney yesterday. I made the final table out of about 123-125 people. However, I may have made a mistake at the final table to get knocked out in 10th freaking place.

I had 12k in chips. Probably about 5th to 7th in chips. There were 2 people with very little and a few with about the same as me. Really only one or two people with what I would consider a dominant stack. Blinds were getting steep at 3000/1500 and were within about 2 minutes of going up to 6000/3000. I was UTG and look down to see J's. I probably should have pushed right there but for some reason I had a couple thoughts. One, I wanted to get a little action and two, being is such early position I really wasn't sure if I wanted to get involved in an all-in fest. We had only played about 3 hands at the final table so I didn't know the style of half of the people. So, I raised to 6000. Everybody folds to the cutoff. He goes all-in with about 12-14000 in chips. Everybody else folds including both blinds and I call. He has A/10 against my J's. Flop was A-A-3. Doh!

Is playing it the way I did horribly wrong? Or, was the fact I at least played both scenarios in my head and chose what I did not necessarily wrong but one of two viable options as to how to best play the hand and I just got unlucky with the flop? I'm guessing wrong because as I'm typing this I pretty much was calling anything anyway. I would rather take my chances with J's than fold the 6000 in the pot and be left with 6000 with the 6000 BB coming the next hand. However, another thought is if I push right away I have the chance of everybody folding and not maximizing the pot as well?

Hope this makes sense.

Thanks!

[Javanewt]

I think this is OK. I'm not sure I like your reasons. I'd bet the 6000 because sometimes I think betting half your stack looks stronger. No way you are folding this, and any good hand that will call or raise the 6000 must know you are going to felt it and would have called your all-in. You just got unlucky.

[smw1992]

I think this is OK but I prefer to push all-in in that situation. Either way you are getting your money all-in it was just a bad flop for you.

[South Pole]

Your initial decision was OK (maybe a slightly bigger raise would have won the pot outright) but your subsequent call turned out to be an excellent decision. BUT nothing you can do if the cards come down in his favour - you were unlucky that's poker.

[DQuadfather]

With 4 x BB left, I don't think you had the stack to handle any "action." If anything, I think you were risking a garbage call that may have gotten lucky. With the blinds where they were and, more importantly, where they were about to be, it WAS an "all-in fest", at least as far as your stack was concerned. I say you should've pushed. First, that would have discouraged any questionable calls or shoves. The villian here may have read you for weakness and shoved, a move you may have had doubts about if you shoved to begin with (though I doubt it). Second, a good hand calls or raises here anyway. You either double through if you win or go home if you happen to run into a monster. Min-raising UTG for half your stack only gives someone the incentive to take a shot at busting you. Third, even without any action, you collect the blinds, fund your orbit and, most importantly, live to shove another day IN POSITION. It may seem counterintuitive but, IMO, the best way to maximize survival here is to shove.

I've been there before.

[DeuceSeven]

Pretty bad raise. Just shove preflop. JJ isn't a good enough hand to try and get action UTG with a short stack. Your minraise gave trash hands with a big card odds to outdraw you. I don't mind this play with AA and KK.

[SinOrSwim]

OK. I do think my better move would have been to shove preflop. However, if I only pick up the blinds which would have been 4500 and they were about to go up to 6000/3000 don't I want to induce some action? This is where I struggle. It seems as though if I raise but not all-in and I get called and they hold up it was a great play because I maximized the pot. However, if I do this and get called and get drawn out on I slow played it and got busted thus playing like a donkey.

So, I don't think I made the best play but I'm not upset with the way I played it either in hindsight. I know I was calling anything in this spot and at this point in the tourney I'll take my chances with JJ. I knew all my money was going in pretty much. So, at least I had the opportunity to win more and set myself up for a nice run at the win. Meaning, I don't think the 4500 had I pushed and everybody folded would have allowed me to go much further than I did based on the steep blind structure.

I've only played in this tourney 4 times and I've cashed twice. One 3rd and then the 10th. I'll take that with the amount I play.

Thanks for the replies. I like that this gets me thinking.

[karlwig]

i don't like min-raising, i'd rather raise all-in or just limp... the little raise from UTG actually screams "give me action! look, its cheap!" and any idiot should be concerned.. so therefore you might just go all in right away. and remember, you don't want somebody just to call your min-raise, hitting a Q with some stupid Q-3 hand...

anyway, and as played... with only 6000 left if you fold, you've invested a lot of your money already, so of course you're gonna call a push! that's what you wanted to see, right?
anyway... bad luck, you were the favourite!

[mikehildebrand]

My thought at this point is that if you are willing to raise half your stack, and call. Why not shove, try to win the 4500 outright. Chances are next hand someone is going to push all in next hand or two anyway, and unless you wake up with a TRUE monster in the blinds, its an easy fold leaving you alive for a few more hands, at least. Inducing action at this point invites trouble, ANYONE that calls has probably got overcards and you are only a slight favorite. However, you did have the best hand and you got unlucky.

[whickerda]

Shove preflop. Don't be drawn into results-based thinking. You just got unlucky with that flop. You got your money in good and that's all you can do.