Tough Decision with marginal Two Pair

[JammyDodga]

Hi, I'm afraid the site I play on doesnt provide hand histories, so you'll have to make do with my description.

200 Player $10 MTT,
30 players left, 20-30th pays $15, 10-20th pays $18, 9th pays $40, then goes up steep after that.

Blinds 400-800

Action is folded around to Button with 20k who flat calls.
I'm in the SB and call with K[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]6[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] I have 8k
BB Checks (has 7k)

Flop A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] Q[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

I check, BB Checks, Button Checks.

Turn 6[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

I bet Pot (2400)

BB Folds, Button goes all in. To call would cost me just under 5 k for a pot of 12k

What should I have done?

I'm thinking I played this badly, I should have either bet around 1600 on the turn and folded to a re-raise all in which would have given me the information I needed more cheaply, or if I planning to get them all in, check call so I could extract some value from hands i did have beat like A rag or a busted straight/flush draw.

[sick0fbe4tz]

"30 players left, 20-30th pays $15"

On top of that, having a 8k stack at 400/800 blinds, +having invested 40% of our stack and we have two pair. I call this all day.

[volition]

I mostly agree with the above, I think this would be a good spot to take a stand with your two pair given your stack size in relation to the blinds and how committed you are.

I think the hands that have you beat like: AK, AQ, AA, KK, QQ would have most likely raised preflop. However, a hand like 66 or JT could fit the bill for a possible holding for the player on the Button.

From your position though, I'd call the all in and just hope that they didn't have one of the above mentioned hands. (Maybe pray for another K or 6 to come to save me lol)

[JammyDodga]

Thanks for the advice guys. I am thinking that I should have been more wary on this hand. Firstly, I wasn't that pot committed before I raised on the turn, although after that I defenitely am committed.

OK, so theres 4 options for his hand,

1 - he has nothing,
2 - he has a draw,
3 - he has a hand that I beat (A/K rag) that he thinks is probably good
4 - he has a really good hand and he knows it.

I can make some assumptions about this based on his play.

a) He flat calls from the button, why not raise and have a chance to steal the pot right there? Suggests that he either has some kind of drawing hand, perhaps a suited connector, or maybe a low pair, OR he has a monster. Makes it unlikely he has something like A/K rag, as he'd probably raise with that

b) flop is pretty scary with plenty of draws, and is checked around to him in last position, if he had either a draw, or a single A or a K he is likely to bet, either to steal the pot, or make anyone drawing pay for the priviledge, but instead he checks and gives us a free card.

c) My bet on the turn was fairly solid, and for most of my stack, so he knows I'm commited. When he goes all in he wants a call.

Out of his four options, only A/K rag would want a call and be losing to my two pair, and it would be very unlikely that he didn't raise the Pre-flop or on the flop.
Therefore I think its pretty clear i'm behind.

On the one hand, I don't want to be looking for monsters under the bed in every hand, but on the other I want to avoid a formulaic approach - i.e. i have a decent hand and a small stack, therefore my chips are going in without thinking.