two newcomer questions

[DMC0627]

I have just started playing poker, mostly low limit hold em. I did go to a casino and played a sit and go. We were down to 6 people (10 started) with 3 people getting in the money. One person who was the short stack moved all in. I called with ak on the button.. The small blind called.

The flop was A J 2, rainbow, and I pushed in my remaining chips. I would have only had about 900 left if I lost this pot (starting stack was 1500) and there was already 1800 in the middle approximately. I would have been the next short stack if I lost. The guy in the small blind threw in his cards in disgust, and some other guy at the table told me I should have "checked it down".

The small blind said, even if I hit my set, I wouldn't have bet it, I would have checked it down. So the question is, I know if nobody improves on the flop its normal to check it, but why should I give this guy to free shots to win and become the short stack myself? Is this horrible poker etiquette? One guy said, you did the right thing, you are here to win, but that was it.

Second question is, how much do you get involved if you are not in a hand? I was also at a table where the pot was pushed to one guy which should have been a split. I wasn't really paying attention and right after the guy next to me said, dealer made a mistake, should have been a split pot. Another guy said, yeah, I saw that, but I had no dog in that fight. Is it common to completely stay out of it even if you see something like that if you are not in the hand? Trying to learn as I go. Thanks

[Grunch]

If one player is all-in and two others are in the pot with more chips behind, if nobody improves the two players will often check it down in order to increase the chances that the all-in player will be eliminated. It's a kind of implicit collusion (not to say it's bad or against the rules -- it's not either).

But once you improved on the flop, checking it down becomes a bad play because now you are just giving your opponent a free chance to beat you. You have nearly locked in the chance that the all-in player will be eliminated. Now your goal should be to win the maximum number of chips. You can only get more chips from the other opponent, so the only right thing to do now is to bet.

Ignore all the complainers who were griefing you about not checking it down. They are just sour because they couldn't get a free chance to beat you, or they don't understand the reason for checking it down. In any case, they are wrong are you were right to bet.

[benpoker12]

Hi,

They wanted you to check down so 2 players have more chance to bust out the short stack as just one player. Imo your bet was fine and with 6 people left this shouldnt be happening and you should just play for the win. This play happens more often when you are at a bubble of a tournament or already itm and more players call an allin from another player and check it down so they have more chance of winning money.

This type of play is happening pretty often and i don't think its bad, although i do think you shouldn't discuss about it at the tables. It's just some sort of 'silent agreement'. Also with 6 players left it's kinda pointless.

[Small Fry]

Checking it down is really only correct if you cannot beat much of anything as you'll be required to show down your hand against the all in player. Betting your Ace was the right move as you now beat a lot of potential hands of the all in player and you don't want to give the other guy free cards to beat you. And you could still bet your hand unimproved on the flop if you think you might be in the lead or have a greater chance to win if it's just heads up.

As for making sure proper decisions are made. It is everyones responsibility to ensure all players are treated in a fair and equal manner whether they were involved in the hand or not. Any time you notice something you think might be incorrect / unfair do not hesitate to immediately speak up. No need to be beligerent about it but a simple " Excuse me, Dealer, (Why) isn't this a split pot?" would get the message across. We're all human and make mistakes.