Hand 1: Villan opens really big here w/ the bb sitting out. I dont really know what to make of this raise. Only notes I have on him are that he limps in sb to my bb and calls 3x raise and calls 3x ep raise w/ 43s. What do you do here with 99? Why do you do this here?

Poker Stars $25.00+$2.50 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t25/t50 Blinds - 9 players
2+2 Hand Converter Powered By DeucesCracked

Hero (CO): t3160
BTN: t3440
SB: t3740
BB: t3000
UTG: t2190
UTG+1: t2280
UTG+2: t2265
MP1: t7045
MP2: t3860

Pre Flop: Hero is CO with 9 9
4 folds, MP2 raises to t350, Hero ???
[B]

Hand 2:

No really reads on villain here who opens except for the fact that in a limped pot he bet half pot on a Q7Q board and I floated w/ A high and he check folded the turn to my bet. What do you do here?

Poker Stars $25+$5 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t125/t250 Blinds - 9 players
2+2 Hand Converter Powered By DeucesCracked

BTN: t22345
SB: t8038
BB: t11027
UTG: t8030
UTG+1: t10575
UTG+2: t10535
Hero (MP1): t7440
MP2: t14555
CO: t3085

Pre Flop: Hero is MP1 with A K
2 folds, UTG+2 raises to t1000, Hero ???,

Hand 1 is tough because with him betting so big you pretty much know he is c-betting any flop so if we do call we are folding alot of flops. However, if we raise he is probably calling because he likes to call raises with marginal hands. I think 99 is too strong to fold and to weak to raise, so I would call and look to outplay him on the flop.

Hand 2 I shove, he doesn't have to have a monster here and we have FE and a pretty good hand.

What hand ranges do you give hand 1 and 2?

First, let me say that I've certainly seen people who do this with AA/KK because they don't want people to call them with junk or whatever. However, usually it's something like 88-JJ AK-AJ. Generally, hands that can be really tough to play OOP so they want to not get called with small pairs and connectors and other junk so it's easier to "find out where they're at." The obvious giant gaping hole in their plan is that by doing this they fold out most of the stuff they beat, and as a result when they get any action "where they're at" is usually a really bad place. But, donks do what donks do. So yeah, I'd just shove here since usually villain isn't in love with their hand and if you do get called the worst you'll see is a flip, with the occasional guy that 4xes their monsters. Still, I think that's rare enough where a shove here is very profitable.

1st hand: call

2nd hand: 3bet and shove almost every flop/call shove

hand 1 i flat call and reevaluate on flop. he can be assigned a range of 44-JJ, KJ, KQ, AJ+. I have been seeing this huge overraise a lot with small PP's, KJ, and especially AJ. On hand 1, I would even be tempted to 3 bet, as I feel we are way ahead of his range, especially if he's a donk that plays all sorts of rags. but a flat call is fine, and raise/shove a flop that doesn't contain a J,K, or A. Hand 2, i think you should probably shove. his range is AJ+, and 22-QQ. He most likely has a hand that he doesn't want to see a flop with, unless 4X raises are his norm. My rule, is that in tournaments you can never be afraid to take a race. With AK, you want to see all 5 cards, so shove, and if he calls with 22-QQ, take a race. But shoving is +EV because you have obtained some fold equity, along with the times that he calls your shove with AQ or worse. Another play you could make, that would only work against a good and experienced player would be to 3 bet to say 3000, with the intention of calling a 4 bet shove or shoving any flop. the added value in this, is that it looks like you are milking him with AA or KK, and you might be able to get a fold from 88-QQ that you might not have gotten otherwise.

I dont like putting that much of my stack in play and having to call a stop and go w/ A high or nothing. Id rather put it all in the middle I think and be able to see all 5 cards. AK is powerful hand that plays at its best espeically when you get it all in preflop.

edit: you cant 3 bet fold on any flop so why not just shove?

Hand 1 is gross. With the BB sitting out I probably shove, you're probably ahead of his range and he can definitely have 44+ AJ+ KQ kinda hands in there. Calling sucks imo, you're in position yes but you have no clue how to deal with certain flops like say Jxx. Folding seems wrong.

Hand 2 I'd happily ship pre.

[QUOTE=Dunkman;4656187]However, usually it's something like 88-JJ AK-AJ.QUOTE]


agree w/ this range totally but I'd add 77 in there too. good post

fold one, ship too, imo

ehh I think folding is really gross here same with calling and rr. I think the order goes

calling>folding> rr.

rr- the worst bec he prob calls w/ alot of hands that beat us and folds the one we beat.
folding- probably allows us to get out of a tough dicision, but we may lose value of our hand by doing this.
Calling: we are deep enough to even set mine here imo and we can reevaluate after flop.

this...I don't like flatting one cause we are now guessing on most every flop and have no info....

2 is an easy ship