MP1 has no action in 5 hands.
BTN is 20/0/42 in 49 hands.
I'm 17/14/58 in 88 and haven't pushed anything, including AA.

Do you fold the JJ because you're likely to need a set against someone who hasn't raised PF before this? Call and see what follows? Anyone for a push?

And if you call, and either of the remaining two pushes and the BTN pushes back, do you get out of the way or play it?

Unless button is a massive nit, I think you have to shove it. MP1 flatting shouldn't really change your range. Get it in pre.

Edit: I'm drunk and have apparently lost my reading abilities. Strife is 2/2 in pwning said reading skills today. BTNs pfr is a ****ing nightmare. I guess flatting is fine. Anyone want to fold and not tell anyone? OOP, awkward stacks, first raise in 50 hands...?

Id shove.

flat... jamming is a massive overshove and I don't like to massively overshove... if you really feel the need to 3bet make it like 5750

if BB or MP1 shoves I'm snapping it off. If BTN calls a shove or shoves himself then thats a whole new decision to make.

This line is good. I still approve shoving in a micro game where despite stats ppl will bet crazy, but this line is prob better.

+1 flatting is probably best but if you want to raise don't jam just 3b.you're pushing 40bb into a 5 bb pot...

5225/c > pushing
kind of meh since he did not raise yet but i still 3b/c JJ.

not really
3b/f is the nutlow vs anyone. might be a fold in a bigger sample/good reads but just 50 hands are not enough to fold here, especially in a 2$

Thanks for all the answers. Not that it makes a huge difference in playing styles, it's actually a $2-1R-1A and we're after the rebuy period.

Now that I've had some time to consider this, I think the call is the way to go.

The BTN has me covered, so I need to survive the hand to get paid, as the field is still 3Xs the money. My overall strategy is (a) get paid and (b) once you know you're going to get paid, then take more risks to chip-up since the curve is so flat until you get to the final table.

Will the BTN walk away from a push? I don't think so.

What does he need to be holding for me to dominate? TT or less. AJ or less. Does he really raise 3BB holding these? Maybe the TT, maybe AJs, ATs. But anything else a 20/0 wants to play is just a limp.

If he's holding AK or AQ, then I'm favored, but not by enough to risk my tournament.

If he's holding QQ+, then I'm going to need a set and even if the small stacks both come along, I'm not going to pick up enough chips to justify the risk of getting knocked out.

Holding 38.5BB, there's plenty of life left. Call and evaluate. If either of the smaller stacks pushes and the BTN folds, then I'll call because the worst case is I'm still in play with 14.5BB and can work my way back. But if the BTN gets his all-in, I have to release and live to fight another day.

FWIW, and this is just because I got to see the actual numbers, I did decide that the BTN was feeling aggressive with an A-face based on his recent post-flop play. I felt if he held QQ+, his raise would have been larger to attempt to draw the small stack in and get isolated.

I pushed, the BB folded, and the MP1 called, as did the BTN. MP1 turns over AJo, BTN turns over AKo. PT says I'm a 57% favorite. In the big picture, not only have I gotten all my money in as the favorite, I've also got a side pot bonus. If this was post-bubble, or a cash game, I'd be digging it. But putting almost 40BBs and my life on the line for a little better than a coin flip doesn't seem like a smart move. I could have spent just 3BB to get the draw down to 2 cards instead of 5 and left myself the ability to get away from big cards on the flop. An A hit the board and I went home.

flat>3b/c>shove imo
if it was no limper i would prefer to 3bet/call

I raise to 5555, with intentions of calling off. Button raisers here are usually trying to pick on the limper.....

[QUOTE=Big Slick Racing;25444889]The BTN has me covered, so I need to survive the hand to get paid, as the field is still 3Xs the money. My overall strategy is (a) get paid and (b) once you know you're going to get paid, then take more risks to chip-up since the curve is so flat until you get to the final table.Will the BTN walk away from a push? I don't think so.

you should be trying to accumulate chips clear through the money bubble. Just getting in the money shouldn't be your goal. Getting as many chips as possible before the final table is.

[QUOTE=foxracer662;25446468] I don't think tournament play is quite this simple. In a cash game, sure, you always want your chips in the middle when you have the best of it. But in a tournament, you don't get to just reach into your wallet and continue; you have to go back to the beginning and thread your way thru again. In essence, tournament play is a game of survival as much as it's about chipping up. There's also a big difference between a small SNG and the large MTTs, especially at the micro level where there's no shortage of players who will call just to see the longshot come in, meaning fold equity isn't remotely as great as one would think it should be. People simply don't want to fold - they came to play and be entertained.

Moreover, I think that once you've invested a couple hours in a tournament and have built a position from which you can take advantage of opportunity, one should be more careful about how he risks getting knocked out. Early on, when there's a lot of elbowing going on to break away from the pack and not much time has been invested, then I think marginally favorable risks are justified. But I don't see taking them later on holding a solid position to an opponent who covers you. You want to minimize the number of times the dog has a chance to win because the odds of you getting knocked out increase every time you flip the coin. One of Helmuth's famous rants is about an opponent who survived six pretty even all-in's and how, taken as a group, that's pretty damn lucky.

Of course, if you're stack is getting weak and you need to chip up to get back into a solid position from which to play hands, then you take more risks. But each time you do take a coin flip covered and win is one time closer to probability evening things out.

I have found that focusing on making sure I make the money, letting the post bubble craziness pass, and then cranking up the risk tolerance has served my bankroll well. I suppose I've missed a few chances to chip-up early that could have paid off, but not only did I also miss getting knocked out, the amount of chips in the pot early in a tournament pale in comparison to what can be taken down in a single pot later. Patience and one or two big scores after the bubble tends to keep the bankroll moving in a positive direction.

Why 5555?

Im "that guy" that always bets all the same number like 5555 or 333, or 22. This is the closest number of that kind near 2.5X what he raised to. this is my std re raise.

As for the post about survival, I guess that's a matter of opinion. I switched to the take any edge I can camp about 4 months ago and while it has given me way more variance, I have also had many many more deep runs leading to big scores.