Bubble of freeroll tournament with equivalent of 0.50$ prize pool, roughly 60 people registered. Full ring and no antes. 7 players in current table.

LO is a passive calling station, HI is sometimes a calling station and sometimes a maniac and seems to overvalue strong hole cards in bad boards.

Stacks:
LO: 8.75 BB
HI: 12.5 BB
BB (Hero) : 16 BB

SB posts 0.5 BB, BB (Hero) posts 1 BB. Hero is dealt K5

1 Fold, LO limps, HI limps, 3 folds, Hero checks.

Flop (3.5 BB): JA7

Hero checks, LO checks, HI bets 1 BB, Hero calls, LO calls.

Turn (6.5 BB): 3

Hero checks, LO checks, HI bets 1 BB, Hero calls, LO calls.

River (9.5 BB): 3

Hero checks, LO checks, HI bets 1 BB, Hero folds.


I called down since i seemed to have good pot odds and perhaps could stack either of them if they were chasing a lower flush draw or maybe LO with a pair or even air as i've seen it happen before. At this point i was basically guaranteed to survive the bubble and didn't want to lose an opportunity to build a bigger stack to try reach a better position in the tournament. In end despite 10.5:1 pot odds i folded, i think there's a decent possibility however that both players had nothing either, not sure if calling would be better.

I think that people underestimate how different tournaments and cash games are. I started out playing a lot of live tournaments. It literally took me years to transition my game and become good at cash games. It doesn't help that much of the poker literature is written about tournament play and yet folks apply it to cash games all the time and lose a ton of money trying to implement strategies that are not sound in cash games.

BTW there is a forum on 2+2 on tournament play and you could post this question there as well.

In tournaments your chip stack is so important. You began the hand with only 16bb. You have already called 3 bets totaling 3bb.

You missed your draw. You don't have a made hand, you only have K high. Any 3 beats you, any A beats you, any J beats you, any 7 beats you, any player who started with a pocket pair is beating you, any King with a kicker higher than 5 is beating you.

Also, every chip you lose to the hijack player increases his stack. He started with 12 bb, if he wins 4 from you, then you will now have 12bb and he will now have 16bb, your places in the tournament have switched, to your determent.

In a cash game, with 10-1 odds to call with K high, I think this would be an easy call. Under these circumstances, in a tournament, I would go ahead and cut my losses and fold like you did.

BTW, chasing the nut flush draw was certainly worthwhile, if you are questioning that. You had a 1 in 3 chance of making the flush by the river and you were only being charged 1 bb per street.

Raising on the flop may have won the pot for you. Perhaps consider raising next time. However, I do understand that you had a relatively short stack and were on the bubble so a raise is dangerous. You could have said to yourself, "Rather than call 3bb over the next couple of streets I will check-raise to 3bb right now and if re-raised I'll drop it and if called I'm done with the hand unless I hit the flush on the Turn." That way it costs you 3 bets either way, but you have the potential of using aggression to win the pot now.

GL out there.

Magnum