Live Question

[Tuffster]

Relatively early in a live MTT (about an hour and a half in).

Just been moved to a new table (3 hands previous), blinds are 200-400 and stack is 2,700. (SS 5k)

On the BB, UTG min-raises and gets 1 caller from UTG+3.

Only played 3 hands so far and UTG has folded pre in all (but given he was early position, not reading too much into this).

UTG+3 has limped all 3 hands so far, folded one to a pre-flop (admittedly big) raise and folded post on the other two.

So BB, I have 44. A call is probably the worst thing to do here, OOP having played 800 and very unlikely to make the set.

I jammed as we were only a few hands from 300-600 and the removal of virtually all my fold equity with only 2kish left (after SB).

Given the definite possibility of a decent pair here for UTG, was jamming a bad move? Am probably not going to get the original raise off for only 1,900 more. Was hoping for a race and a chance to double-up.

I considered the stop and go, but thought again that the 1,900 (into a pot of 2,600) would not be enough to push UTG out and a pre-flop jam would probably get rid of serial limper UTG+3

What's your views guys?

[Grier78]

Its a fold for me, I don't like shoving with a small pair into an opened pot when you are almost certain to get called by at least one other player.

[Tuffster]

Agree, would normally be a fold for me as well, but given the blinds and my diminishing relative stack-size is it such a bad move?

[Grier78]

Agree, would normally be a fold for me as well, but given the blinds and my diminishing relative stack-size is it such a bad move?

I think you would get a chance to get a first in shove in the next 8 or 9 hands where you have the chance to win the pot unopposed, but you are looking to pull something off very quickly cos those blinds are killing you.

[Tuffster]

True, was sort of hoping for an AK call from UTG and a fold from UTG+3 and a race for a double-up.

I think I'd gone past the point of nicking blinds and was looking for a spot to double-up.

With hind-sight, I think I chose the wrong spot, too much chance of an overpair (He had JJ BTW and the flopped set did for me!)

[Graham C]

Is a call that bad here?  I know you're short, but it's 400 to get involved in a pot that already has 2200 in it.  Getting over 5/1 on the money would be tempting me to call pretty much any two cards that have something in common.  If I don't hit the set, I'm out and shoving when I can get in first, but I don't mind calling for 400 here despite my short stackness.

[Longy]

Is a call that bad here?  I know you're short, but it's 400 to get involved in a pot that already has 2200 in it.  Getting over 5/1 on the money would be tempting me to call pretty much any two cards that have something in common.  If I don't hit the set, I'm out and shoving when I can get in first, but I don't mind calling for 400 here despite my short stackness.

It is relatively close you are getting somewhere in the region of 12 to 1 in implied odds, imo it really depends on your reads on the original raisor. Is he stacking the majority of flops, if so calling isn't disastrous.

In tournament play preservation of chips when short is quite important as maintaing a stack that has some fold equity when shoving is important.

On balance i pass preflop.

[Graham C]

Is a call that bad here?  I know you're short, but it's 400 to get involved in a pot that already has 2200 in it.  Getting over 5/1 on the money would be tempting me to call pretty much any two cards that have something in common.  If I don't hit the set, I'm out and shoving when I can get in first, but I don't mind calling for 400 here despite my short stackness.

It is relatively close you are getting somewhere in the region of 12 to 1 in implied odds, imo it really depends on your reads on the original raisor. Is he stacking the majority of flops, if so calling isn't disastrous.

In tournament play preservation of chips when short is quite important as maintaing a stack that has some fold equity when shoving is important.

On balance i pass preflop.

I generally agree, but he has so little FE anyway, is 400 going to make that much difference?  Someone that is going to look you up for 2300 isn't going to be fussed about looking you up for an extra big blind.  Also, calling then shoving (assuming you hit or the board is favourable) is going to look like a stop and go and likely to get a caller and that all important double up.