Ok...but it wasn't an open limp, I called.  As you say, I never open limp!

Ok, I'm feeling pretty bad at this point since the poker gods had been toying with me - giving me second best hands (A-Q vs A-K) for a few hands.  My shove was possibly tilt although I don't normally get that emotional.

Other than a possible pre-flop raise, what do you do different here?

Many thanks, you guys are really helping me out

** Hand # 1124187883 starting - 2009-02-08 19:40:55
** $4 High Stack NLHE Freezeout[1741117]:Table 6 [Multi Table Hold 'em] (1000.00|2000.00 NL - MTT) Real Money

SkInNy_86 sitting in seat 1 with 7641.78[Dealer]
jockk sitting in seat 2 with 71215.16
homes5 sitting in seat 3 with 30417.40
Paul1972rfc sitting in seat 4 with 14777.34
KingBilly24 sitting in seat 5 with 67705.30
salmonspread sitting in seat 6 with 15773.70
MusoTim sitting in seat 7 with 22281.30
bigbrickie sitting in seat 8 with 2360.22
mfordy sitting in seat 9 with 11912.50
neil003 sitting in seat 10 with 23690.00
jockk posted the small blind - 500.00
homes5 posted the big blind - 1000.00

** Dealing cards to MusoTim: , 
Paul1972rfc folded
KingBilly24 called - 1000.00
salmonspread folded
MusoTim called - 1000.00
bigbrickie folded
mfordy folded
neil003 folded
SkInNy_86 folded
jockk called - 1000.00
homes5 checked

** Dealing the flop: , ,
jockk checked
homes5 checked
KingBilly24 bet - 4000.00
MusoTim called - 4000.00
jockk called - 4000.00
homes5 folded

** Dealing the turn:
jockk checked
KingBilly24 bet - 4000.00
MusoTim went all-in - 17281.30
jockk called - 17281.30
KingBilly24 called - 17281.30

** Dealing the river:
jockk went all-in - 49433.86
KingBilly24 went all-in - 45424.00
jockk shows:  ,
KingBilly24 shows: ,
jockk wins 67843.90 from the main pot
jockk wins 90848.00 from side pot 1

Here are two situations which happen from time to time:

First: In early position, six seated table, first level of a tournament.  All have about 3000 chips.  Blinds at 10/20.  I pick up  and raise to 100.  As so often happens early in a tournament I get two callers behind me.  330 in the pot.

Flop is  . Obviously I want to price the flushes out of the market.  I make a pot sized bet which is flat called by one and the other folds.  All ABC so far.

Turn is  .  What should I bet now?

Second: In middle position, six seated table, early levels of the tournament.  Chip stacks range from 2000-4000, blinds at 20/40.  I pick up  and raise to 120.  Button and BB call. 380 in the pot.

Flop comes down  .  BB pushes all in (say 3500), has me covered.  Actually I fold but could he do that with, say, top pair (AJ)?

Second level of a 6-handed MTT.  In the big blind with  .  A family pot, all limping in (180 in the pot).  I check and the flop comes down  .  With bad position I opt to check - as does everyone else.  Turn is  .  Again, all check.  River is  .  SB min bets 30, I raise 200, folds to cutoff who goes all in (1500).  All fold to me and I call, leaving myself 600 chips if I don't win.  Of course he has  .  Let me know what you think.

Sometimes it's so obvious when someone else looks at it.  My re-raise looked like a re-steal - an all-in would really have put him on the spot.  He might have called, but he might not.

Thanks for that.

It seems to be blinds play that gets me into trouble.  In every other position I can fold, fold, fold with total patience but in the blinds I just get a reaction to a steal.  Last night I was being very good, waiting for a hand I could fire back with.

Blinds are 200/400, my stack is 4875.  I get  in the Big Blind.  Folds around to button (stack 5625) who raises to 800 (for the 365th time!).  I fire a re-raise to 1600 then he raises to put me all in.  I call (yes, I know that one was bad) and he turns over  and after five miss us both that's that.

Any particular critique would be useful, alongside some guidance for playing the blinds.  Many thanks.

Thanks.  I have been playing the "Slow Boat" tournament (15 minute blinds, 2000 chips, blinds raise REALLY slowly).  Maybe I will look at playing 10-handed tournaments with slow blinds.

...with tournaments.  Having avoided them in favour of cash games until recently I have started to play MTTs on Sky Poker (not the main ones, side tourneys).  Whereas I find that I can normally turn a (fairly) steady profit in cash I am finding it hard even to finish at the bottom of the money.  Ok, so sometimes it is suckouts that make me lose chips but much of the time I find the play of the oppos to be completely different from anything I have encountered in cash.

I have experienced serial limpers but tend to find they respect healthy (5BB) raises.  Not so much in tourneys.  Also, serial raisers, who come in with a 3BB raise on every hand.  While this is great if you hit a hand and the flop, what if you don't?  Also makes it very difficult to sneak in with pocket pairs.

I play a (fairly) tight aggressive game, respect raises, don't hold onto the blinds for dear life, steal blinds from the button etc etc.  I see a lot of players who 'seem' weaker playing some really unusual poker.  And they have bigger chip stacks than me and last longer.

Should I expect this variance in MTTs?  Should I just abandon tournaments (which I have to say, are a lot of fun) and go back to cash?  Or should I just stop whining and get on with it?  (I hear the difference between dogs and poker players is that dogs eventually stop whining).

Your advice is much appreciated.

I suppose it's always an obvious bad beat story!  He turned over  and I began to curse!  I did not have a great read on him but he was a serial limper and I was annoyed at myself for not reading that hand.  His (realistic) limping would have included many hands that beat me but it's hard to throw away trips!  What would he have limped with?  7-7, A-7, K-7, A-4, K-4, 5-4, 8-7, 7-6 or 8-8, 9-9. T-T.  Difficult in the seconds to decide which of those he's on!

What bets earlier would have given me more information?  Should I have gone all in first, or put in a bigger first bet, or even checked?

So here's this week's little poser:

In the middle of a tournament.  Blinds are 100/200.  My stack has taken a recent hit but I am ok at about 5000 chips.  I am in the big blind with  .  Second player limps in, all others fold.  The flop comes down  .  I bet 200, he raises to 400, I reraise to 1000, he goes all in with a stack that would put me all in too.

Call or fold?

Thanks for the help.  While I know I was a 70:30 favourite, I was concerned initially going up against the other big stack.  I had enjoyed this tournament greatly, using the info I had picked up on the Sky Boot Camp in Bristol at the weekend (Tikay recommended this site, ahem).  Thanks again.

I know this could easily become a bad beat story but I would like to know if you would have called this.  I had been bullying the table, mostly with good hands but sometimes in late position with junk.

Under the gun with  .  Blinds at 200/400.  I am tournament chip leader with 15000.  I raise to 1200.  Folds around to cutoff (3rd biggest stack) who goes all in (11000).  While this is an enormous % of my stack I think that he is just playing sherriff.  I go all in.  He turns over  and the cards come down  .

My main question is would you lay down queens even if you thought you were ahead if it was such a large portion of your chips?