Your Tourney Life On A Flush Draw

[snoopy1239]

Mateygirl =

Mateyboy =

River =

I've been highly intrigued by some of the responses on this thread, and whilst I understand the idea of pot odds, I think they are somewhat skewed in tournament play and believe too many factors exist in order to apply a simple mathematical equation to the decision. Of course, winning the pot will give you a nice stack, but that's no guarantee that you'll turn a profit, whilst if you lose the hand, you are guaranteed to be out of the tournament. Other variants include your ability to play a large/short stack, the standard of play at your table and the amount of chips you'll actually be left with if you lose, which, in this situation, was still highly playable with the blinds so short. It won't be a factor to the seasoned pro, but even my existence in the tournament in terms of (1) enjoying myself and (2) gaining experience both admittedly played a small part.

However, the most important factor is not just that I don't want to put my chips in as a severe underdog, but that I might be playing to two Nines, of which could still be re-outdrawn if I were to make it on the Turn. At the time, I didn't believe either player had the flush draw, but considering the pre-flop action and my inability to see their hole cards, this hand remained a definite possibility and one that I needn't to be aware of. What I think Longy's calculations fail to acknowledge is the likelihood of such a holding. It's okay lining up all the possible hands and calculating your percentage, but you need to be aware that some of those possibilities are more likely than others.

I'm still not sure if the decision to fold was a correct one, but this was my thought process nonetheless.

[MKKfish]

Mateyboy's got the wrong cards... 

[NoflopsHomer]

Mateygirl =

Mateyboy =

River =

I've been highly intrigued by some of the responses on this thread, and whilst I understand the idea of pot odds, I think they are somewhat skewed in tournament play and believe too many factors exist in order to apply a simple mathematical equation to the decision. Of course, winning the pot will give you a nice stack, but that's no guarantee that you'll turn a profit, whilst if you lose the hand, you are guaranteed to be out of the tournament. Other variants include your ability to play a large/short stack, the standard of play at your table and the amount of chips you'll actually be left with if you lose, which, in this situation, was still highly playable with the blinds so short. It won't be a factor to the seasoned pro, but even my existence in the tournament in terms of (1) enjoying myself and (2) gaining experience both admittedly played a small part.

However, the most important factor is not just that I don't want to put my chips in as a severe underdog, but that I might be playing to two Nines, of which could still be re-outdrawn if I were to make it on the Turn. At the time, I didn't believe either player had the flush draw, but considering the pre-flop action and my inability to see their hole cards, this hand remained a definite possibility and one that I needn't to be aware of. What I think Longy's calculations fail to acknowledge is the likelihood of such a holding. It's okay lining up all the possible hands and calculating your percentage, but you need to be aware that some of those possibilities are more likely than others.

I'm still not sure if the decision to fold was a correct one, but this was my thought process nonetheless.

Snoops, had you thought about c/raising all-in on the flop?

[snoopy1239]

Mateygirl =

Mateyboy =

River =

I've been highly intrigued by some of the responses on this thread, and whilst I understand the idea of pot odds, I think they are somewhat skewed in tournament play and believe too many factors exist in order to apply a simple mathematical equation to the decision. Of course, winning the pot will give you a nice stack, but that's no guarantee that you'll turn a profit, whilst if you lose the hand, you are guaranteed to be out of the tournament. Other variants include your ability to play a large/short stack, the standard of play at your table and the amount of chips you'll actually be left with if you lose, which, in this situation, was still highly playable with the blinds so short. It won't be a factor to the seasoned pro, but even my existence in the tournament in terms of (1) enjoying myself and (2) gaining experience both admittedly played a small part.

However, the most important factor is not just that I don't want to put my chips in as a severe underdog, but that I might be playing to two Nines, of which could still be re-outdrawn if I were to make it on the Turn. At the time, I didn't believe either player had the flush draw, but considering the pre-flop action and my inability to see their hole cards, this hand remained a definite possibility and one that I needn't to be aware of. What I think Longy's calculations fail to acknowledge is the likelihood of such a holding. It's okay lining up all the possible hands and calculating your percentage, but you need to be aware that some of those possibilities are more likely than others.

I'm still not sure if the decision to fold was a correct one, but this was my thought process nonetheless.

Snoops, had you thought about c/raising all-in on the flop?

Yes, but I didn't think they'd fold to a check-raise unless they were bluffing, which I only thought Mateyboy was capable of doing. I'd rather check-fold if I am indeed checking rather than get it in as a 2-1 dog, especially against just one player. If they are weak and checking, then I might as well take it there and then, which I was happy to do.

Rightly or wrongly, I did consider check-calling though.