Advice on two hands. Please?

These two hands played out in a tournament I played yesterday and I'd appreciate comments/advice on my play, and, how can I avoid these in the future.

The tournament is a $1.10 45-player SNG Sat to the Sunday 100K. By this stage we were down to 12 players and I had a commanding chip lead (16K, 2nd had about 9K) and could have cruised to the money.
The players all seemed to be fairly good (I've not been playing for very long )

In the first hand it folded to the blinds and I played with a view to let the SB see the flop then try to make him pay if I hit something.


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t200 (6 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver (Format: Plain Text)

CO (t7740)
Button (t2845)
SB (Villian) (t4870)
Hero (t16848)
UTG (t6742)
MP (t2115)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Jc, 9s.
2 folds, CO calls t200, 1 fold, SB (Villian) completes, Hero checks.

Flop: (t625) 9c, 8s, 8c (3 players)
Villian checks, Hero bets t500, CO folds, Villian raises to t1000, Hero raises to t4500, Villian raises to t4645, Hero calls t145.

Turn: (t9915) 3s (2 players)
River: (t9915) Ac (2 players)

Final Pot: t9915

Results in white below:
Villian has 8h 5d (three of a kind, eights).
Hero has Jc 9s (two pair, nines and eights).
Outcome: Villian wins t9915.


In the second hand I checked the BB and, again, tried to make him pay.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t400 (6 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver (Format: Plain Text)

CO (t7340)
Button (t2345)
SB (Villian) (t11115)
Hero (t12403)
UTG (t6292)
MP (t1665)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 6h, 3c.
4 folds, SB (Villian) completes, Hero checks.

Flop: (t725) 5h, 3h, 3s (2 players)
Villian checks, Hero bets t400, Villian raises to t1200, Hero raises to t4000, Villian raises to t10690, Hero calls t6690.

Turn: (t22105) 9h (2 players)
River: (t22105) 4s (2 players)

Final Pot: t22105

Results in white below:
Villian has Jc 3d (three of a kind, threes).
Hero has 6h 3c (three of a kind, threes).
Outcome: Villian wins t22105.


I finished the tournament in 12th place in the very next hand, partly because I'd totally lost interest in that particular tournament.

Hand1: Your raise on the flop was OK, once you were reraised I would call, if he fires again on the turn I fold this, your hand is not that great, since he limped from the SB he could have x9 with the x outkicking you, or an 8, you have a nice chip lead and I would not risk it in this spot.

Hand2: You played it fine, he could pull this with A5, higher PP etc.., it is just bad luck you ran into trips with a better kicker

Originally Posted by SweetP

I finished the tournament in 12th place in the very next hand, partly because I'd totally lost interest in that particular tournament.

This is by far the part you should be most concerned about in your post, this is a leak that will cost you money in the long run

I have personally came back from much worse and have seen people come back from much worse a lot of times, being able to handle a beat without letting it affect your game is a skill that you should master if you plan to have any success as a poker player

I agree with TLR that you should bet/call on the flop and see what he does on the turn. You will be looking for a cheap showdown at that point.

Welcome to FTR!

Once you give up and lose interest you will lose the tourney. I have seen several villains come back (including one just last night) from 150 chips to winning the tournament. The game isn't over until it's over. Personnally, I have lost interest several times (even when being the chip leader on the bubble!) and then proceeded to lose. Lesson learned...

Thanks TLR.

Thinking about the 1st hand. Could I have raised pre-flop, with J9o, to try and get a read of some sort? Or would that just be throwing away good chips?

I try not to let one hand put me off, chip and chair 'n all.

On the last hand I pushed with JTo, 1x limper, hoping to steal. The limper called with KJo and I was out-kicked again in a pot that didn't help either of us.

Originally Posted by SweetP

Thanks TLR.

Thinking about the 1st hand. Could I have raised pre-flop, with J9o, to try and get a read of some sort? Or would that just be throwing away good chips?

I try not to let one hand put me off, chip and chair 'n all.

On the last hand I pushed with JTo, 1x limper, hoping to steal. The limper called with KJo and I was out-kicked again in a pot that didn't help either of us.

Given your stack you can raise hand 1 playing big stack poker, but if you raise make it 1000 at least, so it will be hard for the shorter stacks to call, if someone reraises you get out.
If you raise it is not in order to get any read (the only real read you will get is if you are reraised ) but in order to take the pot preflop.
Decided whether to raise or call is very read dependant here

BTW welcome to FTR, I missed the fact it was your first post

Thank you all for the welcome and giving me the benefit of your experience. It's much appreciated.

Never go broke in unraised pots.

Originally Posted by Trainer_jyms

Never go broke in unraised pots.

I'm not sure I fully understand this? I think you are saying that his check after the flop could very easily be a trap and is one of the clues I could have used to fold the hand instead of re-raising him.

Originally Posted by SweetP

Originally Posted by Trainer_jyms

Never go broke in unraised pots.

I'm not sure I fully understand this? I think you are saying that his check after the flop could very easily be a trap and is one of the clues I could have used to fold the hand instead of re-raising him.

When the pot is unraised preflop the opponents (especially the blinds) can have a very wide range of hands, so it is much harder to put someone on a hand or a range of hands.

The first hand is bad because when you are re-raised, he's either bluffing or has your hand - top pair weak kicker on a paired board - beat. Very occasionally he could have a hand like 97 here but by and large, any raise means you're toast. Personally I would either call and check/fold the turn, or even fold the flop - this is weak but I really don't want to be facing an aggressive player with such a weak hand on a dangerous board.

The first hand is bad because when you are re-raised, he's either bluffing or has your hand - top pair weak kicker on a paired board - beat. Very occasionally he could have a hand like 97 here but by and large, any raise means you're toast. Personally I would either call and check/fold the turn, or even fold the flop - this is weak but I really don't want to be facing an aggressive player with such a weak hand on a dangerous board.

Second hand is fine, and plays itself. It's dangerous but you have hidden trips - I think it's fine to go all in with this.