This is a great forum. Thanks to everyone for a great read.

I am a beginner at NL Hold'em. For the last few months, I have been playing online as practice for weekend games with friends and family. Our typical weekend game is a winner takes all $5 to $20NL. I have read one of Phil Helmuth's books, countless online articles and FTR posts, and practiced online enough to win a majority of our weekend games. Even so, I feel that I have and overwhelming amount to learn about the game.

The scenario:

Last night I was practicing in a 150 player online tournament, and made it to final table of 9 players. As the BB I was dealt pocket Tens. Pre flop, everyone folded except the Button (a strong player) who limped in. I considered raising with my pocket tens, but did not like my position or relative stack size, so I decided against it.

The flop came down AA7 rainbow. I checked, and then the Button overbet the pot. Now the wheels start turning in my head

...does he have an A?...why is he overbetting?... is he trying to trap me by making it look like a bluff?...should I raise him or fold?...whatever you don't call this bet.....

The Outcome:

I decided that risking my tournament life wasn't worth it, so I folded. I complimented him on this bet and told him that he made me fold pocket Tens. He then admitted that he had a 7. I guess one thing I missed in my reasoning was ..is he protecting his hand? Ironically, I finished 7th place in the tournament.

The Questions:

1) Did I make a mistake by not raising pre-flop?
2) Did I make a mistake by checking on the flop?
3) Did I make a good fold or a weak one?


I really appreciate any comments. I can't get this hand out of my mind.