Middle pair on the flop, final table of the Sunday Million

Game type: Final table of the PokerStars Sunday Million
Your image: Fairly tight
Stage of tourney: Final table
Avg stack: About 11 million
Misc notes: You just folded last hand to a preflop re-raise from your opponent
Your hand: A♣J♦

This hand is taken from game play at the final table of the Poker Stars Million on 3/11/07

The Setup: You’ve finally gotten to the final table, outlasting over 10,500 opponents. The payouts in this tournament are pretty huge:

1st: 271k, 2nd: 133k, 3rd: 92k, 4th: 68k, 5th: 53k, 6th: 36k, 7th: 25k, 8th: 17k, 9th: 12k

You hold AJ in the BB. Last hand, you raised under the gun and the player immediately to your left re-raised you. You folded. Now he raises to 4x the BB and the table folds to you. You elect to call, and the flop comes:

J♠8♥Q♣

It’s your action. There’s over 5 million in the middle. What’s your play?

6 COMMENTS (Jump to comment form)

drhoho

I voted check-raise. If you push, I can only imagine a better hand would call, whilst any hand would make a continuationbet. As I agree that you cant get away from the hand, migth as well try to get an inferior hand with you. The actual action, totally underbetting the hand, seems strange to me. Though, it served the same purpose, making the opponent raise.

[Reply]

Sam

pot = your stack + middle pair, sounds like an all in for me. If he has a Q, so be it, otherwise, it’s very likely you’re ahead

[Reply]

DHQ Addict

you barely had more than ten BB to start the hand and you are commitedd here. The only question is how to get the money into you stack. Push.

PS can we add some commas to the stack sizes when they get this big. I tend to miscount the stacks when the number of digits gets large like above. Thanks.

[Reply]

tsifreak

I voted check for a check raise opportunity. You can push as well since he raised preflop as big as he did. You need to stop and think here. If you check and he goes all in yes you call and if you check and he bets and you reraise and then he goes all in you call.
From the start of the hand the player with the pocket 9s made his mind this was the hand to put all his money in the pot weather his card hit or not.

[Reply]

Mary

Sam and DSQ have it summed up, I agree about the commas. Only note I would make is I push because I am not counting on someone else to bet my hand, and I am not letting my middle pair get beat by a free card. Push, if he’s got a queen, so be it.

[Reply]

andrew

Hah I mainly answered all in cuz I was watching and caught this hand.That dude was playing really loose with the 99 the whole time tho.I saw it coming too.

[Reply]

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