Big cards against a short stacks raise, PokerStars Sunday Million

Game type: Poker Stars Sunday Million
Your image: Fairly tight, altho you just lost a big hand
Stage of tourney: 34 of 10,000+ players remain
Avg stack: About 3.2m
Misc notes:
Your hand: K♣Q♥

This hand is taken from actual game play in the Stars Sunday Million on 5-20. The tournament has 250k added and first was worth ~229k. This hand took place between dud711 in seat B and icecoldRivA in seat C

The Setup: There are 4 tables left in the Sunday Million, and your stack is about half average. You just lost a big hand when your AK didn’t hold up against 99, but other than that you’ve played pretty tight.

The money jumps another 1k at 28.

UTG folds and then Player B pushes all in. What’s your play with KQo? Would your answer change if you held 77?

10 COMMENTS (Jump to comment form)

Jeremy Fisher

I’m one of the very few that voted to raise here. In any case, it clearly is a push or fold situation.

But the raise is clearly superior. I know that this guy, with such a short stack and about to go through the blinds, has an extremely wide range to push with. Basically, the staff has the same reasoning that I did.

I’m not at all surprised to see that villain pushed with K8. I’m laughing all the way to the bank when I turn over my KQ and see that I have him dominated.

That said, I feel for this guy, taking two awful beats to get knocked out of the tourney.

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Jeremy Fisher

For the record I make the same move with 77, though a little more hesitantly.

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juggernaut7

I agree with the staff’s reasoning. I’d push with KQ, for the all the above stated reasons, but not with 77. Here’s why: A player running out to blinds will push with a wide variety but you have to assume at least one face card and a kicker better than 7. At least that’s how I play. He’s got to be pushing with J7-A7. That’s a pretty good range to put him on. You are getting a good value for the 7s but not worth it at this point in the tourney. Also having 5 people acting behind you, your 77s are no good to any bigger pp or probably not good odds against two face cards.

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NineLions

I push. If I’m reading the amounts correctly player B has an M of around 2 and will be eaten by the blinds soon.

My concern would be the fact that he’s chosen to do so now, when the blinds are big stacks and he has one more hand to wait, so his range may be slightly better than “any 2 cards”, but I think KQo is still ahead of his range. I push to isolate and keep weaker hands from the bigger stacks out.

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NineLions

Oh, and I’m more likely to push 77.

Against a random hand heads up 77 is good 66% of the time whereas KSo is 61%. I haven’t run a range against these two hands, but I also think juggernaut’s range is a little tight given the villain’s stack size.

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Valelrie

7 players and one of them is all in…..I would fold. To me its a bad position. Still 5 players left and they could have any card in the deck, including pocket rockets.
hugs, valerie

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Mary

I fold to an early raiser with 5 more to act behind me, almost in every instance. With 77 – I fold here in these circumstances. I would move in if I were later and if I would be moving in. I am not putting my tournament on the line CALLING with a middle pair. (I am thinking that I would have to go all-in with the 77, a call would make the odds to attractive to those to follow and then my 77 would certainly be no good multi-way.)

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Zot95

Sorry, but I fold here. I know you have to look to move up here, but this just doesn’t look like a good spot. First off, I figure that the villain could push here with any pair or any ace… and you’d be the dog. That’s quite a few hands, relative to his range. But with better position, I’d play no question… and that’s the second point. There are 5 players to act to rain on your parade. I know that we need to look to move up here… but this just seems like too much of a gamble, compared to my chips and the blinds.

Agree on 1 point though – calling is off the table. Fold or push.

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Ally

All points are well thought out here and there is an argument for either choice (push/fold).

I fold.

Again, there’s no question that we’re ahead of the range of the UTG shove. But everyone at the table realizes the situation here. And, your isolation move here doesn’t necessarily have to be looked at as having incredible strength. Of course, it is going to take a very strong hand to call you, but with 5 players behind, that’s just not a risk I want to take. Sure, holding KQ makes KK or QQ less likely, but you could still get called by three hands that have you crushed; AA/AK/AQ.

If you were in later position, this is an instashove. But, being second in, with five behind I fold.

In addition to the risk of someone waking up with a huge hand behind you, with the huge range of the shover, it’s unlikely that you have that player dominated anyway and in fact, you could be behind (or dominated by the pusher).

I just fold here and look for a better spot. But, I will agree that picking off these desperation moves with any kind of a hand can be a great way to add to your stack late in a tourney…

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Drooo82

I’m Folding here, I like pushing rather than calling and our hand is not that great it just KQ and it is not even suited.

We have lot of spots to steal. Play tight and fold, and steal at a good spot.

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