Top two facing a bet and a raise, no limit tournament

Today’s quiz courtesy of: Don’t play poker at Full Tilt without a Full Tilt Rakeback plan.

Game type: Full Tilt Deep Stack Tournament
Stage of tourney: Just before first break
Your hand: J♠9♦

Just before the first break of the FT deep stack tournament. You limp in middle position with J9o. The blinds call and the flop hits hard:

J♦9♣2♥

The blinds check, you bet $40 and they both call. The turn is:

8♣

Now the SB leads out for $140 and the BB raises to $355. What’s your play with top two?

10 COMMENTS (Jump to comment form)

Jeremy Fisher

Thought for a while about this one. Decided to go with what ended up being the majority (so far) and the DHQ opinion: lay it down.
I think the first mistake here is not betting enough on the flop. We bet only $40 into a $120 pot – 1/3 pot is NOT enough on a strong but vulnerable hand like top two. In the same situation I’m betting $90-100, to bet opponents off draws. 1/3 pot bets really just invites them to call – and hit, like it certainly appears at least one of them has.

The 8, along with a Q or maybe a 10, is one of the cards we’d least like to see on the turn. Wouldn’t at all be surprised to see one flip over Q10 for the straight – and here I just don’t like top two enough, over a lead and then a raise.

A call is certainly the worst here – you gotta go way over the top or let it go. Personally, I don’t like what I see quite enough to jam here, which really is my only other reasonable option. Cut your losses and get out.

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John B.

One raise, I’d call. Two, I’m folding here. Either trips or a straight or BOTH. No way am I chasing a four-outer.

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Philes

I’m folding, and not even thinking about it. When the other guy says “Ive got it” and the next guy says “no, IVE GOT IT”, there’s nothing left for me to say, with a two pair hand.

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Gsxraddict

It depends on the tournament buy in, in a small buying I’d call, it was was a tournament with a lot of very good players I’d consider folding.

In a $10 tournament your going to have a hard time getting some donk to lay down KJ or AJ.

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there is at least a set out there, and very likely someone made a straight.. easy fold i say

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bluesbread

OK, I’m not sure about this one but here’s an argument in favor of calling: you have a 20 percent (I think) chance of making a full house. If you hit it, and at least one of them has a straight (or maybe flush after next card), the implied odds are great. It’s not a huge portion of our stack to call here.

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bluesbread, we already know the turn didn’t help. you’ve got four cards max to make a full house with, and one card to come. i don’t think you can make 25% out of those ingredients.

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or even 20%. More like about 9%.

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bluesbread

OK, true, only one card to come, odds to hit the boat only about 9 percent. Still, if you do hit it, you’re likely to break at least one of your opponents. And it won’t break you to call.

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Greg M

If you call here the SB could re-pop it and then what do you do? Top two is WEAK on this board. Biggest mistake here is not betting enough on the flop. 1/3 pot is not pricing people out or getting you any info by their calls.

Yes, this is online, yes, they could be donkeys. More often than not you are slaughtered here.

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