Garbage hand on the final table bubble - PokerStars Sunday Million

Game type: NLHE tournament, PokerStars Sunday Million
Stage of tourney: 11 remain
Avg stack: ~6 million
Your image: Nursing the short stack
Opponent’s image: Relatively quiet
Your hand: 9♠2♥
This hand is based on actual game play in the PokerStars Sunday Million on 12/16/07
The setup: You’re near the final table bubble of the Poker Stars Sunday Million when the following hand comes up. Your table has been very aggressive preflop and neither you or the BB have had many chances to open hands, so it catches you a bit off guard when the table folds to you in the SB.
You have a pretty trash hand and a tiny stack. 11th and 10th pay the same, roughly $5,700, but the money jumps about $2,300 from 10th to 9th.
What’s your play with 92o?
12.17.07 / 5am
I’m folding. I’m on the Sb. I’ve got four more chances to get a better hand that 92 to get my money in with.
12.17.07 / 5am
folllllllllllllld!
12.17.07 / 5am
If the table had been quiet, I would fold and find a better hand to shove.
But given that this is the only chance I get to open for a long time, I shove any two here.
12.17.07 / 9am
I’ve found that folding here usually pays you with a better hand soon after. You have several chances coming for a better hand, why not wait. BTW J2o might be a shove but not 92o.
12.17.07 / 9am
This definitely may be a spot to push ATC, especially due to the aggressiveness of the table. If the table were more passive and we had a good chance to open from LP, then that would of course be preferable, but I don’t forsee us having that chance here.
We have an M of 3 in the SB, and enough chips to put the BB on a shortish stack (he would have an M of 4) if he calls and loses. He is getting 1.6:1, or a bit better than 3:2, so I would expect to see 22+, A2+, KJ+ and QJs (top 25% or so) as a likely range. With that said, we still have 1/3 of our stack in the middle already, we have some fold equity against the BB, and our time is dwindling quickly. I shove here, for sure.
12.17.07 / 9am
hoi
12.17.07 / 11am
I fold and it’s not really that close.
We don’t have a lot of fold equity and if we’re called, we’re definitely a dog.
If we had our villain covered, I like the shove a whole lot more.
But, in this case, we can fold and look for a better spot. Sure, we may not find another opportunity to open the betting, and we’ll have very little fold equity, but I’d be much more willing to gamble with two broadway, a medium ace, or any pair facing a raise than I would here with 92o.
Plus, this is not really the time to gamble. We’re on the FT bubble which means that we’re just a short time away from doubling, tripling, or taking home 100X what we’ve earned so far. Plus, because of the aggressive nature of the ft bubble, if we can get any kind of hand, we’re sure to get action. Sure, we may still lose, but I want to take my shot at the title with my money going in as a favorite or at least in a coin flip.
Also, one other consideration is that we do still have an M of 3 after going through the blinds and there are other shortstacks at the table as well. While our fold equity gets smaller with each hand, we also can’t expect to be called down lightly by many of these guys if we shove. And, since the entire table is pretty much in push/fold mode, it probably won’t take long to knock out one or two of these guys and double your money.
I’m not advocating folding your way to 1st place (it technically cannot be done), but folding your way to FT money isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sure, at some point, you’re going to have to throw your chips in and gamble a little if you want to win this thing, but I don’t like this spot. Our villain can take a hit to his stack, knows you’d push a wide range, and knows that he himself must gamble a little to accumulate chips.
Anyway, just don’t like the spot. I guess I’m pushing any ace, maybe any king, any two broadway, any pair, and any mid/high suited connectors or 1-gappers.
12.17.07 / 11am
Is it just me or is something wrong with this site? How come the staff comments and the voting %’s don’t show anymore? They didn’t last Friday or today, but reading the comments, it seems they are showing for other people. Is that wierd or just my computer?
By the way, I voted shove. Yes, I agree with many of Ally’s points, but I just don’t think it outweighs the fact that I am very likely not getting a chance to open again here, so this is the time…even it might look that way to my opponent.
12.17.07 / 11am
Guys, you have 92o -.-
Ok ok…the table was quiet, bla bla bla…
But with all that, you continue hav 92o
12.17.07 / 12pm
I disagree that our stack is “tiny” being as there are two large stacks at the table and the other four are all about the same. That This is not the time to panic and start shoving - not if you care about money, like about $2300 worth.
You have roughly the same chance as the other three non-large stacks at the table of surviving the bubble if you fold. If you shove with garbage here those chances go down considerably. You just paid the blinds. You can find a better spot to shove.
The fact that so many people think this is a panic-shove situation means those other non-large stacks are probably thinking it as well. Give them a chance to go first in the next orbit - you might even move up a level without having to do anything.
12.17.07 / 12pm
i gotta go with ally on this, who wrote many logical things.
the only two arguments for shoving is that suddenly you have a chance to open and the BB does not have a big stack himself.
lets be serious though… its 92 (or maybe j2, thats not clear).
plus, that 300k BB is hitting the 2M stack as soon as I fold, and one more hand after that it hits the other guy with 1.9. So actually, there are two smaller stacks at this table.
some call this any two cards, but I think any OTHER two cards.
12.17.07 / 12pm
Cry about your lost chips and fold. I understand the argument for shoving at an unopened pot when the table is in low M mode, but, you come through the blinds with a stack large enough to do some serious damage to your opponents, and an entire orbit of 6-handedness to shove with high-suited connectors, a med pair, or A-x. If you’re called here, you’re probably done. You’re essentially brining one card to war here, and it’s not a very good one.
12.17.07 / 1pm
i think shoving here is the correct play given that youre only up against the big blind.. he would be risking nearly half his stack so he would have to have a decent hand or hes folding.. given the situation, moving in is the best poker move but it leaves you feeling terrible when you get called.. personally, every time i do this it seems like i get called and im way behind and lose so i would probably be inclined to fold the hand and try to pick a real hand up which is probably bad play in itself - guess im not ballsy enough to push with 92o so close to the final table
12.17.07 / 1pm
oh and that was my comment above!
i think shoving here is the correct play given that youre only up against the big blind.. he would be risking nearly half his stack so he would have to have a decent hand or hes folding.. given the situation, moving in is the best poker move but it leaves you feeling terrible when you get called.. personally, every time i do this it seems like i get called and im way behind and lose so i would probably be inclined to fold the hand and try to pick a real hand up which is probably bad play in itself - guess im not ballsy enough to push with 92o so close to the final table
12.17.07 / 3pm
I fold. And for what it’s worth, I am usually very inclined to open shove in low M situations. And I’ll do it with a Uno Draw Two card and Ruben Sierra’s rookie card - I don’t care. But there are a few reasons why I pass here:
1) The current UTG will be the BB next hand. He will actually have less chips than you have in that hand, and will be under more pressure to make a move (as well as SB the next hand).
2) Player C will soon hit the blinds, and is short stacked as well. He will be inclined to open shove before he hits the blinds.
3) Same, to a lesser extent, for Player D.
4) Good freaking luck if you get called holding 92o.
5) You may have more time than you think… what if this table breaks, between the short stacks here, and who knows what on the other table?
If there’s just one other short stack, I go. If I have something mediocre (like Q8) I go. If it’s not a pronounced bubble situation, I go. But for me, there are just too many reasons to ride this out.
12.17.07 / 5pm
I could get tricky here but I am not. This is an easy fold, Ii would shove with J2o like in staff example but 92o isn’t leaving any plan B. What did I get with 60k more in the CO and Button that was so much worse than 92o that makes this a shove. As BB I would call this down with a huge range 44++ and J9S++
12.18.07 / 1am
It seems the ‘what actually happened’ once again influences a lot of the commentators.
You’re certainly going to get a better hand before you’re dead, but people are not going to fold anymore because you have no more fold equity. And you should know that getting called by a slightly worse hand on the bubble is -$EV while getting people to fold is +$EV (check out ICM).
I think the BB will still fold a huge number of better hands because he’s got a pretty healthy stack and calling and losing might make him unable to survive the bubble.
If you were truly on the bubble or 1 away you might fold your way into the money, but this is the perfect spot to give yourself a chance to actually survive the bubble.
12.18.07 / 4pm
WHy am I not able to see the staff comments and results of the voting?
12.19.07 / 5pm
BTW the flop was 992
12.21.07 / 7am
I’m all in.
BB needs a big hand to play here because calling and losing will make him a short stack.
1.7.08 / 4pm
Funny out of every response i read, that not one person mentioned, probably didnt even notice, that when given the facts you where told that your opponents image was relativly quiet. That would lead me to believe he is fairly passive and would fold his bb far more than he possibly should if you pushed here. This is my deciding factor and just that piece of information would make me lean towards moving in rather than folding. I feel he will only call 25 % of the time if you state his image as being relativly QUIET.

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12.17.07 / 2am
Staff summed it up nicely. You have to shove here with any two because it’s probably the last chance to shove and still have a bit of fold equity.