Archive pick: Garbage hand on the final table bubble – PokerStars Sunday Million

DailyHandQuiz

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 quiz is from our archives and originally ran on 12-17-07. Click here to view the original quiz, poll results and comments

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?

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7 COMMENTS (Jump to comment form)

DHQ Staff

What we said then: If you had some more chips to threaten the BB with, this would probably be a pretty easy shove. As it stands, however, you can only make him call 1.7 more to win 2.5 total, so you’re going to be offering him about 1.5-1. He knows that you’re probably making this shove with just about any two cards, so with a decent price and that knowledge, he’s likely to be calling with a pretty broad range. I’d estimate that you’ll generally be getting called about 35% of the time here.

The good news is that you have live cards against a good chunk of that range, and he’s got enough shorter stacks at this table alone that he might be able to see folding to the final table as a possibility and tighten up his range accordingly. The fact that he might fold a little more often than he should in this position combined with the aggression of your table, which means you might not get another chance to open until you’re UTG, makes me want to go ahead and make a play with this hand, garbage or no.

What actually happened: In the actual hand, zoioo had J2o and shoved. Rover10 called with KJo and won the pot.

[Reply]

5types

Fold 92o. Fold J2o. Have 5 more hands to shove an ace broadways or at least suited low cards.

Its never right to let yourself get blinded out of a tournament but generally speaking people make last ditch attempts with substandard cards too early. They could easily fold and wait for a better hand.

Coming from short-stack last place, even down to less than 2BB to win is not impossible or unusal.

[Reply]

drhoho

I remember voting fold first time the quiz was posted, so I voted raise this time, as I think it is so close that I have to mix it up.

If there were no antes I would fold every time though.

[Reply]

_CityBorn_

Im with hoho…voted fold first time, raise this time. Its a gut decision. If you think your opponent, who is “relatively quiet” is likely to fold, you have to take your chances here. Picking up the blinds and antes does you a world of good. Like staff said, even if you get called youre in decent shape against most of his calling range, unless you get unlucky and hes got a pair.

[Reply]

OnlinePokerIncome.com

this question was from like two weeks ago

[Reply]

Keith Harris

I’m with 5types on this one. Theres going to be a few hands coming along where even at random pull, one of those cards will have an Ace or King. maybe even suited or connected. but to risk you tournament life on garbage and a prayer. Anyone in the BB who’s at least a decent player will see through it and the ones who aren’t decent are probably crazy LAGS anyway that will hear the word gamble in their head and shove all in. Wait for a better spot instead of making your move with a hand that even at random draw by the BB will probably be beat.

[Reply]

IronFrog

Got to play to win. I’m jamming with any two cards because I’m not hanging around to climb the cash ladder bit by bit. I want to quickly gain a big stack and start playing poker. If getting lucky is what I have to do than so be it. I’m not putting in antes waiting for a good hands in the next 4.

[Reply]