Tony G vs KJ

months ago I saw on tv Tony G in a last table tournament sayng to a russian semi-pro opponent "You did not read my book .... never go all-in with KJ", that time Tony won the coin flip and went ahead in tournament. What do you think about? Never all-in with kj in a last table tournament?

It depends on the number of people left and hip stacks. If its ten handed and you're not short stacked, there are usually going to be better spots. If it's heads up, then all in with KJ is an option depending on the players. There are situations for and against, there should never be any set rule about going all or never going all in with a hand.

Like always, "it depends".

Just like above, there's only one answer - it depends. Reads, stack sizes and tournament stage all play a major part.

As far as this specific hand goes though, I'd take it as 10% serious poker advice, and 90% Tony G getting under someone's skin after they've just felt his powah.

If you have 5 big blinds left KJ is a great hand for you to go all in with. It's proven tournament theory (don't believe me, just read the Harrington Series) regarding M-play (your stack relative to the blinds) and what you should be shoving with.

It kills me when I see people in tournaments criticize players and simply expose their own ignorance.

allow me to shed some light on this issue - it depends.

This is always hilarious, I got called a donk recently for pushing with A3 when it was folded to me in the CO, 5 handed with the blinds totalling like a third of my stack, previous hand i'd lost a big pot b/c of a bad read, I push, guy calls with KQ or something and i flop an ace, the guy would not shut up about how 'bad' that play was, just advertised his lack of understanding about the game.

Hi,

Yup, without knowing the emperical details, nothing wrong with pushing with A3 in that situation I reckon - especially if you're first in. I'd be more cautios if second in but still not unreasonable.

As always with Poker, it's a brave man/woman who uses the word 'never'. Lets face it, Mr G is certainly brave, and quite vocal with it. But I think you have to respect his play. I probably think Mr G was having a bit of a dig more than anything else. It's his style to wind people up. Even those who aren't in the hand.... and it looks like it works for him too! I like to watch him play actually. I might read his book actually come to think of it.

Just as a bit of an aside here, on the subject of poker books. I've read several - the usual suspects Harrington etc. You have to note that these players have totally different styles of play and that confuses a lot of players. It did with me, I found that I was trying techniques that were actually either inappropriate at micro level of would combine Negreanus small ball play with Harringtons tight aggressive play in the same game.
I suggest you adopt a play for that suits your style. If you are tight, use Harringtons etc. Also, which I find is quite important and overlooked, a lot of players use these strategies at micro levels. Your squeeze play simply wont work at these levels. They are aimed at a higher level.
If you want to do it from scratch, i.e. build your bankroll from $10 etc you could start by a video tuition site like GrinderSchool. They have a micro level section that would improve your game x10 in a month. I found that other sites don't cater as well. There are others as well I'm sure, but I found that with GrinderSchool you can join just the micro section for about $10 month without a initial joining fee.

The problem in general with KJ is that its a domination prone 'rooky' hand as Mr Negreanu likes to put it. Now I CERTIANLY respect Mr N's play - period! The hands that usually show resistance to this hand are usually hands that beat it. I have to say from my experience that's 100% right.

But everything depends on a scatterd jigsaw of pieces of information like position, past play, opponents, table aggression, chips stacks, blah blah blah... you know the rest.

All I would say about this hand is use it with caution and in more importantly in my opinion with good position. You have to have a strong hand to go all in with it, not with something like 1 pair. But if you're desperate, like on a major short stack, but with a lot of money in the pot, yeah push. Why not if the situation dictates it? Remember there are times in poker when you are supposed to push with ANY two cards if the conditions are right - this obviously not being one of then lol. If you pop KJo into Poker Stove against a player with a vpip of 21% - which is optimum for a 10 seater tourney I believe, you're 45% - a slight dog. Now that's a relatively tight range to compare to so there is value with the hand. I think the key thing to take into consideration is that an allin call would be the type of hands that dominate you so use it with extreme caution - and try not to pot commit yourself with it.

Hope that made some sense and maybe helps.
Paul