$Freeroll NLHE MTT: AKo call?+J9o top pair+straight draw

Hello. My HM2 is lagging a lot lately so I'll try to explain it in words. Stack sizes and suits might be a little bit off.
1st hand: FT, 9max.I was 3rd at that moment with 45k. Chipleader with 65k and 2nd guy had around 50k. Two 5big blind stacks and other's had around 10bb.
I'm with on UTG+2(45k) opened up to 4,4k, MP(50k) after me calls and BB(65k) squeezes to 20k. Is this a shove with basically no fold equity + 2 extra short-stacks left? It is a no brainer shove for me on other stages but not sure about this situation.

FT of the freeroll. 5max. Blinds are 1250/2500. Two guys with 9-11bb, SB with around 80-90k, me with 65k and the 5th guy who's even or has a little bit more than me.
Everyone folds to SB who opens around 2,5x, I call with Pot is 13000
Flop comes:
SB bets 10k, I call. Pot is 33000.
Turn is a break like and he overbet shoves and decision on me with 50k chips left.
SB seems like a TAG player so far but don't have any exact reads on him.
Should we call there? Do we have enough equity to call there and how often he'll be bluffing? Was that call an ICM punt with 2 shorties left behind?

Both are fairly tricky spots, and I dont think either folding or going with our hand is a huge mistake in either of them. In real time I would rely a lot of reads here, mainly if the Villains were very ICM-aware and acting as "chip bullies", in which case these are good situations to stick your foot down and end the madness.

In the first hand with AK, I think, his 3-bet look rather strong. You opened from early position, and a guy called you next to act, and you both did this with several short stacks left to act after you. This makes your actions look rather strong, and yet he came over the top from BB, where he could just have called getting a great price. So I probably lean a little bit towards folding here without reads.

In the second hand he is obviously playing very fast, and I dont think, he would do that with a made straight, since what would he be scared of, to get outdrawn by a boat? I can however see him do this with other made hands, because he is panicking about the connected board and dont want to see a 1-liner to a straight develop.

But you have a ton of outs against most made hands other than a flopped straight, and he could be doing this with 9X as well, which you have completely dominated, since he is then mostly drawing to a chopper. So I probably lean towards calling here, unless he has been playing like a nit, since you sat down together.

On the first hand, it seemed like his 3-bet size was quite large. His range looks like AQo+,JJ+(TT probably just shoves) and very rarely some random bluffs. The main question is: should we risk there with 2 short-stacks behind or better to wait for better spots(but what could be better). I saw some FT replays on YT and people we're getting it in with AKo with more bigger stacks vs a 3-bet. IDK, maybe I'm a just a nit.
I hade the same thoughts about 2nd hand, that it is a volnurable made hand rather than a bluff. Like, who just bets 80% and overbet shoves on the river with a draw risking that much? Maybe some agros will do but not this opponent. So, I was sure that I'm mostly behind but I was thinking: what hands I call if I fold J9 there?

flattershay said:

I hade the same thoughts about 2nd hand, that it is a volnurable made hand rather than a bluff.

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Thats my thinking also, and the hands, he might want to "protect", have us beat. He is not doing this with J7 for instance. So maybe its fine to just forget about balance, go with our read and fold here. I would not hate it.

not sure about the a first hand.

Hand 2. With J9o you are facing a raise from sb (usually i assume they limp and would like you to provide info if he used to limp or raise bvb from sb prior to that), which is usually sign that he has at least a hand that beats atc (any two cards),

On the flop he bets around 80% of the pot, that tells us that he has either a strongish+ piece that connects to the board or overpair (most likely in this scenario).
Against a normal size bet on the flop we almost always want to fast play these sort of hands in the micros. The reason for that is we do not want any overcards or scary turns to come that would kill either our action or our equity against preceived range.

On the turn we have a tricky situation, however considering that it is a freeroll and a final table i think we have to let it go.


(I assume he had 2pair+ or over pair to the board) would be really surprised if he had some sort of a draw