All-in or Raise?

So, I have been playing in a no limit tournament for several Saturdays in a row now, and in the past two I was eliminated just before the money with very similar hands, and I wonder if I should change my stategy or thinking.

I am just hoping for some insight.


Without going into too much detail, I will describe the my last hand this past Saturday.

I was middle of the pack as far as chip count, and was dealt JJ UTG. I raised 4BB, and was called by the Button and small blind. Both had more chips than me. Flop came 4d, 5c, Jd. I matched the pot, button folded, and small blind called. I suspected small blind was on a flush draw (he possibly could have had trips with a 4 or 5, maybe A2, A3, A4 or A5, unlikely 67 or 36 or any other non-ace straight draw, and I doubted he had AK or AQ, and he would have raised pre-flop with QQ, KK, AA, but other pairs were possible).


Turn came 10h. He bet 3BB, a joke. Maybe he was hoping for a cheap look at the river if I called. I don’t know. I was certain he was on a flush draw, and to match the pot it would be half of my remaining chips. My JJJ was obviously the nuts at that point, and I moved All-in. He called and showed Ad,10d. River came 7d, he hit his flush, and I was out. Almost identical scenario ad the weekend before.


Obviously, from a statistical perspective, in the long run, I win. However, I wonder if I my strategy was really correct. If I matched the pot, he would still have poor odds to call (and I would still have chips left if his flush came, though significantly reduced; but I would still alive with a chance for a payout).


I thought, if he misses his flush, I miss out on all those extra chips. Going all in after the turn, in retrospect, seems wrong for a few reasons. All-in at that point could have scared him off right then, and there would not be a river, and no chance for more of his chips (though, now I wish that happened).
If he misses his flush, having only 3/4 of my stack in, versus 100% of my stack is still a great win for me. It would have made me chip leader or close to it. And there is a possibility if an Ace hit, giving him A10, or another 10, giving him trips, that I could have gotten all my chips in anyway.


Any thoughts would be appreciated. And it does not necessarily need to be about approaching the bubble in a tournament. In general, I think I go all-in too loosely after the flop and turn. I miss out on further bets if they fold, and I lose my entire stack when they get lucky.

So if you just call his awful turn bet are you going to fold the river when the flush comes?

I don't think he is getting away form the hand because he sounds like a massive donkey so tough to do anything besides what you did.


Overall it seems fine, just bad luck on the river. You want him to commit all his chips on the turn like he pretty much did.

I think you did well being aggressive with trips to a flush draw. You could have waited to get ITM but from what I understand you want to try to build up your stack on the bubble to increase your chances of winning the whole tournament. Busting out on the bubble is frustrating but min cashing isn't going to do much for you in the long run.

Chip leader does not mean much. As long as you are in the tournament with 30-40 BB you are winning. Chip leaders change very frequently,and I usually see them go down as quick as they come up.

Didn't read whole thing but you played it correct just bad luck. Was this a big tourney which had bankroll changing bubble money or life changing money? If that was the case you could have been more conservative. Just not your tournaments partner...there are many loser tournament and 1 qualitative tournament victory makes up for literally hundreds of lost ones.

You played it correct just your mind is using the future results to criticize past non perfect decisions. Don't be results oriented,you did correct as much as you could. Really depends on how significant the cash was.

try to play only hands that you consider appropriate for all in.. dont pay many flush projects unless it is as .. maybe you should play with a range like, 99, TT, JJ .. if u dont get any of that, then let it go .. and play another tournament. Of course this is just another advice you can take and make a more specific routine. Answering ur question: all-in.

Infelizmente, às vezes quando é uma má sorte no jogo, mas você já disse, a longo prazo, você será mais lucrativo, as perguntas são por causa da memória seletiva, onde as mãos que perdemos com bons cartões causam mais impactos do que outras.

To know if you made the right move is really pretty simple. If he had flipped over his two cards and showed the nut flush draw and said, no matter what you bet I am calling, would you have made the same bet? If so, you made the right decision.
If the answer is no, then the mistake you made was not paying attention to the player earlier on to have a mental image of what this player would do with the nut flush draw that you predicted he would have. had you payed closer attention there is a good chance you would have know this person was a chaser and could have saved yourself a bunch of chips.

I probably would have made the same move.

I can't think of anyway to prevent that.


The only thing I can think of is to check the turn or call any bet your opponent makes before shoving all your chips in.

I would be happy to go out like that. Nothing wrong with your play at any street IMO. Terrible calls by villain

To answer your question: I doubt a shove on the flop would have scared him away. He had less equity on the turn and called anyway. I had a quite similar situation ecently at NL2 CG, holding a set of Jacks, facing a check-raise on the flop and shoving. He called with an OESD and hit the straight on the river. You had 81.82% equity, so your shove was absolutely correct.

I don't think that guy was folding. You did right, nothing wrong. Just not lucky. Now you dont say how much are the stack yours and opponent's. If you are short. villains will have to see the next card cheap.

You did the right move, i probably would of went all in after the flop, you just got unlucky, it happens, part of poker, next time your set will probably hold. You can't fold a set because there is possible flush draw, the flush might not come. I played a big buy in tourny a couple years ago and had QQ, flopped a set but their was a possible flush and str8 flush draw, i managed to get all my money in after the flop and the Q's held, that was a big double up wich helped me make it to get second place in tourny. So you had best hand with the set, no reason not to get it all in, you just was unlucky because villain made a bad call and got rewarded. Don't change your play.

Hi. Usualy you need to watch the player, which has his style of play, whether tight passive, or loose passive. And on the basis of it already decide whether to give a raise or all-in. In my opinion, you did well, but poker is a game not only mental, but also somewhat dependent on fortune. Sorry for my English, I started to learn this language.

Winning coin flips is a necessary part of tournament play....sorry to hear of your misfortune though. Just keep going matey...if you throw enough sht at the wall some of it just GOTTA stick

I know the feeling but you made the right play. Preflop UTG you have to decide whether or not you’re willing to get it all-in because you could have someone shove behind you. There’s no reason to overthink your play on the turn however as it’s the best play to make. You could just call and wait for the flush to hit on the river and then fold? However you would kick yourself thinking he bought the pot or loose all your chips anyway. You could fold JJ preflop if your looking to get ITM but trying to build a stack to win the tournament is a great idea. After awhile min crashes get very frustrating lol better to gamble for it all!!

It's damn frustrating when that happens. Judging by how the hand played out, it looked like you were on a hiding to nothing against the villain.

I agree with most posters. You played it right.

However, from an early position, I have been known to fold the likes of 1010, JJ & QQ, close to the bubble. I'm not saying this is the right move, but I've been knocked out of a tournament, so many times in the past. Let's just say, my confidence is at an all time low, when I should be pushing, close to the bubble.

Also, Jonathan does make a good point though.

orchidra said:

It's damn frustrating when that happens. Judging by how the hand played out, it looked like you were on a hiding to nothing against the villain.

I agree with most posters. You played it right.

However, from an early position, I have been known to fold the likes of 1010, JJ & QQ, close to the bubble. I'm not saying this is the right move, but I've been knocked out of a tournament, so many times in the past. Let's just say, my confidence is at an all time low, when I should be pushing, close to the bubble.

Also, Jonathan does make a good point though.

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I think I may have missed the good point. It seemed to me like he was advising not to commit chips with the nuts instead opting to save them vs an opponent you knew was chasing.

You played it fine. The only adjustment I would make is to change your opening raise from 4BB to 2.2BB. The smaller size entices others to 3-bet. It allows you to stack off with premiums and fold the trash. It also balances your range more.