I'm new to poker. Here's a hand that got me from medium stack to short (and I lost my shove later). What are my mistakes and what could I have done better?
Give up on the flop?





888Poker, $0.45 + $0.05 - Hold'em No Limit - 150/300 (30 ante) - 9 players
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Flatwater369 (UTG): 3,225 (11 bb)
_Leon_24404 (UTG+1): 394 (1 bb)
vjazemi (MP): 5,205 (17 bb)
Gentford7 (MP+1): 1,684 (6 bb)
larisapr47 (LP): 2,691 (9 bb)
guffylugs (CO): 4,304 (14 bb)
birchbabe (BU): 4,270 (14 bb)
hoppy177 (SB): 5,367 (18 bb)
alena777888a (BB): 1,613 (5 bb)

Pre-Flop: (720) Hero (birchbabe) is BTN with A♣ 8♦
6 players fold, birchbabe (BU) raises to 600, hoppy177 (SB) calls 450, alena777888a (BB) calls 300

Flop: (2,070) 3♣ 5♣ 3♠ (3 players)
hoppy177 (SB) checks, alena777888a (BB) checks, birchbabe (BU) bets 683, hoppy177 (SB) raises to 1,366, alena777888a (BB) folds, birchbabe (BU) calls 683

Turn: (4,802) 4♥ (2 players)
hoppy177 (SB) checks, birchbabe (BU) checks

River: (4,802) K♣ (2 players)
hoppy177 (SB) checks, birchbabe (BU) bets 1,200, hoppy177 (SB) calls 1,200

Total pot: 7,202

Showdown:
birchbabe (BU) shows A♣ 8♦ (a pair of Threes)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 27%, Flop: 26%, Turn: 18%, River: 0%)

hoppy177 (SB) shows A♦ J♣ (a pair of Threes - higher kicker)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 73%, Flop: 74%, Turn: 82%, River: 100%)

hoppy177 (SB) wins 7,202

It was a very risky move, you would have only made Check in the River

Originally Posted by mackmasterss

It was a very risky move, you would have only made Check in the River

Thank you, yes. I guess I should've been less frisky, taking into account that reraise from them.

Played very bad.You are short stacked and you r in push fold mode.Preflop push is most profitable game here.

Originally Posted by VovanBaron

Played very bad.You are short stacked and you r in push fold mode.Preflop push is most profitable game here.

Yeah, I guess I did have less then 15BB and should have started playing shove/fold. I was afraid of losing all my chips because I was not too far from top stacks and didn't want to start just yet. I guess I was wrong.

As others have said, this is an easy push preflop. The guy is stealing from BTN, he only has 14BB, and the guy behind you has even less. If you are not going to push, then the second best option is to fold. Calling from SB with a bad hand like A8 offsuit is the worst option preflop.

On the flop you have nothing going on other than some backdoor draws, so just giving up would be perfectly acceptable. It is a low board, which he has missed a lot though, so a sizable donk bet (leading out) or a check-jam could also be an option. Instead you made a check mini-raise, which is pretty much the worst of any options available, since you are just massaging the pot larger, when you are out of position with absolutely nothing.

You want him to fold here, and the way to make him fold is to put his tournament life at risk, not by making it very cheap for him to stick around. With this hand he would likely have called and won most of your chips, but that is ok. Turbo tournaments are high variance, and you cant do well in them, if you are always afraid to bust. When its down to BTN vs. blinds or blind vs. blind, and someone has a better ace or a better pair than yours with stacks this short, its basically just a cooler.

I think as everyone told you, you should have checked on the river, although you have 14BB, you are not too bad at the table, you were 4 of 9, so I agree not to push on the pre-flop, then on the turn with that board you should check and after the villain's raise you should fold

Originally Posted by fundiver199

As others have said, this is an easy push preflop. The guy is stealing from BTN, he only has 14BB, and the guy behind you has even less. If you are not going to push, then the second best option is to fold. Calling from SB with a bad hand like A8 offsuit is the worst option preflop.

On the flop you have nothing going on other than some backdoor draws, so just giving up would be perfectly acceptable. It is a low board, which he has missed a lot though, so a sizable donk bet (leading out) or a check-jam could also be an option. Instead you made a check mini-raise, which is pretty much the worst of any options available, since you are just massaging the pot larger, when you are out of position with absolutely nothing.

You want him to fold here, and the way to make him fold is to put his tournament life at risk, not by making it very cheap for him to stick around. With this hand he would likely have called and won most of your chips, but that is ok. Turbo tournaments are high variance, and you cant do well in them, if you are always afraid to bust. When its down to BTN vs. blinds or blind vs. blind, and someone has a better ace or a better pair than yours with stacks this short, its basically just a cooler.

Thanks for such a detailed explanation! They totally sensed my FEAR
I should stop being so afraid of pushing, or just fold if I know I can't continue in a way that isn't this weak

I did not understand your actions.

Bet flop - OK, Continuation bet. But after the opponent check raised, you thought you still were winning with Ace High and 8 as a kicker?

Bet river - This was a value bet or trying to bluff? You should always know what you are doing when you bet.

Originally Posted by erik_lima

I did not understand your actions.

Bet flop - OK, Continuation bet. But after the opponent check raised, you thought you still were winning with Ace High and 8 as a kicker?

Bet river - This was a value bet or trying to bluff? You should always know what you are doing when you bet.

haha I don't remember what I thought, looking at it now, probably thought he was just trying to scare me away with a reraise, and then bluffing on the river (idk, like I have kings or at least one).

Originally Posted by lollipopas

I'm new to poker. Here's a hand that got me from medium stack to short (and I lost my shove later). What are my mistakes and what could I have done better?
Give up on the flop?





888Poker, $0.45 + $0.05 - Hold'em No Limit - 150/300 (30 ante) - 9 players
Replay this hand on CardsChat

Flatwater369 (UTG): 3,225 (11 bb)
_Leon_24404 (UTG+1): 394 (1 bb)
vjazemi (MP): 5,205 (17 bb)
Gentford7 (MP+1): 1,684 (6 bb)
larisapr47 (LP): 2,691 (9 bb)
guffylugs (CO): 4,304 (14 bb)
birchbabe (BU): 4,270 (14 bb)
hoppy177 (SB): 5,367 (18 bb)
alena777888a (BB): 1,613 (5 bb)

Pre-Flop: (720) Hero (birchbabe) is BTN with A♣ 8♦
6 players fold, birchbabe (BU) raises to 600, hoppy177 (SB) calls 450, alena777888a (BB) calls 300

Flop: (2,070) 3♣ 5♣ 3♠ (3 players)
hoppy177 (SB) checks, alena777888a (BB) checks, birchbabe (BU) bets 683, hoppy177 (SB) raises to 1,366, alena777888a (BB) folds, birchbabe (BU) calls 683

Turn: (4,802) 4♥ (2 players)
hoppy177 (SB) checks, birchbabe (BU) checks

River: (4,802) K♣ (2 players)
hoppy177 (SB) checks, birchbabe (BU) bets 1,200, hoppy177 (SB) calls 1,200

Total pot: 7,202

Showdown:
birchbabe (BU) shows A♣ 8♦ (a pair of Threes)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 27%, Flop: 26%, Turn: 18%, River: 0%)

hoppy177 (SB) shows A♦ J♣ (a pair of Threes - higher kicker)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 73%, Flop: 74%, Turn: 82%, River: 100%)

hoppy177 (SB) wins 7,202

Hello,

You played well. Opponent bluffed the flop with a check raise. Just happened to get outkicked at showdown. Newer players fold way to easy soI like the call when opponent raised you. If opponent check raises with a larger amount I recommend you fold. Min check raises are strange and can mean weakness if you know your opponent. Keep it up.