Tournament is $109 Turbo Series 103, Made it into the tournament from a 22$ satellite. Down to 85~ players remaining from 1185 and we are in the middle of the pack with a 450K Stack worth 12 bb . Should I have shoved pre flop? shoved post flop? I know a lot are going to say variance but this honestly left me crushed so late in the tournament with so much up top.


PokerStars - 20000/40000 Ante 5000 NL - Holdem - 8 players

UTG+1: 17.21 BB
MP: 22.37 BB
MP+1: 9.35 BB
CO: 32.59 BB
BTN: 3.27 BB
SB: 5.87 BB
Hero (BB): 10.91 BB
UTG: 41.59 BB

8 players post ante of 0.13 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 2.5 BB) Hero has A♥ J♥

fold, UTG+1 raises to 2.1 BB, fold, fold, CO calls 2.1 BB, fold, fold, Hero calls 1.1 BB

Flop: (7.8 BB, 3 players) A♠ J♦ 2♣
Hero bets 3 BB, fold, CO calls 3 BB

Turn: (13.8 BB, 2 players) 3♣
Hero bets 5.68 BB and is all-in, CO calls 5.68 BB

River: (25.17 BB, 2 players) K♣


Make AJ Two pair on flop, open raise and flat called, Shove turn 3 of clubs, Villan Calls and makes Flush on river.

At least congrats for winning the satellite and making it to bigger table. That is an achievement in itself.

If a player is holding a hand which makes him feel comfortable to go all-in with, it is always better (in my opinion) to do it sooner than later.

With that hand and already half of your chips in the pot, the best move might have been to shove on the flop or even before. Waiting and trying to milk it more has often proven to be disastrous.

I wouldn't have shoved pre-flop... if anything you played it correctly. The only other option would have been to AI or do 5x+ BB after seeing the flop but you're basically AI at that point anyways. Use it to secure the pot as fast as possible and grind your bankroll on upward.

Odd he would call the flop... unless he had a pair on the flop and the flush was just accidental after he saw the turn. Would need more info about what his cards were.

Jam pre.

You have ~11 BBs behind and a very strong hand for your stack size. Folding is just too nitty and you have no post flop playability. Yes, you hit 2 pair but that's being result oriented. 2/3 of the time you miss the flop completely and you don't want to be in a check/fold spot with a short stack.

Plus with a hand like AJs and 12 BBs, you want to go for max value. You have a small chance of winning pre uncontest, which is a huge 60% boost to your stack. At best, with a raise and a call, you could very likely isolate against 1 player which does improve your odds of winning unless your opponent has you dominated. That would be unfortunate, but your shove is still correct. But say your opponent has a hand like KJs that'll call your jam pre, you want them to commit it pre and not have an opportunity to fold post flop when they miss or potentially push you off the hand if the flop bricks for both of you.

As played, jam post. You just don't have the stack size to maneuver with, nor do you have any FE on any other street if you just bet small. You hit a strong hand with 2 pair and overbet is being called by weaker aces, or potentially Jx with back door straight/flush draws. If you get folds, it isn't terrible because you still pick a significantly sized pot.

Originally Posted by OApoker

Tournament is $109 Turbo Series 103, Made it into the tournament from a 22$ satellite. Down to 85~ players remaining from 1185 and we are in the middle of the pack with a 450K Stack worth 12 bb . Should I have shoved pre flop? shoved post flop? I know a lot are going to say variance but this honestly left me crushed so late in the tournament with so much up top.


PokerStars - 20000/40000 Ante 5000 NL - Holdem - 8 players

UTG+1: 17.21 BB
MP: 22.37 BB
MP+1: 9.35 BB
CO: 32.59 BB
BTN: 3.27 BB
SB: 5.87 BB
Hero (BB): 10.91 BB
UTG: 41.59 BB

8 players post ante of 0.13 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 2.5 BB) Hero has A♥ J♥

fold, UTG+1 raises to 2.1 BB, fold, fold, CO calls 2.1 BB, fold, fold, Hero calls 1.1 BB

Flop: (7.8 BB, 3 players) A♠ J♦ 2♣
Hero bets 3 BB, fold, CO calls 3 BB

Turn: (13.8 BB, 2 players) 3♣
Hero bets 5.68 BB and is all-in, CO calls 5.68 BB

River: (25.17 BB, 2 players) K♣


Make AJ Two pair on flop, open raise and flat called, Shove turn 3 of clubs, Villan Calls and makes Flush on river.

Thank you for your post. In my opinion I think you played well preflop. I personally would have bet 3/4 pot to protect my two pair post flip or even go all in. BB are so important at this stage with your short stack I'd just shove and take it down. Be aggressive when you believe you have the best real hand to punish the drawing hands. Good Luck


Good Luck To All

What had Villian?

Shove flop if not pre.

End result may be the same though.

Originally Posted by D_godfather

What had Villian?

Shove flop if not pre.

End result may be the same though.

Villain had J 8 clubs, not sure why it didnt mention in my Copy paste

It's an unfortunate run out for you.

I would definitely prefer shoving to flatting with 10 bbs in a turbo MTT. There's so much dead money out there and to get it heads up against a single player would be an ideal situation. AJs would definitely be stronger enough to shove.

Originally Posted by ohshootmybad

Jam pre.

You have ~11 BBs behind and a very strong hand for your stack size. Folding is just too nitty and you have no post flop playability. Yes, you hit 2 pair but that's being result oriented. 2/3 of the time you miss the flop completely and you don't want to be in a check/fold spot with a short stack.

Plus with a hand like AJs and 12 BBs, you want to go for max value. You have a small chance of winning pre uncontest, which is a huge 60% boost to your stack. At best, with a raise and a call, you could very likely isolate against 1 player which does improve your odds of winning unless your opponent has you dominated. That would be unfortunate, but your shove is still correct. But say your opponent has a hand like KJs that'll call your jam pre, you want them to commit it pre and not have an opportunity to fold post flop when they miss or potentially push you off the hand if the flop bricks for both of you.

As played, jam post. You just don't have the stack size to maneuver with, nor do you have any FE on any other street if you just bet small. You hit a strong hand with 2 pair and overbet is being called by weaker aces, or potentially Jx with back door straight/flush draws. If you get folds, it isn't terrible because you still pick a significantly sized pot.

This. Jam pre is the only good option