$2.20 NLHE Turbo: M=4 UTG+1 push A8s

[pat3392]

$2.20 NL HE Turbo: M=4 UTG+1 push A8s

Was this a bad play?

poker stars $2.00+$0.20 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t300/t600 Blinds + t50 - 9 players
The Official 2+2 Hand Converter Powered By DeucesCracked.com

MP1: t4010 M = 2.97
MP2: t5900 M = 4.37
CO: t4870 M = 3.61
BTN: t11034 M = 8.17
SB: t3730 M = 2.76
BB: t4800 M = 3.56
UTG: t13745 M = 10.18
Hero (UTG+1): t5885 M = 4.36
UTG+2: t7735 M = 5.73

Pre Flop: (t1350) Hero is UTG+1 with A:heart: 8:heart:
1 fold, Hero raises to t5835 all in, 1 fold, MP1 calls t3960 all in, 5 folds

Flop: (t9270) Q:heart: T:club: K:diamond: (2 players - 2 are all in)

Turn: (t9270) A:diamond: (2 players - 2 are all in)

River: (t9270) 9:heart: (2 players - 2 are all in)

 

[jaded848]

Even though you have less than 10 BBs and a decent hand, I think it's -EV to push here. First of all, you have very bad position, so you will get called alot in these spots. Second, the fact that many of the stacks behind you are even shorter than you are means that you will often face a wider range. It might be nice to see a player call and flip KQo and think "Yes, I'm ahead!" but in reality they still win 40% of the time. Furthermore, the much bigger risk here is that you get looked up by A9,AT,AJ,AQ,AK. Alot of pocket pairs will also call you here and then you're racing for your tournament life.

I am no expert at all with regards to these SnGs, but the way I see it is this- everyone is going to get good cards and bad cards, and everyone is going to have all their chips in the middle at some point. The only way to avoid the luck of the cards is to get your opponents to fold. Therefore, the key to winning these turbo matches is to accumulate chips while going to showdown as little as possible (unless you hold a preflop monster and are a huge favorite). You still have a decent chip stack here, and can use it to shove from the SB, BTN, and even CO and have good fold equity. Shoving from UTG+1 though is alot riskier, and the fact that your hand isn't premium makes it even more iffy.

Just my 2 cents, other members may agree/disagree.

 

[bgomez89]

I agree with Jaded and I fold this. FWIW i will push here with A9s though

 

[pat3392]

Even though you have less than 10 BBs and a decent hand, I think it's -EV to push here. First of all, you have very bad position, so you will get called alot in these spots. Second, the fact that many of the stacks behind you are even shorter than you are means that you will often face a wider range. It might be nice to see a player call and flip KQo and think "Yes, I'm ahead!" but in reality they still win 40% of the time. Furthermore, the much bigger risk here is that you get looked up by A9,AT,AJ,AQ,AK. Alot of pocket pairs will also call you here and then you're racing for your tournament life.

I am no expert at all with regards to these SnGs, but the way I see it is this- everyone is going to get good cards and bad cards, and everyone is going to have all their chips in the middle at some point. The only way to avoid the luck of the cards is to get your opponents to fold. Therefore, the key to winning these turbo matches is to accumulate chips while going to showdown as little as possible (unless you hold a preflop monster and are a huge favorite). You still have a decent chip stack here, and can use it to shove from the SB, BTN, and even CO and have good fold equity. Shoving from UTG+1 though is alot riskier, and the fact that your hand isn't premium makes it even more iffy.

Just my 2 cents, other members may agree/disagree.

interesting line of thought, good answer