Was my all-in correct?

[CueMaster71]

Live tourney,£15 entry, 75 runners, 8 get paid. The blinds are up to 1000/2000 and there are 13 of us left, I'm on the table with 7 in BB position, I have just under 17,000, and no knowledge of any of the players, having just been moved onto the table.

The player in first position (16,000 stack) raises to 4,000. Everyone folds round to me in the BB. I'm sitting on A-10 suited, so combined with the 3.5/1 odds, I decide that I can easily call the bet.

The flop is 9-J-Q rainbow, giving me an open ended straight and an overcard. He bets 4,000. I think about the possible hands he could have. 8-10 is an unlikely hand for him to raise with, as is K-10, so I discount the possibility that he's already made the straight. He could have had a small to medium pair, maybe up to Jacks, but I think he'd have raised more with QQ, KK, AA or AK. The odds of 10-10 are slim as I already hold one of the tens. I therefore decide that he's either got trips, in which case I have 8 live cards, or he's hit a Queen for top pair, in which case I could have 11 live cards.

Worst case, I'm roughly 33%, so the pot odds alone make calling a no-brainer. And this is where the little poker demons in my head took over....

I started to think, if I call the 4,000 and don't hit on the turn, could I call another bet? I'd only get my odds if I saw both cards. Plus, if he's only sitting on top pair, a re-raise might make him think I'VE hit trips, and chase him out. Plus, just by calling the bet I'd be crippled with 8,800 chips left, but if I won the hand I'd be in great position to go on and win the tourney. So I pushed all-in for my last 12,800. He didn't even let me get my chips in before he called, and flipped over QK, for top pair. That gave me 10 live cards (4 eights, 3 kings, 3 Aces) and made me roughly a 6/4 dog. Needless to say I didn't hit my cards, and my night was over in 13th place.

I came away thinking I did the right thing, and that hands like that either win or lose tourneys. I've played in many before where I've ended up scraping into the money and getting little more than my stake back, and I thought this was a good opportunity to try to win it.

So, did I do the right thing?

 

[CueMaster71]

I should just add (before anyone else does!!) that afterwards when I'd seen his cards, I thought I should maybe have re-raised him preflop, and that he'd have probably laid down. But at that point I had no idea if I was up against a big Ace, and if he'd come back over the top of me, I'd have had to lay down, as nearly any hand that came back at me would be beating me.

 

[alan1983]

cuemaster, he raised 1/4 of his stack preflop. And you had only Ace ten against an UTG raiser. there was no way you could have known your ace ten was better than his cards. Plus its hard to get someone to lay off a hand preflop when hes raised 1/4 of his stack for it.

Anyway, i guess after flop you saw his bet as a bit of a weakness, and decided to raise your draw. I think its good thinking, BUT:

His second 4,000 bet was again, a third of his stack left.

So this bet no longer looks as weak as you might have thought before. Say he hit a big hand, hed probably bet it like that to induce a call too.

Its a bit tricky i guess, but you werent gonna get rid of him. he has half his stack inside the hand already.

And anything he raised with will have a draw on this board too.

1010 has a straight draw. Aq has top pair. Aj has middle pair. AK has gutshot and two overcards.
So he wasnt going anywhere.

 

[ChuckTs]

The player in first position (16,000 stack) raises to 4,000. Everyone folds round to me in the BB. I'm sitting on A-10 suited, so combined with the 3.5/1 odds, I decide that I can easily call the bet.

Push or fold preflop; you've got less than 10BBs and I'm sure they'll be creeping up soon enough. This isn't the time to be limping/calling bets preflop - it should be the time when you are pushing to take down blinds, and coming over the top of raises like this weak minraise with strong premium hands in hopes of doubling up.

I think AT is probably too weak to push over the top of an utg raise, but you probably need to make a move soon.

 

[Irexes]

Folding preflop is probably too weak and reraising all in with AT against an ep raiser who is pretty much committed to call is not great.

Given you are in for the bb then I think this is your last chance to play a pot without being all in preflop (though marginally).

Once the flop comes and he bets I instapush. You've got outs, he may even fold a low-mid pair.

Bad luck. Nasty result.

 

[tnt72]

I have to agree with Chuck T. AT is tough but where you were at in the tourney...All in or Fold pre flop

 

[Coryan]

Gotta agree with Chuck.

You probably have just enough chips to make a call...but it's so hard to play after the flop with such a short stack. I think the key decision is PF when you fold or push allin. He is about to hit the BB and has an M of under 6 (assuming no antes). He could be making a move...but why wouldn't he push allin? That actually makes me worry he has a monster (AA, KK etc. and wants a call).

So, PF I either fold or push. When I am short in a tourney, I prefer to be the first to make a move...so I may fold here. Fold=60%, Push=40%.

Now the flop and I like your calculations...keeping in mind that if he holds one or two Ks or Ts, your odds go down. Again, considering your stack, there is no way I call on the flop...push or fold. I have to put the question to him. Here I probably push given that I also get some fold equity in addition to my odds to win at showdown and the pot size.

 

[CJAZEL]

I like your play and thought process of the hand. I think you mayhave been thinking more about trying to hit the flop than possibly being ahead in the hand.

Late in a tournament like that your right in saying that cashing really isn't that important cause your main objective is to win, not cash and get a little more than your buy-in back. Him being such a short stack w/ blinds getting quite high he prob oulda pushed from UTG hoping to gt the most value out of his hand if he had something dominating like AA or KK. Late in a tourny you really need to try and avoid laying hands out if your a short stack because blinds will eventually eat you alive. I think push or fold is your only option and hope your're not down to a 3 outer.

GL in the future, God knows I've lost the majority of my hands when i'm ahead 60/40, at that point its all up to the poker gods