How would you play this hand differently?

[Ineed1moredeuce]

Hello fellow poker players, I just got back from a live tournament that I played today and busted out with this hand.

The tournament was a shootout tourney. I had built the image at the table as being a pretty tight-aggressive player. The players I'm in the hand with are pretty loose. The UTG2 I feel was a pretty loose-passive player he liked to only call, i don't recall him raising many pots if any at all. The BB was in between a tight-aggressive, loose-aggressive style. He started out a bit tighter in the beginning of the tournament, and loosened up his play after winning and stealing a couple big pots. I noticed that the UTG was playing more of a loose-passive and loose-aggressive style). He was definitely the hardest to read.

My approximate chip count is about $7,000 in chips.
The blinds were $200-$400. I am the SB. My hole cards are 5h8h. UTG, UTG2, and I limp. The BB Raises to $800, the BB calls, UTG calls, UTG2 and I call. (I seriously considered 3 betting over the top of the BB's raise and use my image to my advantage, but I elected to only call. The pot has $3,200.

The flop is: 8c 4d 3h

I check with the intent to trap and to see what the pre-flop aggressor would do, The BB checks, UTG1 bets $2,000, The UTG2 folds. I looked over the board and thought maybe he was just trying to steal the pot after the BB and I checked. I just didn't put him on an 8 for the top pair. I couldn't really tell by his body language if he was strong or weak. I hadn't gathered any tells on him. So after thinking about the hand, I decided to go all in. The remaining amount of my stack was around $6,200. The BB folded, and The UTG1 almost immediately called. His stack was around $10,000. We flip our cards over, he had Qh8d. The turn is the 9s. The river is the 6h. The UTG1 takes the pot, and I'm sent packing.

Please give me any advice on how to play this hand differently. I welcome all criticism. I want to avoid any future mistakes that I may have made in this hand. Thanks for your input.

 

[walleye]

Tough situation. The villain is representing an 8, you have a weak kicker, so perhaps it is a fold. If you think he is drawing then all-in isn't bad.

 

[Ineed1moredeuce]

I thought it was possible he limped with like ace-rag or something and hit the 4 or the 3. I suppose with how low the blinds were, I could have given up and mucked. The blinds were getting ready to increase too. I was already under 20 BB's. Your starting chip stack is 75 BB's.

 

[WRG0413]

With a hand like yours in the small blind with limpers I would've either folded or raised before the flop. I understand your limp call, but I'm probably folding my small blind in that spot. If you did raise I would make it 3x the big blind plus the amount if each limper.

 

[Ineed1moredeuce]

I was seriously considering a re-raise of 3x the raise from the BB, but I think I made the mistake of just calling. If I could play the hand over, I probably would have raised. Folding is a good option too, but I could have used my tight image in that spot and re-raised too.

 

[Ineed1moredeuce]

Thanks for the input guys. I haven't really been doing well with profit lately, kind of hit a down swing for awhile now, so I'm here to talk about anything I might be able to do to improve and up my game. Ive been playing freerolls on Americas cardroom too to try and get my practice in that way rather than risking too much money with this slump that I've been in lately. So any advice and criticism is welcomed.

 

[Foldemz]

There were 4 people in the hand and 2 of them check, including the preflop aggressor. I think villains range could easily be Air/something like A2/or an 8.

I don't think you were super out of line. Sucks he had an 8 though. I think you would at least have an 8 in your perceived range too so the snap call is a bit too snappy for my taste.

 

[Ineed1moredeuce]

I felt the 8 certainly was in my perceived range too since I was the small blind, granted I could have folded there, but sometimes you need to defend your blinds and not let the LAG steal your blinds. Would you have folded pre-flop or maybe re-raised?

 

[ph_il]

Given our tight image, and if the table is aware of our image, I would've gone for a squeeze play shove to pick up all that dead money.

 

[joe777]

Either fold or shove,considering your stat at the table.

 

[Ineed1moredeuce]

That's a great thought as well, playing against loose players, a squeeze play shove probably would have been the most effective strategy.

 

[ibetmyho]

The way you played the hand I think you are correct to shove as stacks are pretty short and there is so many chips in the middle.

However you should just fold pre. You are in the sb with less than 20 bbs, you need to conserve your chips and wait for the more favorable spots.

 

[Ineed1moredeuce]

That's definitely a viable option as well. I think I had been folding quite a few hands already, and the blinds were getting ready to increase to $300-$600 which would have put me at a little over 11 bb's. It was getting to the point where I was gonna need to make a move sooner or later. Shoving pre-flop might have been quite effective given the image I had gathered on all the players who were in the hand.

 

[Sosa VII]

Well at first, it looks like you were getting good pot odds pre, and got sucked into it on the flop considering top pair no draws really. unlucky there I guess.

 

[JPainTrainSicko]

This is a spot that needs to be looked at preflop, it looks like great odds on calling but really against so many player you are not getting good odds on the call. Too often your not going to hit the flop well or like in this case you will be out flopped. Folding pre is the best option but reraising to scoop the passive $ is defensible. As the hand played the flop shove over the bet has some merits but the villians sizing speaks strength. A fold leaves you 15 very workable bb's to take to war.

 

[Poker Orifice]

fold pre

 

[ksidrew]

I would probably fold. It is unlikely he is bluffing here in a 4 way pot and you dont beat any hands he is betting for value.

 

[Delvuter]

Here is a quote from one of the strategy articles, "The all-in bet postflop is used as a scare tactic and a double up move. It can be used to look like a bluff when holding a monster or forcing someone to lay down a marginal hand. The other time all-in is used is when the pot gets to big and that it is your only bet left in large multi-player pot."

Your all-in is starting to fall into the double up variety. You have 17 BB going into this hand. Obviously the way the betting went in this hand pot control was out of the question. You attempted to control the pot, but once he bets 2,000 it's a fold or push scenario. I think you played fine, but got unlucky. His 2,000 bet like you said doesn't scream he has 8 with a bigger kicker. Anybody that thinks at that point they can put him on an 8 is full of it.

 

[teepack]

Fold pre! I know it's tempting to try to limp into a hand when you are the SB, but 8-5 is very weak, and you are already down to about 17 blinds. You are probably going to miss 90% of the flops that come out, so just go ahead and get that fold out of the way. You had 2 chances to fold a bad hand preflop and didn't take advantage of either.