Tag Archives: all in

At a Small Tournament

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Hello,

I joined a small tournament the other night. I admit it, I was actually out first hand. I believe we started with $4,000 in chips.

At some point, there was moderate betting pre-flop that trimmed us down to three. Just an information, I sat on snowmen -pocket 8s. Flop came and was K-8-A. Then I started making trips as well as placing bets. I remember there was a guy who has been raising significantly big amount of money while the next to him re-raised all in.

Later part, I called and so as the other guy. He then showed pocket king. I followed then with my 8s. Guy had pocket rockets. All of us flopped trips back then. By the way, the turn and river were J-3.

Any thoughts with regards to the tournament?

Thanks,
Powell
Powell,

You ran into a rare situation. Sometimes you have a situation where two players flop a set, but three is pretty rare. It does happen. You saw a flop with a pair and hoped to hit a set. In most cases, this hand would have won you a lot of money. Unfortunately you were against two better hands.

The only thing that I can comment on beyond this is whether you should have been in the hand. When you say that there was moderate betting, what do you mean? Do you mean there was a raise and two callers, or were there multiple raises. If there were multiple raises, you should have gotten out the hand as you were probably behind. You were hoping to get lucky. You did, but your opponents got lucky too.

Casino Tournament

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Hello,

Just last week, I got the chance to play my first ever casino tournament. Honestly, I wasn’t that sure of all the moves, decisions, etc. I pushed through so I want to hear straight from you. Consider the following facts:

  • Was third round of no limit texas holdem tournament
  • Blinds $10/$20 and for every 15 minutes will be doubled
  • $200 was my starting chip stack
  • $300 my present chip stack

Blinds were moving fast and I’ve foreseen that they’ll become a large proportion of my stack. I believe I have played just right as I have already won some pots though just small pots actually. Of course, when I only have $300 or more in chips, I don’t want blinds to go up, specifically to the $100 mark.

In second position, I was dealt pocket Jacks, UTG then folded. Later, I raised to $60 then except for the button who called, everyone else folded. Slowly, I started gathering some readings on my mind about a certain player whom I believe was my opponent.

Eventually, flop came and was Q-6-2. Then I placed $60 as my bet and he raised to $150. Afterwards I re-raised all-in due to some reasons. First, I believe he was a bit of a pot stealer and that he didn’t had a queen or a set. Second, almost half of my chips were in the pot already, it would be difficult for me to go on in the event I fold. Third, he would have folded already if he was on a steal. Fourth, quite the same thing, he would have called in case he was on draw.

What’s on your thoughts? If you were on my shoes at such situation, will you do the same thing?

I know you’re the one who could help me. Thanks in advance.

Andre Boudrias
Andre,

You were in a tournament that offered a small amount of chips and a very high blind structure. After betting on the turn, you had 120 of your 300 in the pot. If you folded here, you would have lost nearly half of your stack. After raising to 150, you had to call 90 in a pot of 330, which is 3.5 to 1 on your money. If you call here, you are going to be pot committed. Your choices are really go all-in or fold.

With the bad structure of this tournament, I would have pushed and hoped that the player did not have a queen, although it was likely. In a tournament with a bad structure, you must get lucky early and get some chips. To do so, you either have to play like a maniac and get lucky, or push your big hands as hard as you can.

Going All In

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Hi,

For some time now, I’ve been playing step tournament at Party Poker. In one of my games, I was dealt 9Qo. A certain player then checked before me and I as a result raised a not so big amount. Eventually, two players called. Flop came and was 9Q9. Because of this, I went all in. Not really expected, the player just before me went all in. At such instance, I was sure I had him beat. But I don’t know why, when the cards were flipped over, he had KK. Turn then came and was K. River followed and was 8. In the end, I came home with nothing.

Now, I’m curious if I played just right. What do you think? Was it sensible to go all in?

Thanks,
CB McCoy
CB,

What position were you in? If you were in late position and raised, then that isn’t that bad a play preflop. Personally, Q-9 is one of my favorite hands to play because when it hits strong, it is well disguised. You hit the flop super strong and someone with Kings went all in. He then got lucky.

I don’t think you played bad overall. If I were you and were in that situation, I would have played it the same way.

I would not have called a raise preflop with that hand however. Q-9 is a hand to see a flop cheaply with or play in position.

Not Sure On How They’ve Played the Game

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Monday night, I played in a multi-tourney. I believe I played a really bad hand back then. At the start, well, I was playing just right. Maybe I got a little carried away that’s why the ending was not so great for me. Just an information, the tourney started with 791 total players and I was on 149th place when it ended.

To start off, player A had 54004, player B had 35460, and player C 18562. Player E had 29195, player F 16515, and player G had 9210. Player H had 35430 and player I had 40893. The numbers are all in chips by the way.

At some point, player B was dealt Td Jh and player C folded. Players E, F, G followed and also folded. Player H then raised 1000 to 2000. Player I called 2000. Later, player A folded and player B called for 1000. Flop came and was 7h Th 3c. Player B then placed 1000 as his bet. Player H raised 5999 to 6999 while player I folded. Player B then called. Turn came and was 7h Th 3c Tc.

Eventually, player B placed 12000 as his bet. Player H then called. River came and was 7h Th 3c Tc 4d. With 4000, player B opted to bet. Player H then raised 10331 to 14331 and was actually all-in. Player B then called.

When showdown came, player H had Ts 7s, a full house, Tens full of Sevens while player B had Td Jh, three of a kind, Tens. Later, player H started collecting the winnings.

Any thoughts about how players have played the game?

Hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks!

Regards,
Nick
Nick,

Player H did a great job of extracting maximum value for his fortunate flop and turn. Player B flopped top pair and was being aggressive. Player H had flopped two pair. He raised, but when player B hit a set on the turn, all the money was going to go in. I think that if the board would not have paired the 10 on the turn, player B would have probably been bet out of the pot on the turn or river by player H. As it turned out, B bet out on the turn and H smooth called. On the river, H’s trap was sprung, and B couldn’t get away.

Creating Sidepots

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Hi,

I love playing poker on this one particular site. I remember it doesn’t ask for any money. But what’s quite surprising is that it awards some prizes for tournament plays.

One thing I notice is that because players don’t give any amount, they typically just place obviously low value on their chips, therefore I see many all-ins along the way as well as multi-way pots by which short stack is all-in.

I’m just wondering, is building a side pot sensible and in what circumstance? Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Gary Punell
Gary,

It depends on your hand. If you have a really strong hand and think you can build a side pot, do so. If you think you can push people out, do so. You really want either maximum value for your hand in this type of situation or thin out the field to give your hand the best shot to win.

Revealing Cards

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Hello,

I’m just wondering, can a player reveal his cards in the event he has already went all-in before the end of the hand and is just waiting for the other players left in the side pot to finish betting? Say there were three remaining players, player A, player B, and player C. Player A has $20, player B has $30, and player C has $5. At some point, player C went all in before the flop while player A and C opted to call. Do you think because he was into betting and was just waiting for the betting to finish, he can then flip his cards over?

Thanks!

Regards,
Polk
Polk,

When a player goes all in and two or more players are in the pot, the all-in player must wait until the end of the hand and the side pot, if any, is determined between the other players.

Questions Regarding All In

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Hi,

For the flop, four players were in. The player who was behind in terms of money went all in while three others called.

Now I have two questions:

  1. Does the player who went all in have to show his cards after he’s done betting or else he has to wait until the end of the game when other players were actually done betting?
  2. In the event the player who went all in has the best hand, do you think the additional bets must go back to their bettor/s? If not, then should they go to the player with the second best hand?

Thanks for your time.

Regards,
Feeney
Feeney,

  1. The all-in player must wait until all action is completed between the other players.
  2. The side pot will be determined and awarded between the players that have money in the side pot. The all-in player is not eligible to win any side pots since they do not have any money invested in them.

Revealing the Losing Cards

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Hi,

At a certain tourney I was in, two players went heads-up. Later, player A decided to raise. Player B then re-raised and consequently player A called and then flipped his hand over. Though quite upset, player B accepted he lost however he didn’t revealed his hand. Player A insisted then that he’d like to see the hand as he paid for it actually, through his re-raise. As the host, I should be the one to solve the dispute. Well, personally, I believe that whenever no one went all in, it would be the obligation of the caller alone to reveal what he had. Am I correct?

Thanks!

Regards,
Knickelbein
Knickelbein,

Player A was correct. When a player calls a bet at the river, the player has the right to see their opponent’s cards, even if the opponent mucked.

Not Sure of My Moves

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Hi there!

I played poker last night. At near mid part of the event, a player went all in although he only had river card to show up. I remember I had the A-10 straight then and a draw to the Queen high flush. On the board, well, a flush was possible however he seemed like bluffing and all. Eventually, I flopped my cards over and announced that I’ll still be pondering on if I’d call his bet or not. At such point, many players have given their opinions. Few minutes passed and I called all in. He had a two pair and so I won. He then had his cards as well as chips in and afterwards left in an instant. Well, without saying anything, we have had people throw cards up before.

Am I right by doing all of those?

Thanks!

Dino Todd
Dino,

Exposing your hand before calling an all-in move has been outlawed in tournament poker. This is considered a move used to get extra information in an unfair way. Some casinos allow this in a cash game, some do not. Many pro’s don’t like that this rule is in place, but the only reason one uses this is as a move trying to get a read.

Your opponent thought you were cheating, and based on the rules, you were.

My Hand Never Touched the Muck

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Hi,

Last night, I believe I played the dumbest game of my life. At mid part I guess, I called a bet and I was actually all in on the turn with top pair and an outside straight draw. I was also heads up against someone and suddenly he turned over the nuts. If I can remember it right, somebody at the table said that he had folded an ace beforehand. I don’t know why but it was too late for me to realize my cards face down, I believe the dealer then was already turning the final card. River then came and was one of the two remaining Aces in the deck. I then tried to get back my hand from the dealer after realizing what a fool I am. Honestly, my hand was on a face down but it has not touched the muck anyway. However, a certain player believed that I mucked. Later, the house man sided on him and so gave to him the winnings. The dealer who was the one holding the hand silently disagreed as for him the hand never touched the muck.

Any thoughts regarding the incident. Was the house man right for giving the winnings to the other player? Please, I need to hear your opinion on this.

In advance, thank you.

Gallagher
Gallagher,

If you were all in against one player, your hand should have been turned face up. When a player is all in, their hand cannot be mucked by the dealer.

You should have pointed out that you were all in and had not mucked. You should have been allowed to show your hand.