Life has a funny sense of irony. Just as I wrote an
insightful blog on how to play your hands under the gun last week, this past
weekend I found myself booted out of a tournament because I made the kind of
mistake that I advised you not to make. Let’s take a look at where I went
wrong.
I was under the gun at an 8-man table and the blinds were at
level 3 (25/50), so it was still fairly early in the tournament. I hadn’t
really gotten any good cards thus far, so I had only seen a few flops.
I got an A-10 off-suit in this position. Tired of mucking
rags, I decided to give it a chance and limp in. I called the 50 entry fee. The
action went around the table to the other players. One other limped in and then
the guy on the button decides to raise and make it 200 total to play. I wasn’t
sure if this was a position raise or if he really did have a solid hand.
With all the chips already in the pot, plus the 50 I already
put in from my own stack, I decided to call with A-10. Both the big blind and
small blind players folded and the other limper also called. The flop came out:
A-2-7 rainbow.
I hit top pair. The bad part is, because of my position UTG,
I was first to act. Now what? If I check here, I know the button will for sure
come with a bet, which I will have to call. After all, I have top pair in a
raised pot.
So I decided to throw out a feeler bet to see where I stood.
The 3rd guy in the pot folded and the button only called. Now I wasn’t
sure if the button was slow-playing some monster or he was just calling because
he thought I was trying to represent the ace. The turn card came: an 8.
I checked and then the button bet 500. What now? He could be
sensing weakness and trying to steal the pot here, or just betting his premium
hand. He could be on a good pocket pair like JJ or QQ. I feel "pot
committed" here and I still have top-pair, so I call.
The river came and it was a 6. I checked, and the button went
all-in for 1500 more.
At this point, I’m thinking I already have a lot of chips in
the pot and I am getting over 2:1 on my money, so I pretty much have to call
here. I don’t like it, but I have already dug myself into a hole. Folding would
leave me severely short stacked with only marginal chances to cash in the
tourney. I have to trust my aces and hope the guy was position-raising with an
Ace-smaller kicker or with a pocket pair like QQ or JJ. I call.
Sure enough, the guy shows his Ace-Jack, and rakes in the
pot. I’m out. The reason I lost that big pot wasn't just the cards, it was also
my positioning. Notice how at every stage of the betting I was left wondering
and unsure what was going to happen. It was also my own impatience, trying to
force things out of position.
If you're under the gun and you hit top pair on the flop
with a mediocre kicker, you're just asking for trouble. If I was in a poker
school, they would make me write that sentence 100 times in my notebook so I’d
remember to stick by it next time.
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