[broncoboss]

T1000 freeze-out tournament. 9 out of 11 players left. I am the big stack with T2350 in the big blind. Blinds at 50-100. 5 players limp in leaving a pot of 650. I look down at Ac-Ad. Did I mention that 5 players limped in. Ca-ching. I raise to 500. Cards are mucked to middle position weak calling station player. Weak calling station player calls. Everyone else gets out. Pot at T1650. Flop comes down with hideous Qs-9s-6s. What the hell could my opponent possibly have. He probably would have pre-flop called with J-J or higher. Maybe A-K. Oh wait, his remaining chip stack is T450. Here are the possible scenarios:

I check--
If he hit this flop(either spades or Q-Q), he goes all in.
If he has just one spade or J-J or K-K, he is going to check and I give him a free card.

I bet minimum or 2x--
If he hit his flop, he goes all in. Will you lay down A-A with the given pot odds? Probably not
If he has one spade or K-K he probably calls. Maybe he would lay down J-J

I put him all in for his remaining 450
If he hit his flop, he calls and I need runner-runner(with a lot of combinations) to survive.
If he has one spade or K-K or J-J, there is a strong possibility that he would fold and I would take down pot right there or he makes the call just taking a chance that I am betting air and liking the strong pot odds. Either way I believe that this is the right play. Even if I go down in flames here I am still right around average chips.

What would you do???


Here's what happened. I go all-in. He calls for his remaining 450 chips. I flip over my A-A knowing that given his call there is a good chance that I am in a world of hurt. He flips over As-Ks. Probably the only hand he could have called the pre-flop raise with that would beat me other than Q-Q. The bastard. I take my lump. As the chips are being raked over to the guy, two people at the table say, "I would have checked that flop. That was nasty." I usually don't respond to that kind of talk. I would rather not educate the people I play with. If the guy would have had a stack that could seriously cripple me or take me out of the tournament, checking or a small bet would have been the correct play. But given the size of the stacks and the pot, I believe I made the right play. What do you think??