[JM]

So I'm playing a single table SNG (9 players) on full tilt yesterday. Starting stacks are 1500, I'm at about 2500 and 3 players are out. One other player has about the same amount of chips as me, and one other has about 3K as I recall (not important tho). 6 players left, tourney pays top 3.

I'm in the BB (30/60 now) and a player to my left who is shortstack goes all in for about 220 or 240. The other guy with about the same amount of chips as me calls, he's on the button, SB folds and I have AJo and call.

Flop is a rainbow K 10 + brick (3 or 4 maybe?). I min bet 60 just to see where I am here and button thinks for a minute then folds. Shortstack shows 9 7o and doesn't improve, I win with high card.

Button then proceeds to curse me out for betting the flop! Tells me I'm lucky it raked my way and how I should have checked it down and that its stupid to maybe triple him up. I told him its not time to check it down yet. He says the object is to get players out, to which I reply the object is to accumulate chips at this stage and if we were on the bubble of in the money, that's the time to check it down. I told him he could have called, it was only 60 and he had well over 2000. Obviously he had a piece or would have at the end of the hand.

Even if it had tripled up the short stack, we each would have still had about 3x as much as him, so not like he'd be a big threat. It did kind of tilt this guy a bit, which helped me take some chips off him when he chased my set to the river at one point. Ended up with the two of us heads up and I pretty much stole 90% of the blinds with a 5:1 advantage going in and knocked him off with 33 when he went all in for about 2000 with AQ.

Anyone think that I should have checked it down there? IMO that is WAY too early in the tourney to be doing that. I want chips, chips and more chips before we get to the bubble.

[hachkc]

Personally, I check it down.

[99%evil]

Um, I'd check it down, I get pizzed at folks for the same reason. UNless you hit a monster keep everyone in, tripling that guy up keeps him in the game. If by the river you have a big hand, maybe bet for value, but your pair could be beat by two pair on the river and the guy you booted out could have hit a straight. I'm with the other guy, insure that folks are gone, it gets you that much closer to the money, letting a person triple up gives them a chance, that's one thing you don't need, one more double up and he's right there with you.

I would only bet if I hit the flop big.

[JM]

Originally Posted by hachkc

Personally, I check it down.

Interesting. I could see if this was a MTT and there were 6 at your table , but not at a single table with 3 to go to the money.

[hachkc]

Every man down gets you closer to the money; tripling the SS is never a good idea at any point in STT. Hell, I'll actually call in spots like this (all-in with caller) with the right stack and ATC just to increase the odds of knocking someone out. Accumlating chips is good but trying to steal dry sidepots doesn't help anyone. If you hit any part of the flop, you can make an argument for the play but you had not much but 1 over, 1 mid and a gutshot. In a cash game, no problem with this play. In a tourney, less people mean more chances for me to place ITM.

[JM]

I should have also mentioned my read on the button. He'd taken down several pots pre-showdown with big bets. I'm not even sure he'd shown more than one or two hands to that point, so one thing I didn't want to let him do was steal this pot with a big bet if I checked it to him.

[uncleto]

Originally Posted by hachkc

Personally, I check it down.

Me too. I was down to 110 once in a party SnG (starting stacks 2000) and ended up winning because I quadrupled up when somebody bet everyone else out of the pot with Ace high. 600 chips aren't worth the risk of keeping the shortstack in the game to me.

[hachkc]

Originally Posted by JM

I should have also mentioned my read on the button. He'd taken down several pots pre-showdown with big bets. I'm not even sure he'd shown more than one or two hands to that point, so one thing I didn't want to let him do was steal this pot with a big bet if I checked it to him.

If he's a total donk, maybe you can make the argument here but its pretty weak. If he seems to have any skills/savy, you check it down with nothing but air.

[kayos]

No matter your opinion on the checking it down or not....more importantly, the other player in the hand that folded should just let you play the way you want. Who the f* do these people think they are? Why is it everyone thinks that in the middle of a poker game for $, when you didn't ask for advice, they thought they would give you some of their expertise. I am so sick of people screaming for a different playing style than yours. Bad beat whining I understand. But just choosing to bet is your option. Bring it to this forum for advice like you did, but not while playing. It remind me a lot of road rage. Big and mighty when you can't see the other person. The rants go on forever online. I just end up turning their chat off.

[JM]

Originally Posted by hachkc

If he's a total donk, maybe you can make the argument here but its pretty weak. If he seems to have any skills/savy, you check it down with nothing but air.

That's the problem, no way of knowing yet, its so early. I've seen him call raises preflop and then bet big on the flop to take it down uncontested so its hard to know if he's just aggressive or had cards or what. The other factor is that its a $5 SNG so I don't really expect to see something like a check it down play at that level. If it was a higher level then I probably would have done that, but at the $5 level, I expect donks.