Poker tournament??? Money rounds??

Question

Let's say you finally make it into the money, you on the button and have less 10 bb one guy limp from early postion and you looked down at your pocket 3s, what would you do in this position shove it in or smooth call and risk getting a raise from the sb and bb.( am I play this wrong: I shove it in and just happened to sb got pocket jj , I don't know how to handle this situation, should I just fold and wait for better hand and even if I bust out I still make more money because there are lots of people with less than what I have) Please help me with your advice and thank you very much for your reply. Have a great one!

Answer 1

You're in good position with a hand that can be beat by a pair of 4's and up. Good position is fun and great, but if you can afford to take a few more rounds of blinds, keep waiting for a premium hand to put it on the line with.

Answer 2

What is your m  (how many rounds do you have chips for, you dont say how many are at the table or what the antes are)? You might be in a situation of push or fold, if that is the case I would fold. 3/3 only dominates 2/2 and is not a coin toss to hands that contain a 2 or a 3. Every other hand has you dominated at worst, or is a coin toss at best.  One observation I should make is that once the bubble is busted, play loosens up dramatically.  If that is the case, I tend to tighten up, whereas I play much more aggresive just prior to the bubble (logic being most folks want to make their buyin back, so they will lay down hands more readily).  Once again, there is no answer set in stone....what is your image at the table, how are the others playing, how fast are the blinds and antes increasing, what does everyone have chip wise etc....etc.... however all that is out the windows, simply because there was a better hand to act after you.  I personally think little pairs played for a raise will get you into more trouble than they are worth.  People play them like they are gold, and by this stage in a tournament, the chip leader at your table might look you up with any number of hands that are race hands or dominating hands, especially if he is in the blind and your raise is from the button. With all the above being said, there is justification for all three of the options, folding, smooth calling and pushing.....I just was explaining how I would play it, and the justification for my play.

Answer 3

Your move was fine.  You had no way of knowing that the SB had JJ.  You can make a valid argument for moving in or folding and waiting for a better spot, but I would definitely advise against calling here.  Whether or not you move in or fold depends on how many people are left with shorter stacks, how big the blinds and antes are, and the general style of the table you're at.  If you're at an aggressive table you need to make strong moves more often, and with a hand like 33 on the button and only one caller ahead of you, you're very likely to have the best hand, even if only by a slim margin.

Answer 4

calling is wrong

pushing is okay if you are shortstacked and think others wont call -- fold equity

but you are at best 50/50 if you get called so waiting for a better spot might be best

Answer 5

You made the right play here, sometimes you can make the right play and end up feeling bad about it. But here with a short stack any pair is a good time to push in. By just calling if you miss the flop, you either will have to push all in anyways and you won't have enough chips to get the other guy off his hand anyways. So by just pushing all in pre-flop you put the pressure on the other guys to have a hand to call you. It just so happens that the other guy had jacks. So great play, just bad luck.

Answer 6

I think your play was fine.   The first limper probably has some speculative hand- a small pair, suited ace rag, or big face cards.  Chances are he can't face an all in re-raise unless he was slow playing a big hand.  You can't limp because being short stacked, because chances are you'll miss the flop and see three overcards.  It's one thing to be calling all in with 33 and being the one moving all in with the 33.  In reality, you just have to get by the two blinds to win the pot.  As it happened, the SB had jacks and called, but more often than not, 33 will be the best hand in that situation.  Remember, you have to give yourself the best chance of winning the tournament.  At some point you're going to have to win a coin flip.  I'd much rather be aggressive and risk busting out than get blinded down and go out with a whimper.  Finally, yes, you could have waited for a better hand, but there is no guarantee that a better one would have come around before you were very short stacked.