Two tournament questions.

[Hofstra]

$10 NL tourny on UB. 300 people started. It's almost time for the first break, and there are about 170 people left. Blinds are at 30/60 and my stack is about T1000.

One seat to my left is a player with a big stack who has taken out about 5 people in the last two rounds by outdrawing them. His stack now is over T9000. He plays about 40% of his hands, but hasn't shown total garbage yet.

I'm in MP with 88. I limp in. I did this , because I felt that I didn't want to call a big raise and try to hit a good flop cheaply. The big stack calls and the big blind checks.

Flop is 246r. BB checks. I checked too, knowing that the big stack would bet. He bets T200, BB folds. I'm pretty sure I'm ahead here, since he would slowplay a set. I put him on A6. What do you do? Calling seems out of the question, since too many turn cards bring trouble. If you fold, then you waste a good chance to double up. If you move in, then you most certainly get called and you are risking your tournament.

Second question (different $10 UB tourny). Suppose it's in the beginning of the second hour, blinds at 50/100. The player two places to your left will not allow any blind stealing, simply by putting you allin when you raise from the cutoff or button. Your stack is T900, his is T4000.
What's your strategy? If you can't steal a pot, do you simply wait and hope for a big hand? I chose that strategy, but got more or less blinded out and was forced, when down to T350, to play AJ for a coinflip and lost.

Pieter

[starstealer]

Well, you said you hadn't seen him show down garbage yet - so you need to establish what he would limp with preflop after one other limper. 24, 46, 26 all seem unlikely - but 22, 44, or 66 are possibilities. A6? A4? A2? - these are real questions. If all three ace-low combinations are possibilities - as well as most 2-overcard situations - I wouldn't mind pushing in here. However, if most of the Ax combos are out of the question and/or most 2-overcard situations are out - I'd be more likely to believe he has you beat with either an overpair to you or a set.

However, the question is really about survival. The blinds are really small still, and, while shorter than most, your stack is not horrible yet. Folding here is safest and probably ensures that you last longer the most of the time. Unless you can find a possible 4:1 favorite here - I think folding is probably best. You can't win the tourney here - and there's still plenty of time before you could - so chips won here won't likely translate into a money finish. Still, even if you are in bad shape to a set or something here - pushing is probably still reasonable to give you more breathing room against the aggressive guy.

As to what I would do - it would really depend. If I thought he was winning because he's getting lucky more than making bad preflop calls that flop well - then I'd probably push to double up or to knock him off his hand. If he was making bad/marginal preflop calls and catching well - I'd probably fold.

In the second situation - I might not be stealing blinds from the button - but I most definitely would start working on it from MP. Also, if he won't let you steal blinds - pick up a reasonable hand (KJ or Ax for instance) and push him with it. Chances are you can be ahead of him and it shows that you are willing to put your stack against his. Still - this is a marginal move - but it will at least let you survive for a little while - plus it may get him to back off a little bit if he calls and you win (and now he has 3k to your 2k). Still, it is pretty early to worry too much about steals. With blinds at 50/100 - you should still have enough play in your stack to find a hand or two to double up with. If you got blinded down to 350 - you were either in one massive drought of cards - or you possibly were being pushed off of hands that would be reasonable to play.

/d

[TexasKowboy]

The first example I push all in. It's time to make a move you have played for an hour and have not improved. He will have 6 outs and 2 changes to hit. I like my odds. Win and get back into the trn or miss and move on to the next one.

Second example I wait for a PP and double the blind let him push back and go all in or call his all in. I do this with any hand AJ, KQ or better. Also like Star said you don't have to be on the button or the cut off to steal.

[Cactus Jack]

In fact, blind stealing from MP is often more effective because few do it. The button and cutoff always raise suspicions. MP, not so much.

[Telemachus]

[starstealer]

[Hofstra]

The result in the first hand was that I pushed in and he had 45 for middle pair and the gutshot. He hit his 4 on the river and I was out. He had 9 outs twice here. That means that I was a favorite, but not a huge one. I think I took too big a risk here early in the tournament.

Telemachus, the funny thing was that my gf was watching and she told me to fold "because this guy always hits his miracle cards on the river". That is not the right kind of reasoning of course, but starstealer has a point that people who have been hitting well fell invincible and start playing many strange hands so that you should expect them to connect with a 246 flop.

Pieter