$2.20 NLHE MTT: Any Thoughts on Improving Play?

Wondering what your guys' thoughts might be regarding this hand. Ultimately I call knowing that Q10 has us beat but believing that we beat enough of the rest of their range (in terms of top pair, two pair, missed draws, and sets), as well as realizing that we chop to any 10.

One more consideration to take into account is that it's a 5-hour late registration tournament that I enrolled for at the beginning, and we are about 4.5 hours in only 3 levels away from end of late registration. Perhaps this information might change the way the hand is played.

My main concern here is... did my donk lead on the river induce that very large bet sizing, whereas if I had simply checked it back, villain may have bet smaller to induce a re-raise or at least to get a call?

As always, any advice on how the hand could have been played better right off the get-go would be appreciated. Cheers, and thanks in advance for your time!

Winning Poker, Hold'em No Limit - 750/1,500 (185 ante) - 8 players
Replay this hand on CardsChat - https://www.cardschat.com/replayer/6qQ42Ie

UTG: 1,781 (1 bb)
UTG+1 (Hero): 68,141 (45 bb)
MP: 103,293 (69 bb)
MP+1: 36,641 (24 bb)
CO: 133,315 (89 bb)
BU: 193,504 (129 bb)
SB: 97,868 (65 bb)
BB: 27,794 (19 bb)

Pre-Flop: (3,730) Hero is UTG+1 with T♣ K♠
UTG raises to 1,596 (all-in), Hero calls 1,596, 2 players fold, CO calls 1,596, BTN calls 1,596, 2 players fold

Flop: (10,114) 9♠ 8♦ J♣ (4 players, 1 all-in)
Hero checks, CO bets 2,529, BU folds, Hero calls 2,529

Turn: (15,172) K♦ (3 players, 1 all-in)
Hero checks, CO bets 11,379, Hero calls 11,379

River: (37,930) 7♠ (3 players, 1 all-in)
Hero bets 18,965, CO raises to 75,860, Hero calls 33,487 (all-in)

Preflop
With 6 players left to act after you, I would just fold KTo. I normally only open this hand with 4 players left to act after me or less, which mean HJ seat or later. The reason is, that these kind of junky offsuit broadways tend to perform rather poorly from early position. If you get 3-bet, you have to fold, and if you pick up a field caller, you are going to be out of position postflop with a hand, which will often flop an expensive second best one pair hand, if for instance someone called you with AT, KQ or KJ.

The fact, UTG is all in for a little over a blind, makes it even more of a fold, because even if you raise and get everyone to fold, you still need to beat him at showdown, so you cant even go for an early position blind steal. If I had KTs, then I would raise it though, and I would do that with my entire playable arnge. Because UTG was so short, what you did was essentially limping behind, and this is not something, I want to do from early position with any hand.

Flop
There is no point in leading out here, because even if you got both players behind you to fold, which is rather unlikely on a flop like this, you still need to beat the all-in player at showdown. So this is a spot, where I clearly agree with your decision to play your draw passively. Basically trying to make your hand as cheaply as possible, and then see if you can find a customer. Well done.

Turn
You improved to top pair, but this is not really, what you were looking for, so I am certainly onboard with checking to him again rather than going for some kind of donk bet. This time he bet fairly big, and I am not particularly thrilled about this. You could be drawing dead to QT already, and if you make a straight, its on a 1-liner board, so its not going to be very easy to get paid out of position. But with that being said it is difficult to lay down a pair + draw hand, so I would also have reluctantly called.

River
You made your straight, and I actually agree with your decision to donk bet, because your hand is so obvious. If he has a set or two pair, which he is kind of representing (as well as QT), he is just going to check it behind, if you check to him. And at the same time he probably dont have many natural bluffs in his range.

When he raise, I am not thrilled about it, since you still lose to QT, but I think, you are also chopping the pot quite often, and once in a blue moon he might be bluffing. So I would also have called, and if you did in fact run into QT, then the only thing, I would have done different, was to fold preflop.

By the way its kind of crazy, that BB managed to find a fold preflop, when he was getting like 100:1 to see a flop and closing the action. Clearly he was not paying attention to the game and just clicking buttons 😀

Unless the players at your table were very nit, I think it is unnecessary to open KTo from that position, it would open if it was suited.
And then by the action on the flop, when he sends the second barrel on the turn I would give up the hand, he can already have the straight or 2 pair, board very connected.
You were in good chips, fold and follow the game, expect better spots.

Thanks for the responses, Fundiver and DaMooca. He did, in fact, have QT (of course, xD)! I normally wouldn't play KTo in that position, but the 1 BB all-in for some reason enticed me to limp behind--I don't even know why.

Ultimately, it sounds like I played it pretty well post-flop, but I made quite the blunder by even playing my hand in the first place. So that's an easy fix. I will stick to my pre-flop range charts!

fundiver199 said:

Preflop
With 6 players left to act after you, I would just fold KTo.


The fact, UTG is all in for a little over a blind, makes it even more of a fold, because even if you raise and get everyone to fold, you still need to beat him at showdown, so you cant even go for an early position blind steal. If I had KTs, then I would raise it though, and I would do that with my entire playable arnge.


So I would also have called, and if you did in fact run into QT, then the only thing, I would have done different, was to fold preflop.

Click to expand...

Like I said, I don't normally play KTo here. Although, it's a good point that his 1 BB all-in weakens my hand even more. I suppose I was thinking if I limped behind, others would be attracted to getting into the pot whose hands I could maybe beat. A lot of boards would have made the KTo an easy fold to subsequent betting, but the way it ran out made it hard to find a fold. Going forward, I'll stick to my opening and calling ranges and not let super short-stack all-ins vary my play too much, particularly from early positions.

fundiver199 said:

By the way its kind of crazy, that BB managed to find a fold preflop, when he was getting like 100:1 to see a flop and closing the action. Clearly he was not paying attention to the game and just clicking buttons 😀

Click to expand...

Lol--true! Perhaps we can give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he was playing 24 tables, 27o, and had already clicked "check/fold any" xD

DaMooca said:

Unless the players at your table were very nit, I think it is unnecessary to open KTo from that position, it would open if it was suited.

Click to expand...

Two consenting opinions regarding a pre-flop fold, and I'm on board. It was a blunder because the 1 BB all-in got in my head for some reason.

sundizzel said:

Lol--true! Perhaps we can give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he was playing 24 tables, 27o, and had already clicked "check/fold any" xD

Click to expand...

That is almost certainly what happened yes. But even that is failing to pay attention, since he did not notice the "raise" size before clicking "check/fold any". Its also really bad to do this in a limped pot. Whenever you are faced with the option to check or raise, you should always take a few seconds before checking to at least keep the option open, that you were considering a raise. Its different from the other seats, because then you are always folding, and it gives no benefit to the other players knowing, that you had a trash hand, which you quickly decided to not play.

How can you play this better? Fold KTo preflop....end of discussion lol

However - if you are going to play it - i would rather see you iso this to about 4-5k. Flatting what is basically a limp all in is just inviting everyone else into the hand and is going to do us no good.

When we get to the flop i love the check-call. We have too much equity to fold in this hand just yet.

The turn is probably one of the worst cards for us because now we are hung for another bet and we still lose to made straights, sets, and 2 pairs - but again, we are too strong to fold. So calling turn is the best play here.

The river is a disaster....i am NEVER leading river here and when we do and get jammed on...we are pretty much dead. Remember - calling for a chop is never profitable long term- so, what hand that we beat is putting us all in on this river? Practically none...we are chopping at best. Eaaaasy check-call small river bets and check-fold to all the largest ones.