$0.25 NL HE MTT: I ruined my tournament when the river hit.

[miklcct]

Game

Hold'em

Game Format

No Limit

Table Format

MTT

Buy-in

0.25

Currency

$

This was my first non-satellite MTT where I made it into the money. I was at the 3rd / 10 players left in a T$ Builder tournament which started with 398 players. I ruined my night at this hand when the river hit. The villain was the chip leader of the tournament. After this hand I became the 10th/10 and was knocked out at the 9th place, after I joined the final table with the shortest stack.

GGPoker, Hold'em No Limit - 5,000/10,000 (1,250 ante) - 5 players
Replay this hand on CardsChat

Hero (UTG): 118,975 (12 bb)
8e8df64 (CO): 95,580 (10 bb)
bf56bdea (BU): 59,084 (6 bb)
4d4f3827 (SB): 134,787 (13 bb)
df3d8140 (BB): 332,145 (33 bb)

Pre-Flop: (21,250) Hero (Hero) is UTG with K♥ 2♦
Hero (UTG) calls 10,000, 3 players fold, df3d8140 (BB) checks

Flop: (31,250) A♥ Q♠ 6♦ (2 players)
df3d8140 (BB) checks, Hero (UTG) bets 10,313, df3d8140 (BB) calls 10,313

Turn: (51,876) T♦ (2 players)
df3d8140 (BB) checks, Hero (UTG) checks

River: (51,876) K♠ (2 players)
df3d8140 (BB) bets 38,907, Hero (UTG) calls 38,907

Total pot: 129,690

Showdown:
df3d8140 (BB) shows K♣ 6♣ (two pair, Kings and Sixes)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 62%, Flop: 98%, Turn: 95%, River: 100%)

Hero (UTG) shows K♥ 2♦ (a pair of Kings)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 38%, Flop: 2%, Turn: 5%, River: 0%)

df3d8140 (BB) wins 129,690

I started with a limp because K2 had some equity, planning to fold with any raise.

My bet on the flop was thinking that because the villain checked, he wouldn't have hit something on the flop, so I believed I had the high card strength to win the pot.

On the river, he made a large bet, so I thought he hit the K, and I also hit the K as well. It turned out that he had another pair which I didn't expect because he never made any aggressive action beforehand. I lost the majority of my stack.

Which step did I do wrong?

 

[CRStals]

IMO - You went wrong pre-flop when you limped UTG with K2o.

• You only have 12BB and don't really have the stack depth to limp
• K2o is not a hand you should be limping anytime, let alone UTG
• ITM with two shorter stacks behind you, you need to focus on eliminating them - actively or passively - and not going out now

Having said that, if you are going to play this hand, why are you betting that river? If you bet the flop - and they call - that river does not mean you're ahead. You were better off folding than going to showdown knowing you only beat Qx and 6x that called on the flop.

 

[miklcct]

IMO - You went wrong pre-flop when you limped UTG with K2o.

• You only have 12BB and don't really have the stack depth to limp
• K2o is not a hand you should be limping anytime, let alone UTG
• ITM with two shorter stacks behind you, you need to focus on eliminating them - actively or passively - and not going out now

Having said that, if you are going to play this hand, why are you betting that river? If you bet the flop - and they call - that river does not mean you're ahead. You were better off checking and going to showdown knowing you had value and could beat Qx that might have called the flop bet.

In a tournament setting, what kinds of hands are good to limp? Should I limp something like 65s which is poor pre-flop but highly playable post-flop? With K2o is it always a fold with a short stack?

 

[CRStals]

In a tournament setting, what kinds of hands are good to limp? Should I limp something like 65s which is poor pre-flop but highly playable post-flop? With K2o is it always a fold with a short stack?

I'd advise never limping from UTG period but if you're going to...you want to play hands that will either a) trap opponents or b) suited aces with lower kickers or suited connectors - like 65s - that aren't strong enough to raise with, but have chances of hitting the flop hard with straights or flushes.

K2o really doesn't have any equity because even if you hit your king, unless you have a deuce on the board, you're at best chopping, and more than likely going to be out-kicked. And because the villain checked, you get zero intel on their hand strength so they could be playing anything.

When they call, that should have given you a red flag that they have a piece of that in some way:

• Pair of aces, queens or six's
• A Broadway draw with a hand like JT, KT, or KJ

It would be crazy to expect someone with 100% of their range to call a flop bet that they were on total air. But when the river comes a King and they bet, all of the hands that we mentioned above beat you EXCEPT Qx and 6x - unless the x is a King. There are more hands you lose to than beat, and with that large of a bet, your read is important to make that call - except th only info you have is they called that flop bet. Puts you in a tough spot.