Tournament newb on money bubble of live mtt…

[hookemfan81]

Hi guys, playing nlh for 15 years, mostly cash. This situation arose during a mtt appoarching the money, and honestly, I don’t know what the correct play is/was. 6 players left, 5 paid. My stack was 28k which put me 5th in chips. Two biggest stacks to my left. Shortest stack has 11k. Blinds 1000/2000 500ante. Folded to me on the button I look down at Ah10h. I ended up folding. The blinds ended up playing out the hand and I would have won a nice size pot had I played (results oriented I know). The short stack did bust and I cashed but only for the min. What would you have done?

[Old Dog]

I think that what you should have done depends on your goal. If making the money was your ultimate goal, then folding is fine with so many blind-free hands coming. But I feel that even then, ace ten suited is a very strong hand to be folding. If your goal is to win as much as possible, then the hand is a must play when everyone folds to you on the button, especially if the short stack is one of the blinds (obviously not in this case) and therefore likely to call you with much worse. Against the two big stacks in the blinds, a shove could look like a much weaker hand and get a call. Doubling up certainly puts you in a much nicer position, and if you don’t play, you’re only looking at about 30 hands before you’re blinded/anted off. If you wait, your stack will be shorter even if you do get a better hand. All in all, I think the best play was a shove. My two cents’ worth.

[hookemfan81]

Thanks Old Dog, I appreciate the perspective. In the heat of the moment I believe my wanting to cash outweighed my wanting to play to win. I think clarifying my goals before the tournament will help me in these situations.

[Brad Owen]

Thanks for sharing the hand. I agree with Old Dog’s comment. Congrats on the cash though.

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