1st hand, SB, K9o, what do you do?

[lockpull]

I just had this happen and have run into similar situations and was wondering what everyone's opinion is.

3+.40 pokerstars 9 player tourn.
1st hand of a tournament 10/20 blinds....I'm SB... dealt K9o. One middle position limper then folds to me..... what do you do?

[bjsaust]

Fold without thinking hard. Best you can hope for postflop is a TPNK type hand, or a really crappy TPGK. The chips arent worth some kind of OOP isolation play.

[lockpull]

Fold without thinking hard. Best you can hope for postflop is a TPNK type hand, or a really crappy TPGK. The chips arent worth some kind of OOP isolation play.

good answer..... I called (like a weak player) and had to fold when BB put in 5x raise

[taipan168]

Fold here for the reasons bjsaust stated. If there were 5 limpers in front and the BB was passive I would complete the SB and hope to flop two pair or better however.

[gingerwizard]

Fold. There is a post in the digest about playing from the blinds that goes deeper

[Marv1105]

i would tend to disagree with the folding. Fact is you can see a cheap flop with 5 to 1 pot odds with a reasonable hand. It's always easy to throw it away after the flop.

[Marv1105]

i would tend to disagree with the folding. Fact is you can see a cheap flop with 5 to 1 pot odds with a reasonable hand. It's always easy to throw it away after the flop. I hate passing up on cheap opportunities. I know calling is a weak move but for 10 chips you really have very little to lose if the flop doesnt hit you.

[Poker Orifice]

Calling from the SB is a huge leak in many player's sng game. For the amount of times you're going to hit a hand and then actually get paid off, it simply is just not worth it. IMO it's just spewing chips and also gives you a spew image.
Article mentioned above about playing in the blinds is a good read.

[bjsaust]

Chips are good. Not chips is not good. Its simple.

[lockpull]

Calling from the SB is a huge leak in many player's sng game. For the amount of times you're going to hit a hand and then actually get paid off, it simply is just not worth it. IMO it's just spewing chips and also gives you a spew image.
Article mentioned above about playing in the blinds is a good read.

The article I found was about weather you should push in the small blind by calculating EV and chance to get busted out of tourney. It was in the MTT strategy section. An excellent read but is that the one you are referring too? And would your answer be the same if say there were 5-6 limpers ahead of you. I know that would probably be rare on the 1st hand but you would then be getting 11 or 13-1 on the call.

[taipan168]

If there were 5 limpers in front and the BB was passive I would complete the SB and hope to flop two pair or better however.

[lockpull]

If there were 5 limpers in front and the BB was passive I would complete the SB and hope to flop two pair or better however.

Nice....and good job on the nice way to say I already told you dumbass

[drmcboy]

rule that I try and follow is if I would not limp on the BU behind a limper I won't complete from the SB, I think I stole that from Fnord.

[BadAssOutlaw]

I guess at this stage of my poker life, i'd be a spewer then lol.. if i'm in small blind and already half committed, why not see a cheap flop early in the game?

and for sure if there's a couple other limpers..


Then again, as i'm just getting into mainly playing sng's, I'll be reading a lot more posts in here about this and learning a lot more as well.. good question either way, it not only helps you but helps others like myself.

[Nakamura]

Completing with this type of hand is probably the best way for beginners to spew chips. Even when you hit 2 pair, you will probably be up against a couple nut-hunters (limpers with PP). This hand is either winning you a small pot or losing a big one!

[gingerwizard]

The article is in the SNG section, it's called something like playing blinds in sngs.

[lockpull]

The article is in the SNG section, it's called something like playing blinds in sngs.

I found it, thanks. Any idead where I can find the original writer....... (bad attempt at humor) But seriously thanks, good info in it.

[frreshprince]

fold

[Poker Orifice]

I guess at this stage of my poker life, i'd be a spewer then lol.. if i'm in small blind and already half committed, why not see a cheap flop early in the game?
.

Umm... cuz you'll be playing the rest of the hand out of position for starters. There's a good article on playing from the blinds... well worth reading (& know it's not the one the one guy above referred to... it's the one the other 'guy' referred to.. I believe 'he' is the author). Lots of good sng stuff on here B-A-OUTLAW, read thru the ones in the 'sticky section(s)'. I suck at navigating sites and attaching links, etc. (otherwise I'd re-direct you to it). Just read 'em all, lol,... they're all good.
Back to the OP hand post here. I smack my computer, wishing it was the face of villain and BTN. Then the next time I'm on a table like this, in early levels with a bunch of loose passive calling stations & maniacs, I limp behind and play it for set value. Then I watch them smash each other about & pick my spots carefully & play them aggressively. I hate those tables!

[fakepro]

fold, playing tight during the early hands of a SNG or any STT/MTT tournament is the best play you can make.