My Problems with the Sit & Go– Part III

Part I is here.
Part II is here.

I went on to win the following tournament, but at this stage, I was desperate. Six people left and only four get money. I was short stack with an M of about 3. I’m going to push any two cards that are reasonable high or close to being connected. Unfortunately, the big blind in this hand is the chip leader and I’m worried he’ll make a call with just about any hand. I just hope he realizes that I still represent 25% of his chip stack.

Full Tilt Poker Game #9945305763: $2 + $0.25 Sit & Go (75592074), Table 2 - 200/400 - No Limit Hold'em - 16:11:28 ET - 2009/01/09
Seat 3: kid61 (2,745)
Seat 4: fa88 (7,530)
Seat 5: ke1222 (4,805)
Seat 7: Auc (3,670)
Seat 8: CgCook38 (1,890)
Seat 9: hraim88 (6,360)
kid61 posts the small blind of 200
fa88 posts the big blind of 400
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to CgCook38 [6h Td] – Not ideal, but if it folds to me, I’m pushing.
ke1222 folds
Auc folds
CgCook38 raises to 1,890, and is all in
hraim88 folds
kid61 has 15 seconds left to act
kid61 calls 1,690 – Oh boy, I didn’t plan that. He’s got to have a monster. As I said, what does he gain by knocking me out in sixth place?
fa88 folds
CgCook38 shows [6h Td]
kid61 shows [Qh 7h] – Wait, what is he doing??? He could easily have folded there and hoped the big stack on the BB called me! If not, the two of us are still tied for the non-money spots and the blinds are about to hit me again. Right now he’s a 64% favorite.
*** FLOP *** [9h Kc 6d]
*** TURN *** [9h Kc 6d] [As]
*** RIVER *** [9h Kc 6d As] [2s]
CgCook38 shows a pair of Sixes
kid61 shows Ace King high
CgCook38 wins the pot (4,180) with a pair of Sixes
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 4,180 Rake 0
Board: [9h Kc 6d As 2s]
Seat 3: kid61 (small blind) showed [Qh 7h] and lost with Ace King high
Seat 4: fa88 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: ke1222 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: Auc didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: CgCook38 showed [6h Td] and won (4,180) with a pair of Sixes - Wow! Now I’m pretty much in a tie for third place and the other guy’s pretty much out with such a short stack! Yeah me!
Seat 9: hraim88 (button) didn't bet (folded)

Now the risks I was taking last week weren’t nearly this extreme. I remember one hand specifically where I was sitting in the small blind with JQ suited and the chip lead. A player across the table made a standard raise. I called along with two others. On the flop I made two pair and check-raised the raiser. He called and we took a harmless turn. I checked again and he bet out. I put him all in and he called with AQ for one pair. The river brought an Ace and I lost the hand and the chip lead. I failed to cash in the tournament. I made all the right moves after the flop and the turn, but the river brought the wrong card. I was behind pre-flop and probably would have won the tournament if I had just folded to his raise.

My success in poker at any table in any tournament is always going to rely on the same variables. In every situation I encounter I need to take an account of all of the evidence offered to me and make sound, game-winning decisions. And every downturn in my bankroll will likely be the fault of small decisions that I make along the way that have minimized the advantages I’ve worked so hard to gain. I can’t wait to post this week’s weekly report to see how I’ve improved.