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I can't believe I played it the way I did. I was playing well in my opinion up to this point. The tourney started with 791 total players I finished 149th pretty much on the following hand. So here are the current stats at my table:

Seat 1: AlxPrada 1st (54004 in chips)
Seat 2: Battmeister (35460 in chips) ------->ME
Seat 3: G4cy (18562 in chips)
Seat 5: themexican24 (29195 in chips)
Seat 6: !SUPANOV! (16515 in chips)
Seat 7: DonLinnet (9210 in chips)
Seat 8: goxomago (35430 in chips)
Seat 9: M.A.M_1970 (40893 in chips)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Battmeister [Td Jh]
Battmeister said, "NICE!"
G4cy: folds
themexican24: folds
!SUPANOV!: folds
DonLinnet: folds
themexican24 said, "ty"
goxomago: raises 1000 to 2000
M.A.M_1970: calls 2000
AlxPrada 1st: folds
Battmeister: calls 1000
*** FLOP *** [7h Th 3c]
Battmeister: bets 1000
goxomago: raises 5999 to 6999
M.A.M_1970: folds
Battmeister: calls 5999
*** TURN *** [7h Th 3c] [Tc]
Battmeister: bets 12000
goxomago: calls 12000
*** RIVER *** [7h Th 3c Tc] [4d]
Battmeister: bets 4000
goxomago: raises 10331 to 14331 and is all-in
Battmeister: calls 10331
*** SHOW DOWN ***
goxomago: shows [Ts 7s] (a full house, Tens full of Sevens)
Battmeister: shows [Td Jh] (three of a kind, Tens)
goxomago collected 73960 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 73960 | Rake 0
Board [7h Th 3c Tc 4d]
Seat 1: AlxPrada 1st (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: Battmeister (big blind) showed [Td Jh] and lost with three of a kind, Tens
Seat 3: G4cy folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: themexican24 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: !SUPANOV! folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: DonLinnet folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: goxomago showed [Ts 7s] and won (73960) with a full house, Tens full of Sevens
Seat 9: M.A.M_1970 (button) folded on the Flop

I dont know what I was thinking. I have never read any poker books but have watched the pros play lots on WSOP events on ESPN. I would say I am not a fish but am a middle player. I just want to know what you think of this and if I could've done anything different with the betting. I don't think it matters because the guy who beat me had the nuts pretty much. oh yea I was in tbe big blind and that is why I decided to play a little with J T.

Thanks,
Nick

Answer:

Hi Nick,

Let's take it from the beginning.

When the cut off makes a minimum raise and it only cost you 1,000 to call - I think you make the right decision doing so. (It is definitely worth 1,000 to see the flop with 5,500 in the pot.) But you should be aware that you will be playing the hand out of position, which means you have to proceed carefully with a hand like JT off suite. (This is mainly a drawing hand and to handle draws out of position is always tricky.)

Given the pre-flop action this flop should usually be a pretty good flop for you. You have flopped top pair with a decent kicker. The pre-flop raiser in the cut off can have a very wide range of hands, he could have an over pair, but also a lot of lesser holdings. The button called a minimum raise in position, which also can be done with wide range of hands, but usually nothing really strong (or he would have re-raised).

I would definitely make a bet on a flop like this, but with 6,500 in the pot to bet 1,000 is not enough. The other players will have odds to call with a lot of hands and even over cards. There is a good probability that you have the best hand (even though you didn't) and you need to protect your hand. 2/3 of the pot (around 4,000) would be a more adequate bet. But no matter what you would have bet here your opponent would probably still had come over the top. This is when you need to make your decision.

When you bet and get a raise, you need to ask yourself what your opponent could be holding. Is he bluffing, on a draw or have you beat? In a tournament when your chips are limited this is where you decide to commit or not. What hand (or range of hands) you put your opponent on depend on your read. Is he/she capable of bluffing or raising with a draw here or does he/she have you beat? Your answer to this question decides how you proceed in the hand.

If you think you have the best hand here I would make a re-raise, your hand doesn't have that many ways to improve and you want to pick up the pot right away or make your opponent pay to outdraw you. If you think you are beaten you have to fold.

I don't have much to say about what happens on the later streets, when you decided to proceed after the flop it is hard to escape once you hit the trips.

Regards Clark
LTH

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