Already mentioned it in the other thread, but hey I don't post here often anyway so I'm sure you can all suffer hearing about it again.
Situation:Final table, blinds are 15000/30000 with a 5000 ante, I am in the big blind. I start the hand with 135000, the table short stack, with an M value of around 1.6 - pretty obvious I need to make something happen soon or risk being blinded out. I am in the Big Blind. I have played at some point in the tournament with all but one player at the final table. UTG and no1 are tight players with medium stacks. Next to act is the only player at the table I have not played with during the course of the evening, and has the second biggest stack on the table. After him is a medium-to-high stack whom I had played in the later stages, wherein he raised more than average, but tended to show cards that were at least playable. Next was the other short-stack of the table, who is in a similar situation to me - push-or-fold. He has slightly more chips than me due to stealing the blinds/antes the previous hand, but cannot sit and wait. Next is a tight player who played very few hands during the time I spent on his table, and the hands he did show were premium. He has a medium-to-low stack. The small blind is the big stack of the table, and by far the loosest player of the lot. During the time I spent on his table earlier in the day, he was making steals and using his chiplead to isolate raisers well. The cards he had turned over ranged from decent to below-marginal, so he is something of a wildcard. My table image is that of a tight but desperate player - will wait for some appealing cards, and shove, with no other real moves available.
The actionAll players until 4th to act, fold. 4th to act limps for 30000. Behind the button and the button fold, and the small blind completes the bet. I look down at:
(Suits may not be accurate since they had no bearing on my decision or the outcome of the hand)
As mentioned above, I am the shortstack of the table and cannot afford to wait for premium hands. While folding to try and get a higher placing is a consideration, it is not one that I can justify - I am guaranteed good money for even appearing on the final table, and in order to be in the running for the $10,000 I need to get chips. While pocket 2s are hardly the holy grail I was hoping for, they are a playable hand, and neither of my opponents had raised, despite the fact that both had demonstrated willingness to do so earlier in the evening, and as such had shown no particular strength. If I don't play this hand, I am unlikely to have enough chips to get any player to fold for any subsequent hands due to the blinds/antes going through me, and even if I were to get a call, it is likely that I'll be in a 50/50 situation for 330 chips - enough to give me some manueverability on the table. The size of the pot and the fact that I believe that should I receive a call it'll be an even-money situation is too tempting, and I push my remaining 100k in. 4th to act folds quickly, and the small blind calls fairly quickly, and turns over:
(again, suits may not be accurate, as they had no bearing in the hand. I think I had at least one live flush draw, though)
A bizarre call, but not a tragedy in that I am in the same situation I was expecting to be in - a coinflip, for a chance at getting some breathing room on the table or leaving the tournament.
The Flop:
(suits not important, as stated)
I need one of 2 remaining 2s or a runner-runner straight. Not looking too hot at this point.
The Turn:
This eliminates any straights, giving me 2 outs and a feeling of impending doom.
The River:
Which ended my brief stint at the final table.
Thoughts:I really dislike the call with the 5 4 offsuit there. The pot odds, while tempting, were not sufficient unless he thought that I had an underpair or 2 undercards specifically, and the odds of that were slim. It would be very difficult to read someone for a hand that specific, and I believe it was merely a loose call made purely due to the fact he had a large stack - however, I believe his stack was in the area of 780k, and the 135k total investment still represented around 18% of his total chips, which is a big gamble with such a weak hand. Despite this, however, the situation was the one I was expecting, and when you take a coinflip for all your chips it's poor form to complain about a loss, so I'm happy enough. 8th placed payed $550, which is more than I anticipated leaving with, and I had a good time, so I'm happy. Looking forward to winning it this season, though
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