Question About An All In Move In A Tournament

Ok, this was last tuesday, final table in tournament, 5 players left, everyone into money.

Ante $500, SB $2000 BB $4000

Pot is $8500

I started final table with $52,000 did not see a decent hand for 2 rounds, played 2 holds and folded after flop.

Now Im short stacked, with about $17,000 Im Hold KJ Clubs

Im 3rd to Act. Player 1 Folds, Player 2 Folds. I went all-in hoping to steal the pot to carry atleast another round.

SB Calls. He has me covered. He is holding QcJs, Flop comes Qd 7h 2d Turn 4c River 5s. I am out of tournament 5th place $165 win and cost me $65.00 buyin

So was this a wrong move on my part?

in the end clearly it was the wrong move... you lost. In that situation you would have been committed with your blinds two hands later anyway, and probably stuck with a worse hand. given that the others may have figured you were just making a move with a tiny stack already committed more than 1 may have called. I think it was a good decision...

How much longer would it have been before the word "chop" was uttered?

Hell. no one there was gonna chop, especially with the the guy who knocked me out only doubled up and the the next lowest stack was only equal to him, and 1st/2nd place had equal stacks of about 150k each

Though over all not bad i dont think been playing less than 3 months i hit 9 final tables and placed in the money in 3 of them.

I wouldn't expect a chop offer when there was someone with 4BB left, assuming everyone else has greater than 10BBs.

You got the money in as the favourite. You played with position. You can't fold two high cards with just the blinds to call (unless I misunderstand the set up, you were in button), as King High is good here. You'll get outplayed on most flops, or get no value if it's scare flop for your opponent.

All in here looks good to me. This might not have been the key hand. It may well have been a hand you folded on the early goes around when you had more of a stack.

Quote: kauboj

So was this a wrong move on my part?

On the surface, I want to say this was the wrong move on your part. KcJc is a strong hand 5-handed, and pushing all-in, the only people likely to call of the remaining blinds will be holding an Ace or a pair. If you've been playing as tight as you say you have been, calling with QcJs is a VERY bad move, since you are likely holding an Ace or better.

Perhaps then that is the correct play. The SB probably should NOT have called you with that weak of a hand.

Then again, my feeling is that you should have just called, hoping that one of the blinds would try to make a move at it. If you don't like the flop, get out. If you flop top pair, you're more likely to get called on your all-in there with the best hand, as they wouldn't put you on a K. And the flop is easy enough to get out of anyways if you don't flop anything.

But congrats otherwise!

Quote: thecesspit

This might not have been the key hand. It may well have been a hand you folded on the early goes around when you had more of a stack.

I am inclined to be more on board with this answer. The problem with having 4 BB's as you stated you were left with is that your chips lose a lot of their power. Even if you manage to win that pot and steal the blinds, you are still looking at an uphill battle with only 8-10 BB's left. Once you get into the money, you need to start taking some more chances as to be successful in tournaments, you simply have to be lucky at certain junctures of play. I'd suggest that once you start approaching the 10-15 BB mark, you really have to take a look at your table position and consider making a move at that point. Even if you end up being an underdog, if you make a move with a relatively strong hand and manage to win when you push with 10-15 big blinds, winning actually keeps you in the race and allows you to be more creative with your plays. Dwindling to 4 BB's is a bad position to be in, because even in the best case (a win) your chips still don't have much staying power.

Hope this helps. Best of luck on the tables.

Without knowing exactly what the other players' stacks are, it's hard for me to answer this question. You are trying to get out the SB, who only needs $15k to call you, and the BB, who only needs $13k to call you. If a call for those amounts by either of those players would be detrimental to them, then an all-in move would be a good idea. On the other hand, if either of those players can easily call you, and not be hurt even if they lose, then an all-in move would not be a great idea. You did say that the SB has you covered, but you don't say by how much. So, I would say that I would need to know how much he has you covered by, a little, or a lot?

Quote: konceptum

Without knowing exactly what the other players' stacks are, it's hard for me to answer this question. You are trying to get out the SB, who only needs $15k to call you, and the BB, who only needs $13k to call you. If a call for those amounts by either of those players would be detrimental to them, then an all-in move would be a good idea. On the other hand, if either of those players can easily call you, and not be hurt even if they lose, then an all-in move would not be a great idea. You did say that the SB has you covered, but you don't say by how much. So, I would say that I would need to know how much he has you covered by, a little, or a lot?

Really? I don't understand this. The pot is unraised, you're on the button, you've got 4 big blinds left, and you've got K-J suited. What else are you possibly going to do other than go all in?