I think one of the hardest things to do is to recognize that you have been sucked into a trap and fold your hand. My way of looking at it is that TT is a marginal hand that needs to see a flop. If you make a set, then obviously it is wonderful, if there are no overcards on the flop, then you certainly want to take a stab at the pot, but calling off half your stack on a hand with no flop play, when you have already established a good position in the tournament?
Ultimately it is a question of personal preference and playing style. You win the pot, then you go from 10000 chips to 15000 chips and possibly take the tournament lead, or second or third place. You lose and you are back to square one.
(Of course calling shoves by a stack that is too small to hurt you when you have TT is a no brainer.)
My observation over a period of time is that the players who have been the most successful in winning RP tournaments over the last few years would probably have folded TT in that situation. But then we all make mistakes all the time and some days we play better than others depending on frame of mind, and other factors.
Last night after the five minute break at the end of the first hour, I returned from the kitchen where I was cooking a soup in a whistling pressure cooker, and quickly called a bet by a huge bluffer from the BB
with Q9 suited and then got stacked when I hit two pairs on the flop. He had QQ. We all do it.
Yes, very much an individual matter and a question of glass half full or glass half empty. The glass half full player is thinking: “Yippee, with any luck at all both these players have AK, so I can nip in and steal the pot with my QQ” and the glass half empty player is thinking, “Yikes, looks like I am up against AA vs KK, so I had better fold my QQ preflop.”
Well first of all, it doesn’t quite work like that. Your name, profile, and so on provide clues, they don’t say enough to give a complete psychological evaluation. I have played with Goat enough to form a better overall picture. But ok, I’ll take a shot based on the limited info I can access…
Hero
Motto: where there’s a will, there’s a way
Desire: to prove your worth through courageous acts.
Goal: expert mastery
Fear: weakness, being seen as a “chicken”
Weakness: arrogance, always needing a new battle to fight
Talent: competence and courage
It’s my belief that a person’s approach to poker is a direct reflection of their underlying personality type, and that understanding their personality type can not only give us insights into their game, but also let us predict their future actions. If you want an in-depth look at how that works in practice, wait and buy the book!
“I am convinced, the way one plays chess always reflects the player’s personality. If something defines his character, then it will also define his way of playing.” - Vladimir Kramnik
Yeah, he was talking about chess, but the idea works in poker and across many different aspects of life.
That is very true. When a person shows their cards after making an early raise and everyone folds, it says so much about their personality.
The best poker players will display several personality traits, constantly adjust to the milieu, and be very aware of their own table image. Sometimes it pays to be disingenuous. For example you 3-bet from the BB with total garbage, win the pot and then show your cards, giving the impression that you are a wild player.
