So pre-flop, the button has raised pot to $18 and the big blind as well as yourself calls.

The flop comes jack of hearts, queen of clubs, and ace of hearts.

The big blind checks, you bet pot (~$56), and the button raises pot (~$112). The big blind folds.

The play is back on you! How do you play it and why?

You are dealt the Ace of spades and King of spades down, with the Ten of hearts on top.

Your opponent’s door cards are Five of hearts, Ace of clubs, Jack of diamonds, Queen of spades, Eight of diamonds, Nine of clubs, and Two of hearts.

There have been three callers before the action comes around to you.

• Six players started the tournament. But only five were in this specific hand.
• Blinds were at 2/4.
• Starting chips were set around 150.
• The hand was around the eighth hand dealt.
• The chip leader had around 250 chips, Zonetrap and three others had around 150-175 chips, and one player, Mr. BC, had 50 chips.

Now that the history has been established, let’s discuss the hand. Zonetrap was sitting to the left of the big blind, and was dealt his two cards. He did not look at them and raised 10 chips blind (14 chips total). The dealer, Mr. BC, is the only one that called the raise, and asked Zonetrap why he hadn’t looked at his cards. Zonetrap stated he can play his hand as he likes.

The flop comes Nine, Eight, Four, rainbow. Zonetrap checked his hand, and pleasantly discovered he was holding Queen, Queen. He checked, and Mr. BC pushed all in for around 35 chips. Zonetrap immediately called and flipped over his pocket queens. Mr. Brad was irate and flipped over Jack, Three suited. The turn and river do not help him, and Zonetrap won the hand.

Mr. Brad was angry and stated that was a bush league play.

Tell us what you think and if you like, make a comment.

Zonetrap is dealt queen, two off suit in the small blind. Its folded all around. Zonetrap moves all in, for the remainder of 1,750 chips. MNFulltilt takes a few seconds and makes the call. He flips over queen, jack off suit and wins the hand. Thereby, knocking Zonetrap out of the tournament.

A few things to consider.

1. MNFulltilt had been raising the pot frequently.
2. Zonetrap thought he needed to take a chance and try to double up in order to make the top three (and the money).
3. The blinds were very high compared to Zonetrap’s stack. He thought he needed to make a move or be blinded out.

Did Zonetrap make the right decision? Of course, the results do not identify that, but you get to decide. Vote in the poll below and if you like, comment as well.

Let’s say you entered a nine player sit n’ go tournament. It is no limit holdem (turbo’d up) and the top three spots pay. You are still playing, with a total of four players left. The leader has more than double on any one player, the other three players having around 3,000-4,000 in chips. The blinds are 250-500, so the event is moving quickly, and someone is going to be left out of the money.

How are you playing in this situation, knowing that the top three spots pay?

He was going through a tough time at the tables and wanted to know what other players thought. So I ask you, read the following passage, put yourself in this situation, take a minute, and give your thoughts on what you would do.

I am on a two week streak where I can’t win a race either online or live. It’s getting old.

I rarely put all my chips in on a race so I am not usually losing because of it but it makes it hard to accumulate chips and it’s no fun to always be short stack.

Everyone folds, except the player to your right, who raises it to 20. You yourself call, as does the dealer to your immediate left, the small blind folds, and the big blind calls the raise. Four people will see this flop.

The flop is the 6 of diamonds, 3 of spades, and the 8 of spades. The big blind checks, but our pre-flop raiser bets 200 chips. What do you do?

Fast forward…there are 125 participants who started this EPT event and it has been dwindled down to 24, all in the money.

You are sitting 16th with 75,000 chips, the leader has 250,000 chips, who is at your table. The limits are at $3,000-$6,000, with a $500 ante. You are dealt pocket Queens down, with a King on top. Only two other players are in the hand, one with a Ace showing, the other with a Seven. The player with the Ace bets out $4,000. The player with the Seven raises it to $8,000. It is now your turn to act.

You are in the big blind and are dealt 6 of hearts and 5 of diamonds. The first three positions fold. The button raises it 2x the blind, the small blind calls the raise, as do you.

The flop is 8 of hearts, 6 of diamonds, 5 of hearts. The small blind checks. What do you do?

The flop is 9-5-2 rainbow, giving you trips (three nines) and the best hand at the moment. In most like situations, what is the proper course of action? Remember, its not 100% of the time as your tactics/strategy can vary.