playing the odds heads-up

OUR HERO is the one to watch. Here, OUR HERO is the chip leader and the action is heads-up in a $55 buy-in Sit-n-Go tourny. Blinds are $300/$600, so the action is fast and furious. Comments in CAPS.


OUR HERO is the button
Total number of players : 2
Seat 6: iUpUrAcei (5474)
Seat 10: OUR HERO (14526)
OUR HERO posts small blind (300)
iUpUrAcei posts big blind (600)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to OUR HERO [ Kh, 8h ]
OUR HERO raises (1500) to 1800 -- HEADS-UP ACTION AND A SUITED KING; GOOD ENOUGH TO RAISE AND TRY TO BUY THE BLINDS, ESPECIALLY WITH POSITION. RAISING TO 1800 FORCES HIM TO CALL 1200 TO PLAY, JUST ENOUGH TO GET HIM TO FOLD MOST HANDS.
iUpUrAcei raises (4874) to 5474
iUpUrAcei is all-In. INTERESTING..... NOW HE'S PUTTING ME TO THE DECISION; IF I CALL AND LOSE, WE'LL BE ABOUT EVEN IN CHIPS; IF I CALL AND WIN, TOURNAMENT'S OVER. HE COULD HAVE ANY PAIR, ANY ACE, ANY KING OR EVEN A HAND LIKE QJ TO MAKE THIS PLAY. I MADE IT 1800, HE RAISED ANOTHER 3600, SO I AM GETTING ABOUT 2 TO 1 POT ODDS TO CALL. IF HE HAS A PAIR OF 7s OR LOWER, HE'S ABOUT A 55 TO 45 FAVORITE; IF HE HAS AN ACE, HE'S THE FAVORITE BUT NOT BY MUCH. I MAY BE AHEAD, TOO. GIVEN THAT I AM GETTING GREAT ODDS AND THAT I CAN'T LOSE THE TOURNAMENT ON THIS HAND, EASY CALL.
OUR HERO calls (3674)
Creating Main Pot with $10948 with iUpUrAcei
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 9h, Kc, 9d ]
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 4h ]
** Dealing River ** : [ 4d ]
** Summary **Main Pot: 10948
Board: [ 9h Kc 9d 4h 4d ]
iUpUrAcei balance 0, lost 5474 [ Jd Ac ] [ two pairs, nines and fours -- Ac,9h,9d,4h,4d ] -- WOW! HE HAD A BIG ACE, AND WAS THE PRE-FLOP FAVORITE. BUT, SINCE I COULD CALL, LOSE THE HAND AND STILL HAVE ABOUT 1/2 THE CHIPS IN PLAY, I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE CALLED EVEN IF I HAD KNOWN HIS CARDS. POTS ODDS WERE PRETTY SOLID. POT ODDS ARE MORE IMPORTANT IN A CASH GAME, BUT SINCE I COULDN'T GET KNOCKED OUT ON THIS HAND, I LOOKED TO THE POT ODDS TO HELP MAKE THIS DECISION.
OUR HERO balance 20000, bet 5474, collected 10948, net +5474 [ Kh 8h ] [ two pairs, kings and nines -- Kh,Kc,9h,9d,8h ]