I’m having a LOT of trouble lately in MTTs dealing with overly passive players.
Example:
Early-mid stages of tournament, let’s say everyone has 40bb. Villain 1 limps UTG, 2 more limpers before Hero (on the Button) raises to 7bb with QcJc. Villain 1 and CO call. Flop 7d Jd 6s Villain 1 bets 1bb, CO calls. Hero raises to 11bb. Villain 1 calls, CO folds. Turn 3h Villain 1 checks, Hero bets ALL-IN. *Villain * calls with AhJs, river bricks out, and Hero is out of the tournament.
Even with notes that say Villain 1 plays like this, I feel I can’t just call the 1bb flop bet as the CO can have a lot of draws that we want to get value from. Then on the turn, I guess checking back is an option? There isn’t really a viable bet size other than all-in. Seems crazy to check back top pair good kicker on a wet board that still has no 4-liners showing. Do we just get stacked by AJ+ here and say “oh well”?
I am by no means a great poker player, take this for what it is worth:
Especially with notes on this player, my thought process might go something like this:
What do they have???
Alarm bells start ringing…am I beat? jack?.. pocket pair??.. two pair???.. set???
Alarm bells, klaxon, red flag waving… trap… trap… trap… time to slow down
The raise on the flop is probably the right move but when he calls, that’s when it is time to think
That is probably what I would do since I feel it is most likely you will only ever get called by a better hand. Checking down or maybe calling a small value bet on the river (if you really believe you have the best hand) I think is the best way to handle this situation. But like I said I’m no expert
