One great call leads to a win

This morning, while waiting for the wife to come back from her Saturday morning shift, I took part in a 45-player sit-n-go on PokerStars. I usually detest sit-n-gos, especially bigger ones, due to their usually-stringent payout structures. That said, I was bored and 45 players isn't too big for my tastes, so off I went. They paid the top 7, and we were down to the final 10 or 11 when the following hand came up.

Blinds were $100/$200, with a $25 ante. I had been treading water all tournament long to this point, and had just under $1,800 in chips. The button at the five-player table was on me when I looked down to Kh-Qh. Ruben165 raised to $600, and I just called as everyone else folded. KQ suited is a nice starting hand, but I wasn't about to go over the top, especially since a lot of SNG players like to play close to the vest and set traps with big hands.

The flop came out 10s-4h-2h. I thought, "Decent flop, but be careful chasing." Ruben165 immediately shoved all-in, and had me covered. I went into the tank here, knowing how the tournament stood. If I won, I probably cash, but was it worth calling in this spot with no pair and a mere flush draw? If I folded, I just wasted a third of my stack, and was probably going to be done soon anyway.

I thought about what kinds of hands he could represent in this spot. A10? Certainly not A4 or A2. Low pocket pairs would have been semi-feasible, but anything from 6-6 or 5-5 down wouldn't justify his substantial pre-flop raise (he'd been playing pretty tight, consistent poker). I then considered the chance he could be bluffing with ace-rag or king or queen-high. Nobody likes to make a mistake this close to the money, and he could be trying to buy the pot after missing completely. The more I thought, the more this made sense, and I put my remaining $1,200 into the pot.

We flipped the cards, and I was delighted to see he had Kc-Jc! He HAD missed, and was dead unless a jack hit the board. Fortunately, the turn brought another 2, and the river paired my queen to double me up. It propelled me to the final table, and I managed to take down a few more big pots, culminating when my pocket 9's held against J10 suited to win the tournament. I'm usually a conservative player, but if I don't make that call with Kh-Qh, I probably don't cash, let alone win the big prize. It just goes to show you have to be willing to consider the chances of people blowing smoke, even THAT close to the money.