I see your point, though, about letting him push. Then again, if I’m against 9s or Ts or even Js-Ks, I can induce a fold by pushing first. It was very obvious that he was pushing. It wasn’t like a twitch; he had his chips stacked and they were moving forward very obviously when I cut him off with my own announcement. The key was to throw him off of his game by showing that I wanted to get all-in with him. I didn’t. I just wanted the pot. In fact, in many ways, I wanted him to stay in the game, since he was one of the easier players to read and pick off chips.

On one hand, I’m protecting my weak middle pair, which I think is warranted in a tournament; on another, I’m showing a bit of over-aggression that will hopefully pay off later.

I hope that explains it a bit.

I should note that a more traditional player, who is looking to play something more akin to ABC poker, is not even in this pot with 84h. And these moves wouldn’t work for their style. But I’m an action player, and I have to give action to get action. The more they think I’m a donk, the more I get paid. Here, I was able to accumulate chips, flex my muscles and look reckless, even though I was always in control and had my opponent well-read.