In the first level on Day 2 of MSPT Canterbury Park, which drew a record 475 entrants, the blinds were 1,500/3,000/500 and 83 players remained with 45 of them getting paid.

Luke Mernin (98,000) opened for 7,000 and Jason Ramos (290,500) called from middle position. Dan Vandevoort, who started the day as the second shortest stack, then moved all in for 34,000 from the button. Robert Ogorman proceeded to move all in over the top for 82,000, and Mernin hit the tank for a couple minutes before calling to put both players at risk. Ramos folded and all three players turned up their cards.

Vandevoort: A♣A♥
Ogorman: 10♠10♦
Mernin: A♠K♠

Vandevoort held the goods, and maintained his lead on the 6♣3♦J♠flop. The 8♠ turn put a big sweat out there as Mernin picked up a spade flush draw, but he missed it when the Q♣ blanked on the river. Mernin was left with 16,000 after the hand, but he went bust a short time later.

We caught up with poker pro and author Jonathan Little to get his take on how this hand played out.

MSPT: What do you think of Ogorman’s four-bet jam with pocket tens in this spot?

Little: Ogorman is certainly in a difficult spot with his pocket tens, but I think going all in is perfectly acceptable given he only has 27 big blinds. The only way you can realistically justify folding is if he knows either the initial raiser or the pusher are overly tight, putting pocket tens in marginal shape. If both players are getting in with reasonable ranges, you have to be willing to gamble. Also notice that the only time he is in a terrible situation is when the initial raiser has a premium hand. When he is only against the 34,000 all in, he is getting great pot odds and if he loses, he will still have about half his stack remaining.

MSPT: How do you feel about Mernin’s call with ace-king?

Little: It is difficult to assume how players will play shortly after doubling up from a tiny stack as Vandevoort had done. Some players will play tightly to "protect" their newly found chips while others will still feel short and will be blasting all in with a wide range thinking that they are now "free rolling". Without an actual read, you should not assume much about your opponents' strategies and instead try to play a fundamentally sound strategy yourself.

Facing two all ins, A♣A♥ is in a tough spot, but I typically call off in this situation if I think both players play well (because their ranges both include a few hands ace-king dominates). Similar to Ogorman's spot with tens, if Mernin knows either player is overly tight, folding becomes a fine option. Also notice that the only time he gets wrecked is when he loses to the 82,000 all in.

While you should rarely be thrilled to call off in this spot, if you pass up on too many situations like this, you will find that you have a difficult time accumulating chips unless the tournament is filled with players who have significant flaws in their strategies.

For more on Little, follow him on Twitter @JonathanLittle. You can also receive a FREE copy of his eBook by simply entering your email at JLpoker.com/mspt.