Aggressive poker doesn't always pay off

To win a poker tournament, it takes a little luck and lots of guts. Being dealt good cards doesn't hurt, either, but patience is the remedy to combat a stretch of bad cards.

Winning a poker tournament also requires the ability to put your opponent to a decision for all his chips. It's an effective maneuver that hinges on the situation, not your cards. A dangerous player is someone who uses his position and chip stack - not just quality cards - to push people around.

You don't need the best possible hand to pull this off. The only things you need are table position and the knowledge that your opponent doesn't have the best possible hand.

That was exactly the scenario for me last Friday night at Harveys, site of the first event of this year's World Series of Poker Lake Tahoe Circuit Event. It was only a $340 buy-in tournament, but with 484 players - second largest tournament in Northern Nevada history - some serious dough was on the line.

The tournament started at 1:30 p.m., and my chip stack fluctuated more than Britney Spears' weight. Forty-five minutes in, I had $11,000 in chips, $8,000 more than I had at the start.

Fifteen minutes later, then I lost a big pot that would've put me over $20,000 when my nut straight on the flop gave way to a full house on the turn for someone else. When the tournament broke for dinner at 5:15 p.m., I had $7,500 in chips and there were 165 players remaining.

Two hours after dinner, I had $20,000, more than the average stack and enough to fold my way into the money. The top 45 were awarded money, with Nos. 37-45 earning $775 and the winner $35,634.

Players who are almost "in the money" usually tighten their play. After all, nobody likes hearing a story about the person who almost made money.

I stayed aggressive and attempted to accumulate more chips. I wanted to win the tournament, not take home a few hundred dollars.

So, with between 70 and 80 players remaining, I put somebody to the test. And not just anybody. Someone who had a similar size chip stack as mine.

It's common strategy to avoid other big-stack players because the risk of elimination is too great when there are guppies with small stacks praying to get "in the money." If another big stack attacks your chips, assume that player isn't afraid of your hand.

With the antes at $200 and the blinds at $400 and $800, I was dealt A-K and had position but just called the big blind since all the guppies folded. The flop came 10-J-K rainbow, giving me top pair, top kicker.

The first player bet $1,200, a standard bet when someone gets a decent piece of the flop. I knew he didn't have a straight or a three of a kind because, watching how had played, he would've checked, hoping I would bet and then he'd re-raise me.

His $1,200 bet under the gun made it clear he had two pair, a straight draw or a King with a weak kicker. Two of those hands I already had beaten, and the two pair possibility was concerning except it's not a scary board for two pair.

I moved all-in and put him to the test. If he lost, he'd be left with about $4,000, barely enough to survive the next round of antes and blinds Most players, at that point, would realize they only have $1,200 invested in the pot and folded.

However, he spent the next five minutes scratching his head. In the end, after motioning to fold countless times, he called and turned over 10-J - two pair.

The turn and river came blank-blank, and I was out. It was a reckless call since only four cards would improve his hand, and he knew I wouldn't put my tournament life on a draw.

If I had been in his position, I would've thought I'm probably already beaten. If I wasn't sure, which is what he was thinking since it took him five minutes to call, I wouldn't want to risk my stack on a chance.

But what do I know? I finished in 70th place and broke, while he used my stack to finish in the money.



- Jeremy Evans is a sports writer for the Tahoe Daily Tribune. He can be reached at (530) 542-8008 jevans@tahoedailytribune.com.