Do you remember that famous quote by Winston Churchill during World War II while the British were under siege? It was, "Never, never, never, never, never give up." That definitely applies today in our current war against terrorism. However, it also applies to you when you are playing in a poker tournament. No matter how short your stack of chips becomes, you should never give up hope. Always use good judgment and patience to determine when to make your move and get your remaining chips into the pot. However, do not allow your remaining chips to be eaten up by the blinds and antes. When I first started playing in tournaments, I tried to hold out for a good hand before going all in. I often got blinded away just a few spots out of the money. That does not happen to me anymore. If I am in a no-limit hold'em tournament, my chips will be pushed all in before the blinds are allowed to eliminate me.

Recently, I was playing in one of my favorite tournaments, the Tuesday night no-limit hold'em tournament at the Mirage in Las Vegas. Twelve players remained in the tournament, two tables of six players each. At that point, I was in a rather desperate situation. My chip count was only $2,200, and the blinds were $500-$1,000 plus antes. I looked at my cards and became pleasantly surprised. I finally found a good hand, pocket queens. I had been steadily getting blinded away during the previous hour without any decent hands at all. I would have gone all in at this point with just about any hand, but pocket queens was a true gift. I immediately shoved in my meager stack of $2,200. Everyone passed to the big blind, and he reluctantly called me, because it cost him only $1,200 more. My queens held up, and I had approximately $5,000 in chips. The very next hand, I went all in again with pocket queens. One player called me, and I hit a queen on the turn. Three queens easily won that pot, and I had $12,000 in chips.

We then drew seats for the final table (nine players). The blinds increased to $1,000-$2,000 plus antes. I was in late position with pocket queens again. I moved all in, and no one called. The very next hand, I received A-Q and moved all in again. No one called. This was fun! I now had approximately $19,000 of the $103,000 in chips on the table. This is a perfect example of never giving up. In about 30 minutes, I went from $2,000 to $19,000 in chips, and was in contention to win the tournament.

The next hand, I moved in again with A-J. The big blind called all in with A-K. Neither one of us improved, so he took $5,000 from me. I had $14,000 in chips, which was fourth in chip count. The next hand, a player busted out, so we started to discuss a deal. First prize was $3,100, second was $1,400, and third was $998. The chip leader agreed to accept $2,000, and the other seven players took $856 each. I thought this was a good deal for everyone. There was no guarantee that the chip leader would win, and second place would have been $1,400. And to receive more than $856, a player would have to finish at least third.

Again, remember what Winston Churchill said, "Never, never, never, never, never give up." Good luck at your next tournament.