My First 'Big One'

At this year's Jack Binion World Poker Open, I was having a pretty good tournament, so I decided to play a few supersatellites, and lo and behold, I won a seat in the $10,000 buy-in main event. Needless to say, I was both excited and nervous about playing in this event, as it would be my biggest tournament to date. If you've never played in a $10,000 event, it's truly a thrill; just to sit down with more than 200 of the world's top players was an honor and privilege.

We started with $10,000 in chips, blind structures of $25-$50, and 120-minute rounds, so my objective was to double up and survive, but I didn't need to do it with an all-in double-up. I figured I could chip up slowly and take small pots over the course of the day and reach my goal. I didn't want to have to show down a hand at the river; I wanted to win it outright on the flop or turn. This would accomplish two of my goals: not letting my opponents see how I played, and giving me a tighter image, which would help me on the second day of the tournament.

My starting table had a pretty decent lineup that included a few well-known players and some unknowns. I was sitting in the No. 9 seat. Players at my table included Bob Beck, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Jeff Shulman, Mike Matusow, Henry Nowakowski, Alex Papachatzakis, and a few others I didn't know. I figured that since I have dealt poker for so many years, I had a good feel for how a lot of players play, but being an unknown myself would give me the slight edge I needed.

Here's how some day No. 1 action went: It's 45 minutes into the tourney and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson has been relentlessly attacking my blinds, but they're only $25-$50, so it's not that big a deal. I keep reminding him that I am a dealer and I play badly, so he'd better watch out. In the small blind, I pick up pocket aces and smooth-call his preflop $175 raise. The flop comes A Q 4. I check to induce a bet, and sure enough, he bets $400. I call. The turn is my perfect card, the Q, and I check my aces full to Chris, who knuckles behind me. Now, the second-ugliest card in the world, the A, hits the river (ugh). I think to myself, I just made quads and am not getting paid off on this monster. I check, Chris bets $600, I raise it to $1,200, and he mucks. Oh, well, I'll catch you next time, Chris.

Sixty-eight minutes into the tournament I catch A Q in the big blind, and Henry raises. I call. The flop is A 8 4. I check, he bets $500, and I call. The turn is a blank. I check, he bets $500, I call, and now the second weird thing of the day takes place: He turns over his hand, thinking it's the river, and exposes the A J. The river is dealt before I have a chance to get a ruling on the hand. I bet out $1,100, which he doesn't call, and once again I am foiled in my attempt to win more chips.

Thirty minutes into the second limit I'm dealt the A 8 in middle position, raise it to $325 to go, and get six callers. The flop is K J 4. Everyone checks, the turn brings the 10, and everyone checks again. I hit the 9 on the river for the nut flush, and it's checked to me. I bet $650 and am called in one spot. As I am waiting for the last player to decide to fold or call, the third weird thing of the day occurs that prevents me from getting my full payout on the hand. A player at the table states, "if Travis doesn't have A-Q right here, I will quit poker." I am outraged, because the player who was deciding to call now folds after this comment, but I keep it to myself and let it pass. I now have about $15,000 in chips with about half the day gone. I make a few small raises here and there and a few overraises to chip up to $21,000 by the end of day No. 1.

As day No. 2 begins, I want to double my chips and get into a position where I can win this tournament. I don't want to just finish in the money, I want to win. My table is jammed with talent, including Mike Cordel, Allen Cunningham, Men "The Master" Nguyen, Tony Hartman, Chris Bigler, and a few others. I start the day with the A J and raise Allen Cunningham's blind to $650, thinking he will push in on me. He is somewhat short-stacked ($4,500) and will probably not want to be bullied around, so he might push in on anybody who attacks his blind. Sure enough, he pushes in on me. I call immediately, he turns over J 10, and we receive no help. This is the first time I have had to show my cards during the tournament, and I am kind of proud of that fact.

I win a few more small pots and am moved to a table where I'm almost knocked out of the tournament. I have $44,000 in chips and at this table are Erik Seidel, Howard Lederer on my left, Barry Shulman on my right, and a few others. Kathy Liebert is also at this table but is very short-stacked (not for long, though). She raises my big blind and I have A 6. I call. The flop is A 5 5. I check it, she bets $600, and I call. The turn card is the Q. I check once again, and she surprises me by checking. (My mistake in this hand was playing it so weakly. I should have raised on the flop or bet the turn, but hindsight is 20/20.) On the river, the 7 hits, I bet out $3,000, and she goes all in for $2,800 more. I am pot-committed and call, and she shows me 7 7 for sevens full of fives.

I now start steaming. Eight hands later, I am in the big blind when Howard Lederer raises, and I look down to see the J 10 and call $1,600 (my first mistake). The flop is J 8 4 and I bet out $10,000. (What am I thinking?) Howard comes over the top of me for $9,000 more and the pot is laying me 3.6-1, so if he has A-A, K-K, or Q-Q, I am about right to call here, and decide to call. He turns over my nightmare, J J. Argh. I am practically drawing dead, and with the 10 on the turn, I am drawing dead. I have just tilted off $34,000 in chips and am down to $8,000. I take a walk to calm down, and remember that it's a no-limit tournament; therefore, I can still make it.

I now adopt my push-it-in-before-the-flop strategy. If I am going to play a hand, I'm going all in before the flop. I can chip up to a point where I can then make normal raises. This strategy works perfectly, and I chip up to $40,000. Mind you, however, that I am getting hands at this point, and not just blindly putting it in with hands like 10 2. That way, if I am called, at least I have a decent shot to win and double up.

Near the end of day No. 2, we are moved and are down to four tables, and have to lose one more player to be in the money. Andy Bloch is on my immediate left and he has a mountain of chips. He is bullying everybody by using his move-all-in-if-you raise method, because he knows that unless you have a premium hand, you won't risk not getting into the money. I pick up on this, and try to rebully him. He raises it to $2,000 and I reraise to $10,000 with pocket eights. He comes over the top of me and goes all in. I am sure that I am winning at the moment, but this coin flip is not worth the risk. So, I fold. I chip up a few more times and we get into the money, but that play of Bloch's sticks in my mind.

On day No. 3, I start in either one of the best spots or one of the worst spots I could ask for on the third day. I have Andy Bloch (the current chip leader with $155,000) on my right and Barry Shulman (second chip leader with $140,000) on my left. I am going to get knocked out or win lots of chips. On the first hand of the day, Tony Popejoy raises all in for $17,000. I have A K in the small blind and reraise all in. Tony's pocket fours hold up. I now have $13,000 in chips and am looking bad, so I go back to my all-in-to-win strategy that worked the day before. My chip count swells to $26,000 in a little more than two hours.

I then get A A under the gun and go all in before the flop. I'm thinking that since this is all I have been doing for two hours straight, it might look suspicious if I were to make a smooth call or small raise. This way, if anybody has a hand, he will play with me. Sure enough, I find somebody with pocket kings. I hit an ace on the flop and he is drawing dead on the turn. I now have $54,000 in chips, and for the first time in three days I really feel like I can make it.

I win a few more pots and we are down to 19 players. Andy, coming off a big loss to Barry Shulman four hands earlier, raises my small blind $6,000. I look down to spot pocket kings and think about how I can get him to push all of his chips into the center. I remember the day before when he pushed in on me when I reraised him a big amount, pushing me off my pocket eights, and decide that is the course of action to take. I raise it $20,000, and he says he is going all in. I am happy as a lark, and call. The wind goes out of his sails as he hears me say call, because he knows I have him trapped. He turns over A Q and ends up beating me with the dreaded A on the turn, but it is all OK. I played in the big one with lots of well-known and respected players, and proved that sometimes a table full of white shirts may not be the best game in the house.

Editor's note: Travis Jonas is a tournament poker dealer who has been following the tournament trail for five years. He is the current casino employees world champion.