Big Slick Giveth as Well as Taketh Away

In my last column, I described a hand that I played against Erik Seidel in the $1,000 no-limit hold'em tournament at Commerce Casino's recent L.A. Poker Classic in which I had pocket tens and he had A-K. It would have been damaging enough for Erik to make a pair of kings to beat my tens, but he added insult to injury by making trip kings in an $18,000 pot! Erik went on to place fourth in the tournament and I finished 17th. (A tip of the Stetson to Philip Ivey, who bested a tough field of 215 players to win the event.) The hand perfectly illustrates an important no-limit hold'em tournament concept: More tournaments are won or lost with A-K against a big pair than any other hand.

As T.J. Cloutier and I wrote in Championship No-Limit & Pot-Limit Hold'em, to win a no-limit tournament, you have to win with A-K and you have to beat A-K. You may not win or lose with it or against it on the final hand, but it usually will be the deciding hand, the one that wins or loses the most chips for you. It's the biggest "decision" hand in a tournament. You might be up against two queens, and flop an ace or a king to win the pot even though the queens are a favorite over time. But if you're running unlucky, it seems that somebody always catches up with you on the last two cards.

When Johnny Chan won the World Series of Poker championship event in 1987, and it was down to two tables, he played 12 times in 11-to-10 situations – either a big pair against two overcards or vice versa – and won all 12 times. In the last hand against Frank Henderson, his final opponent, a similar situation came up. Chan made a raise before the flop with A-9 and Henderson moved all in with pocket fours. A 9 came on the river to give Chan the championship and Henderson the runner-up honors.

"Early in a tournament," T. J. wrote in our book, "I treat A-K very softly. I might make a raise with it, but I'm not going to lose any money with it if I don't flop pretty good to it. If someone raises from the front when I'm holding A-K in the back, the way that I handle it largely depends on the player who made the raise. There are times when I'll just call and there are times when I'll try to win the money right then by reraising. And there are times when I will simply throw the hand away. It all depends on what I know about my opponent and how he's playing that day."

Sometimes you'll see players move all in with A-K. If you decide to do this, remember that the purpose of moving all in is to see all five cards. "I'm not a move-in player," T.J. explained, "but in certain situations (especially shorthanded and late in a tournament), you have to do it. Suppose that a player raises, you call with A-K, and the flop comes 7-4-2. If your opponent makes a bet, you have to give up the hand. If you decide to play A-K shorthanded, you move in with it because you want to see all five cards. Of course, you might be up against someone who is holding aces – and then you know you're in bad shape!"

When you're sitting in one of the first four positions in a no-limit hold'em tournament, the raising hands are big pairs – queens or better (not jacks or better) – and A-K, if you feel good about the hand. "Nothing is wrong with making a small raise with A-K," T.J. advised, "but a lot of players who have moved from playing limit hold'em to no-limit tournaments will move in with a big number of chips when they hold Big Slick. Why put all those chips in jeopardy when you don't yet have anything?"

It is better to make a standard raise than to overbet the pot. For example, if you're still in the first round with $25-$50 blinds, bring it in for $200 or $300. "I've seen novices bring in an A-K for $4,000 or more with everybody on the board yet to act," T.J. noted. "What if somebody behind them wakes up with aces or kings?" In a case like this, when you have overbet the pot, you're not going to get action unless you're beaten. You're either going to win $75 (the blinds) or lose a ton of chips. Our point is to play the A-K more conservatively from an early position early in a tournament by making just a standard raise, so that you do not get trapped for a ton of money in case someone yet to act comes over the top with a big reraise.

Hopefully, these pointers on playing Big Slick in no-limit tournaments will help you to make it to the winner's circle, where I hope to meet you one day soon.

Editor's note: Tom McEvoy and T.J. Cloutier are the co-authors of Championship No-Limit & Pot-Limit Hold'em, as well as the newly revised Championship Hold'em. For more information, visit the web at www.pokerbooks.com.