When the Chip Leader is a Calling Station

Conventional wisdom says that in tournaments, an aggressive style of play wins the chips. Of course, I have always maintained that the key is to be selectively aggressive, carefully choosing situations in which aggressive play will serve you best, rather than shifting into high gear and never slowing down. But sometimes, passive players defy the wisdom of the tournament sages and amass chips like magnets attract paper clips. Dave was competing against just such a "Passive Paul" in a recent tournament.

"We were down to 11 players in a 200-player live tournament," he began his e-mail. "The top 18 got paid, so we were already in the money and waiting for one more player to drop out to move to the final table. First place paid $7,400, with a typical sliding scale down to between $200 and $300 for 18th place. The blinds were $5,000-$10,000 with a $2,000 ante. I was right about in the middle of the pack in chip count with around $50,000. I would appreciate your analysis of my play on the following hand, which cost me dearly.

"I was in the $10,000 big blind with the J 5. Everyone folded to the small blind, who completed the minimum bet by calling for $5,000. He was the chip leader at that point with about $150,000. A very passive player, he had done a lot of calling with very little raising, but had gotten some big hands in crucial multiway pots. I checked and we proceeded to see the flop – 5-4-2 rainbow, which gave me top pair. Just as the flop was hitting, someone at the other table busted out, meaning we had already made the final table. I was quite excited by this, since it was my first live tournament final table.

"On the flop, the small blind bet the minimum $10,000. I raised to $20,000, and he just called. This left me with only $22,000. The turn was a 3. He checked, and I checked. The river brought a 9, at which point he went all in. I had no choice but to fold. He flashed his cards and I saw that he had a 6 for a straight. With my short stack, I was able to play only three hands at the final table before busting out in 10th place.

"Was I wrong to get involved with the chip leader in the first place? After I made top pair, should I have considered the flop too dangerous and let my hand go? Or, should I have gone all in after the flop, even though I'm not sure that the extra $22,000 raise would have been enough to get the small blind off his hand. Or, did it not matter that the final table was waiting, since the prize money wasn't that much better just for making it? Any advice you can give me would be great."

Playing his first final table, Dave was as anxious as most of us are to make the most of it – and, of course, get his name listed in Card Player. Unfortunately, he had to face off against a passive – and thus deceptive – chip leader in a crucial hand. I believe that before the flop, it was OK for Dave to check in order to see a free flop. His other option was to make an all-in move at the pot, which also would have been OK. However, since the chip leader in the small blind was a calling station, taking a free flop was the more viable play.

On the flop, Dave, you should have either folded or moved all in. Instead, you took what I call a halfway measure by raising only the minimum amount (twice the size of the big blind). The passive chip leader probably would have called you anyway, of course, with his draw to the straight. In any case, raising the minimum amount was not correct; folding or moving all in would have been the thing to do in this situation.

Provided you double up the next time you play in this type of situation, we're sure to meet in the winner's circle one day soon.

Editor's note: Tom McEvoy and T.J. Cloutier are the co-authors of the Championship Series of poker books, including their best-selling Championship No-Limit & Pot-Limit Hold'em, which is available through Card Player. T.J. and Tom welcome you to e-mail your questions to them at [email protected].