The Anatomy of a Poker Tournament - Part I

This column is my attempt to guide you through the thought processes of a professional poker player when he's playing a major tournament. That player is me, and the event is the $2,600 buy-in no-limit hold'em contest at Bellagio's Festa al Lago tournament in October.

The first stage of this tournament actually began the night before. I drove to Bellagio in the early evening with the intention of playing one or two satellites for the next day's event. As soon as I walked into the satellite area, an announcement was made that there was one seat left in the next satellite. With my usual careful study of the opposition, I immediately claimed the last seat available without having the foggiest notion as to who was in the starting lineup. I recognized a few players once I sat down, but most of them were strangers to me. That can be either good news or bad. I needed to get a quick line on their play, as most (if not all) of them knew who I was: advantage, them.

We started with $2,500 in tournament chips, making a total of $25,000 in chips in play. The blinds were $25-$50 to start, and went up, often doubling in size, every 15 minutes. I was fortunate in winning a hand early and gathering some chips. I was paying attention to what the opposition was doing, and noticed two things: First, the player sitting on my immediate left, a stranger to me, was playing lots of hands and raising the pot quite frequently. A young player two seats to my right, who also was a stranger to me, was playing a very steady, solid game. I immediately pegged him as a dangerous player. As luck would have it, the action got down to the three of us.

I picked up pocket aces in the small blind. I decided to just limp into the pot against the aggressive player on my left, who was in the big blind and had the chip lead. If he raised, I could come over the top of him. He decided to check. The flop came J-4-4. I checked, and he checked. A suited card, making a possible four-flush, came on the turn. I checked again. This time, he bet, and I flat-called. Another jack hit on the river, making two possible full houses if he held either a jack or a 4. I was concerned that he might have hit one of them. If he held a jack, he most likely would have bet on the flop, but if he held a 4, he probably would have slow-played it. I checked again and he moved in. I called, even though I wasn't all that happy with my hand. Luck again smiled on me, as he was on a stone-cold bluff. If I had played my aces any differently, I would not have doubled through and taken the chip lead.

He regained the chip lead, however, by winning a few smaller pots. Then, with the chip count at about 40 percent for me, 40 percent for the aggressive player, and 20 percent for the tough young player, the key hand of the satellite came up. The aggressive player limped in from the button with the K Q, a rather unusual play since he had been so aggressive throughout the satellite. Earlier, he had limped in with a big pair from the button and won a nice pot. But even though K-Q is a drawing hand, not a made hand, in a full ring game, it is generally a raising hand in a threehanded game. The small blind passed and I looked down to see the A 7. The blinds were $300-$600, and I saw this as an opportunity to take the pot right there. I moved in. My opponent thought for a few seconds, and then called.

I was the favorite in this situation, although not by a huge margin. The board came with no help to either of us, and my ace high won the pot. I now had 80 percent of the chips. This hand illustrates the danger of calling all of your chips with K-Q.

Oftentimes, I will make some kind of deal or settlement in a satellite if the chip counts are close. But I decided my remaining opponent would have to double through me before I would make any kind of deal. Furthermore, I did not intend to play the main tournament unless I won this satellite. Lady Luck again smiled on me. I was dealt K-Q in the big blind and my opponent moved in on me. I knew the danger in playing this type of "trouble" hand, but I thought I was getting the right price and knew I would still have the chip lead even if I called and lost. So, I made the call. The young tournament ace turned over J-J, which was fine with me. I had two overcards and was not in a situation in which my hand could have been dominated if he held A-K or A-Q. A king came on the flop, his hand did not improve, and it was over. We shook hands, and I came away with a lot of respect for my two worthy opponents.

Tune in next time for my account of the big-league tournament action at the Festa al Lago. Till then, I hope to meet you in the winner's circle.

Tom McEvoy is the co-author with Brad Daugherty of Championship Satellite Strategy and No-Limit Texas Hold'em for New Players, both of which are available through Card Player. He also is affiliated with PokerStars.com.