Anatomy of a Tournament - Part III: Hanging On in the Early Rounds

After wading through the first two rounds of the $2,600 buy-in no-limit hold'em event at the recently concluded Festa al Lago III tournamentat Bellagio, I was hoping to swim through the next few rounds and lap my opponents. Although my plan was to build my stack during each level, I had barely maintained it, and entered the third round with $4,950 in chips. I knew I needed to do better than that if I was to finish in the money of the 207-player event.

The first hand I played in the third round was 3-3. With the blinds at $100-$200, everyone passed to me on the button, and I decided to limp in for the minimum $200. My reason for just calling rather than making a standard raise was that the chip leader at my table, a rather loose player, was in the small blind. If I raised, and he or the big blind raised back, I would have to fold. By just calling, I figured the blinds might suspect that I was trying to trap them with a big hand and would just call to see a cheap flop. Maybe I could get lucky and hit my set, or try to steal the pot after the flop. In other words, I chose to risk a little to try to win a big pot. Alas, nothing came on the flop to help me, and when the chip leader bet out from the small blind, the big blind and I both folded.

The next hand I played was a whole lot better than pocket threes. I was in the cutoff seat (one seat to the right of the button) and looked down at pocket rockets. At last, a premium hand! I made a standard raise of three times the size of the big blind. I don't like to limp in from late position with pocket aces and give the big blind a free ride, because there's always the chance that he might hit a lucky flop. Everyone folded. I also don't like not getting paid off with American Airlines – but that's the way it goes sometimes.

My next "playable" hand came when I was in the big blind with a 4-3 offsuit. The pot had not been raised, so I got to see a free flop. The flop came with the A 6 5. I had an open-end straight draw, but there also was a possible flush draw. Everyone checked around. An offsuit deuce hit on the turn to complete my straight. I checked, the loose chip leader on my left bet $400, the other two players folded, and I made it $1,100 to go. He took a long time thinking about his hand, and finally folded.

Three hands later, I was in the cutoff seat with an A-9 offsuit. Everyone folded around to me, and I raised to $600, prepared to abandon ship if anyone played with me. But everybody passed and I was able to pick up the blinds. At this point, my stack was hovering around $6,000 in chips. Kathy Liebert, with whom I had made a 2 percent save, came over to my table and jokingly said she would like to lower our save to one-tenth of 1 percent. Sitting on $12,000, she was feeling confident.

A little later in the round, I again was dealt pocket aces, this time in middle position. I made it $550 to go and everyone folded. A few hands after that, I made a marginal raise with an A-6 offsuit from late position, and again, everybody folded. Players think I play tight, so they cut me some slack now and then. When you have a conservative image, you can get away with picking up a few pots with marginal hands. I finished the round with $5,950 in chips.

The fourth round began with the same $100-$200 blinds – but with a $25 ante. Many players think that no-limit hold'em tournaments don't really begin until the antes kick in. Having to post an ante makes it more difficult for conservative players (like me) to just sit on their chips waiting for a big hand. My first playable hand came when I had 9-9 in the big blind. The button made it $600 to go and I called. He hadn't raised very often, so I decided to see the flop cheaply without playing back at him. The flop came jack-rag-rag. I checked, and he checked. I was all set to bet out on the turn if another rag came, but when a king came, I decided to check. He bet, I thought for a moment, and then folded. I think that I may have misplayed this hand. With that type of flop, a more aggressive approach would have been to bet into him, thus forcing him to have a real hand if he wanted to continue playing. I also could have taken a chance and bet out on the turn, representing a king, but chose the more conservative approach.

Rethinking hands with which you believe you might have gotten better results if you had made a different play is an integral part of self-evaluation that can improve your game. It also can lead you to the winner's circle more often, where I hope to meet you one day soon.

We'll move on to more action in this tournament in the next issue.

Editor's note: Tom McEvoy is the co-author with T.J. Cloutier of Championship No-Limit & Pot-Limit Hold'em, available through Card Player. McEvoy also is affiliated with PokerStars.com.