My Experiment

Since I began writing for Card Player, I've found that I really enjoy writing about my experiences in tournaments. So far, I have written a few columns that were specifically about what happened in tournaments I played. The reason I chose those tournaments was because something extraordinary took place or I came across something I felt compelled to share with you. I have decided to broaden my horizons and try something different in this column.

I selected a tournament at random, took my journal with me to the table, and will give you a play-by-play account of the action. I speculate that this could be extremely helpful to all types of players, and may give you a better feel for tournament poker at each stage of the process. Instead of reading about "key hands" or "miraculous beats," you will get a taste of the normal grind. Maybe I busted out early and will have to share my thoughts on that; maybe I lasted five hours with no big hands and busted out in the middle portion of the tournament, in which case I will analyze that scenario; or, perhaps it was one of those amazing "in the zone" days, and I will be able to convey the exhilaration of everything going my way. In any case, I thought this experiment could be helpful to fellow poker players – and could force me to play better (I wouldn't want you to find out what a donkey I really am). I welcome feedback via e-mail, so please let me know if this is helpful and/or interesting.

The place: World Poker Open , Tunica, Mississippi

The game: no-limit hold'em

The buy-in: $3,100

I was sitting at table No. 47, in seat No. 3. We started with 3K in chips and the blinds kicked off at $25-$25 with one-hour levels. I already had been in Tunica for a couple of weeks and had taken note of the order in which they broke the tables. I drew a table that wouldn't break until we reached the money at 36 players. I would be there for a while, so my initial strategy was to make sure that I paid extra close attention to my table image. I wanted to remember all of the hands that I had to show and keep a good mental log of how the other players viewed me. After eight of my nine opponents arrived, I observed that I knew only two of them. John Phan was in the 10 seat, three to my right, and Chris Bigler was in the 5 seat, two to my left. I was very happy with the lineup and liked my position on John, as he is extremely aggressive.

The first round was completed, in which John raised four of the first 10 hands, as expected. Then, John limped in and I raised with the 8 7 from middle position. Everyone folded and I picked up the loose change. I was trying to send John a message with that raise. I wanted him raising a lot, not limping in. I wanted all of the players focused on him, trying to trap him. My reason for thinking this way was that in the past, I have observed that players often start to open up a bit and lower their hand requirements against players like him. Often tim es, players like John get the other players off their normal game, and when I sense this, I can jump on them and use it to my advantage. When they start to get fed up with him raising all the tim e and attempt to attack him, I will be the brick wall they run into.

"Well played, Scott," I mumbled to myself after dusting off $925 with 5-2. Five players limped in for $25 and I raised from the button to $175. To be honest, I would have made the same raise in this spot no matter what my cards were. I like to use this tactic for stack building in the early rounds. Three players called my raise and the flop came with all rags. To make a long story short, I bluffed a couple of tim es and it didn't go over too well.

On the next hand, seat 9 raised to $100 from under the gun, John called, and I called with 7-7. The flop came Q-3-2 and seat 9 squirmed a bit, then fired out a bet of $200, to which John folded and I called. The turn was a 6 and seat 9 checked to me. I read him for holding a hand like A-K, and I bet $300 with my sevens. He called the bet, and the river brought a 5. Now, he led into the $1,350 pot for $200, which screamed weakness! I changed my read on him at this point and figured he could have been holding pocket nines or tens. I had $1,400 left, and knew for sure that he was afraid of my hand, and also afraid of the queen that was on the flop. I decided to represent the queen and pushed all in. To my delight, he folded.

Wow, I played too many hands! This column could take up the entire magazine at this rate. Maybe I'll just give you an update after each level. Scratch that idea, as I have to share this hand. Six players limped in, so I tossed my $25 into the pot with the 9 7 from the cutoff position. The flop came 10-6-5 rainbow and everybody checked to the button, who bet $200. Everyone folded back to me, and I decided to call with my gutshot draw for two reasons. First, there was a very good chance that the button was bluffing at that point, and my check-call would show some strength; and if I missed, I could possibly take the pot away from him later on in the hand. Second, I had four outs to make the nut straight and my hand would be very well-disguised if I did hit it. He is an aggressive player and I was pretty sure he would bet the turn no matter what fell. The turn came, and I hit gin! I was so lucky! I checked the nuts, screaming in my head, "Please bet, please bet!" Bingo! Not only did he bet, but he bet huge, firing $900 into the $600 pot. At that point, I realized that he was not bluffing. I was pretty sure he had a big hand, so there was no need for me to slow-play my straight. I raised him to 2K and he pushed in instantly. I showed the nuts and he showed top two pair. We had reached the end of level one and I had $5,300 – a great start! I was such a luck-sack.

Level two began with the blinds at $25-$50. I planned to play very tight. I predicted that the next hour or so would go like this: John raises, John raises, John reraises, John busts a player, John raises. Wow, I love John's style. He almost forces players to make huge mistakes against him. My forecast was dead-on accurate, although it's not like it was tough to figure out. The player on John's right was getting sick of him already. He just called John down on every street with king high, and, of course, king high was pure gold! Wait until the next hand, when the guy who just beat John with king high raised to $200 and John reraised to $700; who didn't see this coming? John started this hand with about $5,000 and the other guy about $6,500. Mr. king high called the reraise and the flop came A-A-Q. Mr. king high pushed all in with no hesitation, and John announced his call! John showed A-10 and Mr. king high showed 10-10. Unbelievable! John had him drawing almost completely dead. In fact, he could be tied only if the turn and river hit with a king and a jack. We reached the first break, and I had lost a few chips and was down to $4,200. John was in control with $9,400.

Level three started and the blinds were $50-$100. The tournament director announced the prize pool. We started with 386 players, making first place a handsome $334,701! Tunica is great. The staff was wonderful, and the players were treated very well. The locals were friendly, and there was no shortage of action.

Ouch! I made a bad read that cost me lots of chips. I raised from late position with J-8 offsuit and the big blind called me. The flop came down 9-8-6 rainbow; he checked, and I bet $300. He immediately moved all in for $2,100 total. I read him as being weak, and put him on some kind of hand that had a 7 in it – perhaps something like 7-6 or 8-7. I decided to call, and he showed me Q-9. I probably should not have called and risked the extra $1,800 to find out if my hand was good. I really wasn't too sure about what he had. I basically made a guess, and I was wrong. I should know by now that whenever I feel like I am guessing, that is a very bad sign. It's better to save the chips and play a pot I am sure about. This hand knocked me down to $1,550 – down but definitely not out. I still had plenty of chips to play this level.

A new player was moved to our table and sat down on John's immediate right. The new player brought about $15,000 to the table with him. When he sat down, I could see John's face light up. I knew immediately that he was going to try to smoke this guy. Right away, the new player raised to $350 from the cutoff seat, and John smooth-called the raise from the button. The small blind folded and I sensed that this was a good chance for a steal. With the raiser's initial $350, John's $350, and the blinds, there was $850 up for grabs. If I could pick it up right there, it would increase my stack by about 50 percent. I read the new guy for just making a standard late-position play, and I read John for just wanting to get involved in a pot with him so that he could use his position to outplay him. I pushed all in for $1,400 more, which was a big enough reraise that they wouldn't be calling me with hands like K-Q or A-J. The new guy folded instantly, and John said, "I call!" Oops, another bad read by me! John showed pocket eights and I flipped over the very powerful K-2 offsuit. I started to get out of my seat and then I saw the flop, K-2-2. Wow! I sat back down, thinking about how lucky I was, when the turn card hit – 8! Ouch! "Nice hand, John. Good luck, everybody!" I guess the lid is off: You now know how much of a donkey I really am. "Heehaw!"

To kick off 2005, Scott invites all readers to go to www.imallinwear.com and enter his personal discount code, 88, for a special discount on his favorite poker gear. He also welcomes e-mail feedback, so visit his website, www.scottfischman.com , and drop him a note.