Don't Play When You're Sick, Dummy!

I recently flew to Reno to play in the $5,100 buy-in World Poker Tour event at the Reno Hilton's World Poker Challenge. I wasn't feeling well, as I had a sore throat and chest congestion, but I was determined to give the tournament a shot. It has the smallest buy-in of any of the WPT events, and Reno is just a short plane ride from Las Vegas. When I arrived on Sunday night, the poker room was packed. I knew this was going to be the biggest and best tournament the WPT had ever had in Reno. After dinner, I headed straight to my room to rest – no poker for me. Feeling as bad as I did, and having had a tough time getting a good night's sleep, I was not at my best in the morning. However, I was not going to let this temporary illness stop me. The tournament started at noon with a record 592 entrants and more than $1 million for first place.



Most of my opponents were playing pretty tight to begin with, and I recognized only two of them. The two players who were a little on the loose side busted out early. We started with $10,000 in chips and $25-$50 blinds. With 80-minute rounds, there was plenty of play. During the first three levels, my stack did not go up or down very much, but after the antes started in round four, things began to heat up. At one time, I had worked my stack up to $17,000, my high point. The blinds and antes kept increasing, and my stack kept decreasing, until I was down to about $11,000. When the blinds reached $200-$400 with $50 antes, more than half of the field was gone. I had enough chips to play, but the blinds were going up in about 15 minutes, so I was ready to take a few more risks. I was in the big blind with the A K. A player in middle position pushed all in for about $6,500. I had been playing with him all day and thought he was making a move – and he was. I called, and he turned over J-10 offsuit. The first card I saw on the flop was a 10. Bang! More than half of my stack was gone when I failed to improve.

I raised one other hand, with pocket queens, before the big blind got to me again. Nobody called and I won a small pot. The next time I was in the big blind, I had J-7 offsuit. Everyone passed around to the small blind, who called. I checked and the flop came Q-J-7 with two hearts. The small blind bet $500, I raised another $700, and he moved all in on me. This player had some gamble to him, so I put him on one of two hands: a queen, for top pair, or a draw. I called, and he turned over Q-10 offsuit. The turn card was an 8 and the river was a 9; he had caught runner-runner for a straight. Goodbye, Tom!



After those two beats, I felt worse than ever. And the worse things get, the better I eat. I don't go on poker tilt, but I do go on dietary tilt. After getting my fix (I love desserts), I went to my room to sulk. My motto has always been, "Life is uncertain, so eat dessert first!" I decided I had had enough poker for the trip, so I left the next day, getting sicker and sicker. Upon my arrival home, I talked to my friend Dr. Paul Fischman, who had just recovered from a bout of the same illness. He urged me to see my doctor right away. I did just that, and got a shot in the butt and some antibiotics, and started to feel better.



I was feeling better, so why not play another poker tournament? Not a good idea! But that's exactly what I did. I went to Bellagio and played the $1,060 buy-in Friday tournament. We got $5,000 in chips, with 40-minute levels and the starting blinds at $25-$50. I won a nice pot and got my chips up to around $7,000. Even though I wasn't 100 percent, I thought I would do fine. Wrong again. I was sitting in middle position with pocket kings and only one limper. I made it $250 to go. I got three callers, exactly what I didn't want to see happen. The flop came 8-5-4 with two hearts. It was checked to me, and I made a pot-sized bet of $1,000. My old friend James Hoeppner called. The other two players folded. Now, what I thought was a perfect card came on the turn – the 2. I bet $2,000 and James moved him. I had him covered and felt pot-committed, so I called. He showed me the A 3. He had hit a gutshot wheel after calling a pot-sized bet on the flop. Aaarrrggghhh!



Oh well, I had $2,000 left, and it was still the first round of play for another five minutes. I was in the big blind with pocket nines. The under-the-gun player raised to $200 and three players, including me, called. The flop came A 7 5. I checked and so did everybody else. The turn card was another blank for me. I checked, and so did everybody else except the player on the button. He bet $1,000. I did not think he had an ace, because he checked the flop when he was last to act. I went by my read, and put my last $1,700 in the pot. Since I had the 9, I thought I had a reasonable out to make a flush on the river if I was wrong about the ace. Well, he did have the ace and called my all-in $700 raise. I missed on the river and was out the door.



I hadn't made it through the opening round with $5,000 in starting chips; I can't remember when that happened last. I started to feel sick again, in more ways than one, so I made a quick exit, wishing everybody good luck. If we all stay healthy and avoid getting unlucky, I hope to meet you soon in the winner's circle.

Tom McEvoy is a representative of PokerStars.com. He also is the voice of ProPlay, a new and innovative way to learn winning poker strategy. Find out more at www.ProPlayLive.com/TomMcEvoy.