"When are you going to be on TV?"
That is a question I have heard at least 50 times in the past three years. Friends, family, and even casual acquaintances seem to assume that every professional poker player gets on TV nowadays; so, when would I be getting there? At first, I tried to explain patiently that I am primarily a cash-game player, and unless I wanted to put up hundreds of thousands of dollars to appear on
High Stakes Poker, I would never make it onto TV by playing cash games.
But then I figured, why not try to get on TV? For one thing, it would be extremely cool. Plus, we all know that the boom of televised poker won't last forever, and I didn't want to regret letting it pass without taking my shot. So, when my friend Tim Buffington invited me to Coarsegold, California, to join him in the
Heartland Poker Tour (HPT), I jumped at the opportunity. The prospect of making a televised final table, along with the chance of a big payday, was more than enough reason for me to make the three-hour trip.
The main event took place on a Sunday morning. I arrived on Saturday morning, in time for a supersatellite in which one out of every five players would make it into the main event. I planned on buying into the finals even if I lost, but there is something especially sweet to me about winning a tournament entry. It is right up there with the fact that winning money while gambling is infinitely better than earning money at a regular job.
The Supersatellite
From the outset, I was playing well, feeling well, and doing a good job of maintaining my stack - but it wasn't enough. I was going to fall just short of winning a seat unless I could find a situation in which I could gather some chips.
Then, with blinds of $500-$1,000 and a below-average stack of about $12,000, I made it $3,000 to go from middle position with the A
Q
. Everyone folded around to the small blind (SB), who genuinely looked like he wanted to reraise, but then decided to flat-call, which enabled the big blind (BB) to call, as well. The flop came 9
6
5
, and immediately I knew that this was my do-or-die hand. The SB led out with an extremely weak $3,000 bet. The BB mucked, and I quickly moved all in for my remaining $9,000 with my overcards and flush draw. The SB took a long time to decide, but then finally called and revealed the A
K
.
Huh? He didn't reraise me preflop, he bet when the flop completely missed him, and then he called a substantial raise with no pair and no draw. I was genuinely surprised, but more importantly, with two cards to come, I was in danger of being eliminated. With that in mind, let me tell you the other question I am always asked, mostly by readers who e-mail me: "What do you have to do to win a tournament?"
Since it is such a general question, I usually reply with a general answer. But the last thing I always write is, "Most importantly, to win a tournament, you have to get lucky at least once." Show me a tournament champion who says he never got lucky and I'll show you a liar. Even the best players have to get lucky once. If you are not one of the better players, it simply means you have to get lucky more often.
Now was my time to get lucky. I was looking for a club, but was equally psyched when I spiked the Q
on the turn. The river was a blank, I won the pot, and consequently won my seat in the main event. I knew that if I could get lucky one more time the next day, I could end up on TV at the final table.
The Main Event
From the moment it started at 9 a.m., I felt in complete control. When we were down to 40 players, I had the chip lead and was looking to run away from the field. But then at around 5 p.m., I ran into a medium stack's pocket aces, and I was suddenly in trouble. With 20 players left, I had a below-average stack of $35,000, just as the blinds were increasing to a whopping $5,000-$10,000. Once again, it was time to get lucky.
I made it through one round of blinds without a fight. The next time around, the action was folded to me in middle position, and I decided to take my stand with the Q
J
. The player to my left, whom I had not seen get out of line once, sighed and said, "I gotta call you." Then, the button called, as well! Then, the short-stacked SB also called! Tim had gotten knocked out the previous round, so he was now sweating me from the rail. I looked back at him and said, "I'm done, man."
"Hey, you never know, Matt. Let's hit something."
That sounded like a good idea to me. The flop came Q-10-7 rainbow, and the two players who still had chips both checked. That gave me a glimmer of hope, but I still wasn't thrilled with my hand. The turn paired the 7, and both of them checked again. Now I was starting to believe I might actually have a chance. The river was a 3, they checked again, and now I was practically out of my seat, waiting to see if I could have possibly won this enormous pot.
The player to my left showed the A
K
. The button then showed his A
K
! The SB showed the Q
9
, and I showed my Q
J
to claim the pot and go straight from zero to $115,000! I high-fived Tim while trying to contain my excitement. I knew that I had gotten the one break I needed, and I was ready to take full advantage of it. To make a long story short, I rode the momentum of that pot to the final table, garnering myself the TV time I had been hoping for. And after about an hour and a half of final-table play, I managed to win the event outright.
Is there a moral to the story?
I think so. You obviously never want to get your money in with the worst hand, but in certain tournament situations, I think it is better than not putting your money in at all. In other words, some players find themselves perpetually short-stacked because they want to play only premium hands, and since those hands just don't appear often enough, those players usually find themselves struggling to survive.
If you are going to win a tournament, you must get lucky at some point, so put yourself in a position to get lucky. Choose a situation in which the chips you can win will give you the potential to take control of your table. Even then, that pot alone probably will not win you the tournament. So, it's up to you to be skillful with your newfound chips, and to make the most of the lucky break you've received.
The final table of the
HPT tournament aired recently. I had a great time at the final table, and I think it showed. Hopefully you got a chance to see it, and hopefully now I won't have to hear the same old question anymore.
Matt Lessinger is the author of The Book of Bluffs: How to Bluff and Win at Poker, available everywhere. To find other articles of Matt's, go to www.CardPlayer.com.
