Tim Singleton is a friend who became my first poker student seven years ago. A couple of months after we began doing lessons, he finished in 14th place out of 1,480 participants in his first-ever poker tournament. He has been a consistent, winning player for the past seven years, and his most recent accomplishment was a fourth-place finish in the
Heartland Poker Tour event at Hooters Las Vegas.
He played one hand that stood out from the rest, and it actually took place during a $530 satellite. They were down to 18 players from a starting field of 60, and 12 would win seats into the $2,650 main event. I'll let Tim pick up the story from there.
We had been playing the satellite for about five hours, and I had about $12,500, a pretty short stack, since we started with $10,000. The blinds were $1,500-$3,000 with a $200 ante, which meant the cost per round was $6,300. That left me with about two rounds before hitting the felt, and I knew I didn't have enough chips to make it into the top 12 without playing a hand. I was looking for a situation in which I could be the first one into the pot, move all in, and pick up the blinds and antes without a fight. Normally, that would be my plan of attack, but an interesting situation came up that made me try something a little different.
I was on the button with the 8
3
. My initial instinct was that even if it were folded to me on the button, I would probably fold, as well. My hand was just too weak. But I had been observing. The two players to my left had very strong "fold tells," and I could see that they both had their cards in one hand, ready to throw them in. So, now I was ready to push from the button.
But then a gentleman with $17,000 unexpectedly called from middle position. I had been watching this guy for about an hour, and he didn't make "big" calls. In fact, he hardly made any calls. The small blind had raised his big blind a few times, and it appeared that he knew he had the best hand, yet he still folded. One time, he even said out loud, "I don't want to risk it." His logic kind of made sense, since the only thing that mattered was making it to the final 12. But he was still playing extremely weak poker, so my attention quickly switched to him.
I decided that if everyone else folded in front of me, I was going to put him to the test. I already knew the two blinds were going to fold, so if I pushed all in and got the limper to fold, I would pick up $9,300, and I needed those chips. If he called my all-in bet and lost, he would be left with only $4,500. He wouldn't even have enough to get past the blinds that would be on him in three hands. I just knew that he would fold, rather than risk leaving himself in such a desperate situation.
When everyone else folded to me, I went ahead and pushed all in with my 8-3 offsuit. The blinds folded, as expected. When it got back to the caller, he asked for a count of my chips, counted down his own stack, and then folded with a pained expression on his face. That hand put me over the $20,000 mark, and after that, the rest came easily. I got a walk in the big blind and stole one more set of blinds the next round. After a couple more rounds without playing a hand, we made it down to the magical number of 12, and I had my seat in the main event.
I was especially proud of this one, because I really believed I earned it. Many players complain of how bad their luck is, and that they never get dealt anything, but my thought is that winners make their own luck. There are so many poker situations in which the money is out there for the taking if you are willing to study your opponents and trust your reads. The more I have played, the more observant I've become of other players, and that's helped me to base my decisions on situations as much as cards. I also credit Matt Lessinger's The Book of Bluffs for teaching me to look for opportunities like these, which are really perfect for bluffing. (Matt's note: I did not tell Tim to say that, but I'm always grateful for a good plug.)
If I didn't win the qualifier, I wasn't going to buy into the main event or even play another qualifier. So, looking back, I can honestly say that the 8-3 hand made all the difference. I wouldn't have won my seat without that pot, and I finished fourth in the main event for an $11,500 payday. Winning with the 8-3 was quite literally worth $11,500 in real money. I played well to come in fourth, but I still think the best hand I played on either day was my bluff in the satellite.
If I could have readers take just one concept from my
Book of Bluffs, it's that they should constantly be looking for chances to bluff. You could try to find such opportunities for hours and end up pulling the trigger only once or twice. But, if your vigilance leads you to make those one or two successful bluffs, it easily could be the difference between winning or losing for the day. In Tim's case, it might have been the difference between zero and $11,500. His hard work and observation paid off in a big way.
I happened to win my seat in the same satellite that he did, then go on to finish fifth in the main event, one spot below him. Playing at the same final table as Tim was a real treat, and even though we both wish we could have done a little better, it was a really fun experience for both of us. We're going to hit a few more
HPT events this year, and hopefully turn a few more rag hands into winners along the way.
Matt Lessinger is the author of The Book of Bluffs: How to Bluff and Win at Poker, available everywhere. You can find other articles of his at www.CardPlayer.com.
