I love the
World Series of Poker. That probably sounds strange to you if you know that I don't play tournaments. But, the side games are generally excellent, and the atmosphere of hundreds of players competing in final-table action, major events, minor events, satellites, and cash games simultaneously for weeks on end is exhilarating.
Last year, I was delighted to be asked to deliver a series of seminars at the PokerStars hospitality suite during the
WSOP. Most of the attendees were there to play tournaments, and primarily no-limit hold'em tournaments, so I focused my remarks on several common errors that no-limit hold'em tournament players make.
During the first seminar, we discussed the issue of going all in when you are sure to be called by a larger stack, putting your tournament on the line. In general, this is a bad idea. While playing with "a chip and a chair" is not a great way to have fun, having any equity in a prize pool or ladder move is infinitely better than turning into an empty chair.
The two errors we discussed were:
• Failure to use the stop-and-go.
• Failure to call and wait.
Failure to use the stop-and-go: The stop-and-go is a play designed to give you a small extra chance to win the pot without a showdown. To execute the play, you are out of position and call a raise before the flop with a hand with which you plan to go all in, but are certain that your opponent will call. You then push the rest of your chips in after the flop, thus giving your opponent a chance to dislike the flop and fold. If he folds, you win with no further risk. If he calls, you are no worse off than if you pushed all in before the flop. You have to hope that your hand wins.
Here is a typical scenario: In the middle of a tournament, the blinds are $400-$800 with a $100 ante. You have $5,000 left after you post the big blind. A middle-position player with $12,000 makes it $2,500 to go. Everyone folds to you, and you decide to go all in with whatever hand you hold. Note that it does not matter what cards you hold - just that you have decided to push all of your chips in.
Clearly, if you push all in here, you will get called. The pot will be $1,000 in antes, $1,200 in blinds, and the $2,500 from the raiser. Your all-in push will make it $9,700 and your opponent will have to call $3,300. At almost 3-1, there is no hand he can fold, even if he was just goofing around with his raise.
Your best play is to call the $1,700 raise, look at the flop, and then put in your $3,300. Your plan is to make this play regardless of whether you like the flop or not. You hope that your opponent does not realize that you are making this play, hates the flop, and folds his hand. If he calls, you are no worse off than if you had pushed all in earlier. You will get the same five cards on the board and will see who wins.
You can make two errors with this play. The first is pushing all in without actually looking at the board. Yes, I know that is the plan, but it helps if you pretend to look and make a decision. You do not want your opponent to realize that your all-in push was independent of both your hand and the flop, as his only real defense against the stop-and-go play is to call your push regardless of the flop, and this is sometimes tough to do.
The second error is to frighten yourself into checking and folding when you see the flop. Remember, you have no idea of whether your opponent liked the flop or not, so just because it does not suit you does not mean he will call. Think of this play as an alternative to going all in right away, not a play in which you plan to make a decision after the flop.
Let's suppose that you have 3-3 and your opponent has 8-8. If you go all in before the flop, you will be called for sure. If you call before the flop and A-K-9 happens to hit the board, there is a decent chance that your opponent will now fold. This effect is even more pronounced if your opponent has J-10 and you are planning to go all in with A-5. Again, if you make your move before the flop, he will call and your hand will have to hold up. If the flop is K-7-7, for example, and your opponent decides to fold to your post-flop push, you no longer have to worry about him hitting his hand on the next two cards and eliminating you.
Failure to call and wait: While it is not the best tournament play, you may occasionally have to get all in with a draw. Be aware, though, that you should avoid putting yourself all in with a draw unless there is a reasonable chance that your opponent will fold. If you will always be called, you do not want to voluntarily put your remaining chips in the pot. Hang on to them until someone forces you to call them off.
Here is an example: Again, the blinds are $400-$800 with $100 antes. You have $10,000 on the button. The chip leader, with $75,000, raises to $3,000. You hold the J
10
and decide to call, because the chip leader has been calling all smallish raises and running over the table. You also want to be able to get away from the hand if a raise is made behind you and called by the chip leader. Everyone else folds and the flop is K
Q
6
.
The raiser bets $3,000. You have $7,000 left. If you raise all in, you certainly will be called. If you flat-call, you will have $4,000 left and will certainly put it in on the turn if he bets again. But there is a small chance that he will not bet again. Sometimes, people check. The chance to hang on to some chips, however small, should outweigh your desire to "get it over with."
Conclusion: Never be in a hurry to get all of your chips in when the situation dictates that a bigger stack will always call you. Even if you are ahead, hanging on to a few chips gives you insurance against losing to a miracle drawout and walking to the rail.
Whenever you are about to push your chips in, pause and decide whether there is any chance that you will be able to make the other guy fold. If the answer is no, reconsider and decide if a stop-and-go play or a call will give you a better chance to win the pot or preserve some precious chips. If you do, maybe you will survive to make a
WSOP final table.
Barry offers poker lessons tailored to the specific strengths and weaknesses of the individual student. Please visit his website at www.barrytanenbaum.com or e-mail him at [email protected].
